Night Sky Highlights for January-March 2024
By Jim Mazur
Solar System
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks
This periodic comet has an orbit of 70 years, and this year it will make it closest approaches to the Sun (perihelion on April 21) and the Earth (closest approach on June 2). The brightness and visibility of a comet is very hard to predict, but some forecasts say it may be dimly visible to the naked eye in March. Some ASNH members have observed and photographed it in the fall of 2023 (see my image on the Gallery page of this newsletter). This comet has had a few cryovolcanic eruptions that led to large and rapid increases in brightness during the fall. If more eruptions occur, it could turn out to be a lot brighter than predicted. It is worth checking out on any clear night.
Mercury
The second half of March will offer a chance to view Mercury in the western sky shortly after sunset. The best opportunities (when it will be highest above the horizon in the evening twilight) will be from about March 20 to 25.
Venus
Throughout the winter months, Venus will shine brightly in the southeast sky before dawn. It is moving away from us toward the far side of the Sun, and through a telescope it will appear nearly round and quite small.
Mars
In January, Mars will be in the morning sky but close to the Sun and difficult to observe. In February it moves further from the Sun and approaches Venus. It slides past Venus on February 21 and 22, then loops back and passes Venus again on March 2. However, both planets will be low in the southeast and dimmed by the the predawn twilight.
Jupiter
The giant planet will be visible in the evening sky all winter, not far from the Pleiades. It will be brighter than magnitude -2, outshining everything else in the evening sky, including Sirius (magnitude -1.5).
Saturn
In January, Saturn will be low in the southwest after sunset. It passes behind the Sun in February, then emerges in the eastern sky before dawn in late March.
Uranus
At about magnitude 6, Uranus can be seen in binoculars if you know where to look. A telescope at high magnification will show its small green disk. It will be about half way between Jupiter and the Pleiades. A finder chart can be found at:
https://theskylive.com/uranus-info
Neptune
In January, Neptune will be in the western sky after sunset, high above Saturn. By March it will be too close to the Sun to observe. Here is a finder chart for Neptune:
https://theskylive.com/planetarium?obj=neptune
Deep Sky Objects
Messier 1, Crab Nebula
Supernova remnant in Taurus
Through a typical amateur telescope, the Crab Nebula appears as a dim oval glow with irregular edges. It is what is left over from a supernova that appeared in the year 1054. It is estimated to be about 6500 light years away. Star-hop chart
Messier 50
Open cluster in Monoceros
The constellation Monoceros contains some nice open clusters, and Messier 50 is one of the best. It contains stars of a variety of colors–blue, white, yellow, and red. The cluster has a diameter of about 16′, or about half that of the full Moon. Star-hop chart
NGC 2264, Christmas Tree Cluster
Open cluster in Monoceros
This cluster is a bright magnitude 4, and it is more or less in the shape of a Christmas tree, except that the brightest star is not at the top of the tree but at the trunk. The whole area is encompassed by faint nebulosity, including the Cone Nebula at the top of the tree. Star-hop chart
NGC 2261 (Caldwell 46), Hubble’s Variable Nebula
Diffuse nebula in Monoceros
This fascinating nebula can be found just about 1 degree to the southwest of the Christmas Tree Cluster. It is a fan-shaped nebula around the star R Monoceros that looks a lot like a comet. Its appearance changes slowly over time, as regions of dust near R Monoceros produce changing shadows. Star-hop chart
Messier 93
Open cluster in Puppis
Puppis never gets very high above the southern horizon here in Connecticut, but like Monoceros it contains many nice open clusters that are worth finding. A good example is 6th magnitude Messier 93, which includes about 80 stars in a 10′ area. Star-hop chart
Messier 109
Galaxy in Ursa Major
This galaxy is just 2/3 degree to the east-southeast of Phecda, the star at the bottom corner of the bowl of the Big Dipper. It is magnitude 9.7 and can be seen through even a small telescope. It is about 82 million light years away. Star-hop chart
IC 405 (Caldwell 31), Flaming Star Nebula
Diffuse nebula in Auriga
The 6th magnitude star AE Aurigae is surrounded by a large but dim nebula, IC 405. Portions of this nebula, especially those near AE, can be seen with even small telescopes, but a nebula filter can make it much easier to see. Star-hop chart
Harrington 4, Staircase Asterism
Asterism in Auriga
Less than 1 degree to the southeast of IC 405, Harrington 4 is an asterism that is dimly visible to the naked eye and has the shape of a staircase when viewed through binoculars or a wide-field eyepiece. Star-hop chart
Castor (Alpha Geminorum)
Double star in Gemini
Castor and Pollux are one of the best-known pairs of bright stars in the sky. Castor is of special interest because it is a close double star, with its two components separated by only 5 arcseconds. The two stars are about 100 astronomical units apart, and take 440 years to complete one orbit.
R Leporis, Hind’s Crimson Star
Red star in Lepus
If you want to see some color in the eyepiece, try Hind’s Crimson Star, a very red variable star. Its magnitude varies between about 5.5 and 11.7 over a period of about 430 days. Based on its recent light curve, it will probably be around magnitude 10 this winter, so it should be visible in even a small telescope.