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First, let’s talk about Jupiter and Venus. On February 15, 2023, after sunset, the two planets are clearly visible on the western horizon. You can’t miss them because they are clearly the brightest spots. Venus is closest to the horizon and Jupiter is higher.
Every day, Venus will slide a little more on the starry vault and get closer to Jupiter until a very close rapprochement on February 28, the 1is and March 2, 2023. During this ascent, the Moon will visit both planets on February 21, 22, and 23, 2023 with a lovely crescent. From March 2, Jupiter will be lower than Venus and the two stars will move away for good. Coast Mars, the red planet is still clearly visible in the constellation of Taurus with a nice rapprochement with a first quarter Moon, on March 27. Likewise, the apparent movement of Mars is clearly visible. Have fun looking at its position in relation to the star ElNath, the star opposite Capelle in the constellation of the Coachman. Finally, the planet Mercury is difficult to observe in the early morning on the eastern horizon before sunrise.
Constellations that we will be able to see well during the next month
Let’s stop this month, on the beautiful constellation d’Orion, certainly one of the most beautiful located between the constellation of Taurus and Gemini. Very recognizable by three aligned stars called Orion’s harness. Orion’s body is marked by four bright stars. The two brightest: Rigel all blue on one of Orion’s feet and the beautiful red Betelgeuse on one of the shoulders. I remind you that the blue star is much hotter than the red star, the colors are the opposite of the taps. Under the harness, we see an alignment of stars considered to be the sword of Orion. In the middle of this sword, we can see the great Orion nebula M42 considered as a nursery of stars. With a pair of binoculars or a small telescope, the nebula is a real delight, one can see a vast gaseous complex reminiscent of a bird spreading its wings.
Little challenge for our listeners
For this little challenge, you will need a pair of binoculars or a telescope! The mission, if you accept it, is to detect the dwarf planet Ceres which will gently glide across the sky between the constellations of Virgo and Leo in front of the Virgo galaxy cluster. So, as a reminder: Ceres is the smallest dwarf planet in the solar system. It is just under 1,000 km in diameter and orbits between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres appears as a small bright point of magnitude 7 that will sparkle a little less than the surrounding stars. From one night to the next, the little dot will move quite quickly between the stars Vindemiatrix in Virgo and Denebola in Leo. We are waiting for your testimonies if you have succeeded in flushing it out.
A new astronomical telescope to be won!
Yes, Caroline. I remind you that a new astronomical telescope is once again put into play thanks to our partners SSVI and RFI. To participate, send on our page Facebook Astronomy Africa your most beautiful photos or videos, or even a nice text that you have written. The winner will be announced on April 15, 2023. Good observations. Good heavens to all and remember, the sky is the biggest screen, just look up.