Introduction and Monthly Reminders
The first half of February offered observers the chance to see a rare green comet known as Comet ZTF. It hasn't been seen in the skies of Earth for approximately 50,000 years. Hopefully, the observers that have wanted to view this comet have had their chance since it is quickly dimming as it moves away from the Earth.
Comet ZTF and the Zodiacal Light are the major highlights for February. As mentioned, Comet ZTF may be too dim to see easily as of this posting. The Zodiacal Light can still be observed this month for interested astronomers. Simply head away from the city lights and face west after sunset. An observer should notice a pillar of light extending from the horizon to the zenith, depending on the darkness of the sky. I was fortunate enough to view both Comet ZTF and the Zodiacal Light. The comet appeared as a small fuzzy blob next to Mars through a pair of binoculars. The Zodiacal Light appeared as a column of light extending upwards from the western horizon, passing through Venus and Jupiter. I will share some of the images in a later post.
Messier Targets 🔭
The Messier Catalog offers observers 110 objects to view through a telescope or binoculars. They are all easily viewable with a small scope if you know where to look. I have covered the constellations and objects best viewed in the Summer and Autumn months and will wrap up the Winter constellations with Puppis.
The constellation Puppis will hug the southern horizon so an observer should have a clear view while facing south with no city lights or other obstructions. Below is an image of what the night sky will look like while an observer faces south after sunset.
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| Puppis and the surrounding constellations. |
Notice Orion (top right), an easily identifiable constellation, and Sirius, the brightest Star in the sky, and their relation with Puppis. The image below adds constellation lines and labels to help identify the stars in this region of the sky.
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| Night sky facing south after sunset with constellation lines and labels. |
The first of three targets in Puppis, which are all open star clusters, is M46 (aka NGC 2437) and can be located towards the left (into the Milky Way Band) of Sirius. An eyepiece that provides a wide field of view is an excellent choice for finding objects in the night sky. The image below shows the location of M46.
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| Location of M46 in Puppis. |
Following M46, an observer should shift their gaze to the right to find M47 (aka NGC 2422). M46 and M47 will fit into a single field of view when using a low-power eyepiece. See the image below for the location of M47.
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| Location of M47 in Puppis. |
The final target, M93 (aka NGC 2447) can be found below M46 and M47. The image below shows the location of M93.
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| Location of M93 in Puppis. |
I have also included two images to show the location of the three objects belonging to Puppis. The first image shows the night sky as it would appear in a dark location. The second image is the same only with constellation lines and labels to help identify the constellations in the night sky.
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| Location of M46, M47, and M93 in Puppis. |
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| Location of M46, M47, and M93 in Puppis with constellation lines and labels. |
March's Night Sky Report will begin to highlight the Messier objects of the Spring Constellations. Hydra will be the first constellation to be highlighted. All of the above images were provided by Stellarium, a free planetarium software that can be found online, downloaded, or installed as an app on your favorite mobile device. My updated Messier list can be found here.
Remember to follow me on Instagram @CosmicLure01 to receive notifications for new posts. You may also follow me on Twitter @CosmicLure.
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| Now get outside and look up! |
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