What’s up?
The month starts with a last quarter Moon that becomes new on the 8th, with the first crescent becoming visible the following evening and full Moon follows on the 23rd. The eta Aquarid meteor shower will be good, look towards the East, from 04:00 to 05:30.
The shower peaks on the 5th, but looking before and after would still be good. There should be quite a few bright meteors as they are travelling at about 65km/s.
Most readers will probably be aware of the fact that the Sun is rising later and setting earlier quite noticeably.
However many people are not really aware that the Sun is also rising and setting much further north of east and west each day and the fact that midday shadows are now much longer than they were in December; the Sun crosses the meridian a little lower each day until the solstice next month. I find it interesting to see how the sunlight in my living room changes almost daily.
Much as last month there are no planets visible in the evening, but the morning sees Saturn, Mars and Mercury dominating the sky. From the 4th to the 6th there is a pretty 'celestial dance' as the Moon passes close by Saturn, Mars and Mercury on consecutive mornings and on the 31st the Moon will again be close to Saturn.
Orion is still visible low in the western sky, but by month’s end it will be setting very shortly after sunset.
Directly above Orion is the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. The small cluster of stars, known as the seven Sisters, the Pleiades, or in local lore, isiLimela, have already set and the Hyades with the reddish-orange giant star
Aldebaran will disappear from view around the middle of the month as it sets shortly after sunset.
The Great Southern Triangle is visible in the west with Castor and Pollux low above the north-western horizon.
Just above the north-eastern horizon is the bright star Arcturus and far above, and just to the right, or east, another bright star Spica.
Scorpius, the Scorpion, is rising, with the red giant star Antares at its heart, is visible low in the east. To the south the Southern
Cross and the Pointers are now prominent. To the right, west of the cross, Canopus, the second brightest star in the night sky, shines brightly and between it and the Southern Cross the false Cross can be seen; it is larger and not as spectacular as the real cross.
The Milky Way is now also becoming more prominent and to me it is still one of the most spectacular sights in the night sky, but one needs to be at a really dark site to see the dust bands, nebulae and star clusters and to fully appreciate its beauty. Here binoculars are a great aid.