The Sky Next Week
As the night sky darkens to a new moon this week, there’s a great opportunity to see some phenomena in our solar system.
Orion and the Comet
These days, there’s a comet hiding in Orion! Orion of course is the constellation that might look more like a butterfly, depending on your perspective. From northern latitudes like we enjoy in the Methow, you can see Orion stand straight up in the middle of the night.
Orion itself can be easily found by looking for the three bright stars at the “belt”. The comet - with the unassuming, technical name C/2000 M3, is near the star Bellatrix, which forms the “bow” shoulder of Orion. The other shoulder is of course Betelgeuse, whose recent variable brightness - and predicted death by supernova - have been in the news of late.
If you have a pair of binoculars and a clear sky, you should be able to see the comet C/2000 M3.
The Leonids
Comets of course are giant balls of ice and other junk, typically orbiting the sun wildly when compared to the planets. All comets typically leave behind an exhaust of detritus - icy blocks and rocks that are kicked off by solar radiation. This forms the “Tail” that most visible comets are famous for. The Temple-Tuttle comet, which orbits the sun about every 33 years, leaves behind a stream of detritus that we periodically see falling to earth through the constellation Leo. That space junk turns into meteors - the Leonids, in this case - which happen to be visible this weekend!
To find Leo first find the Big Dipper. You might remember that the two outer stars of the dipper form a line that points you to Polaris, the North Star. Follow that line the *other* direction to find Leo.
The Leonids are best viewed a few hours before sunrise, which means 4-6 am or so. If you’re lucky enough to have a clear sky, put on some warm clothes, pour some strong coffee and get out the door to a dark location.
Gas Giants in the Sky
If getting up early isn’t your thing, you can walk outside after dinner this week and watch the new moon slowly begin to grow as the week progresses. Near the moonrise, two brilliant lights will great you. The bright one is Jupiter. The bright but less brilliant one is Saturn. If you’ve got access to even a meager telescope, you should be able to see Jupiter with it’s moons quite easily.
Of course, bring hot chocolate and hand warmers, it’s cold out there.
Resources
As always, a great resource for your night sky astronomy can be found either at EarthSky or with JPL’s Night Sky Planner.
