Mars attacks
For the first time since the last full moon we’ve had clear skies and no seriously light reflecting snow. I’ve been waiting all month for a chance to see Mars at ‘opposition’. Apparently this is as close as Mars will get to the Earth for at least the next 26 months so I was very keen to witness it. And I couldn’t miss it! There Mars was shining brightly with a red tinge not far from the Moon in the constellation of Cancer. The dead red world.
Being new to this stargazing malarkey I’m easily impressed. Most stargazers probably wouldn’t choose a spot in a field in the middle of Manchester (a seriously light polluted place) to view this, especially not when the moon is so bright. But it worked for Mark and I. We drove the few short miles to Sale Water Park and parked up. It has the advantage of being one of the few places very near to where we live where two important things can be found. Firstly a large field away from bright lights and tall trees, and secondly a nice pub. A short walk over the bridge into the middle of the field, with the grass crunchy under our feet from the frost, and we were ready to gaze up at the heavens.
At the moment Mars is only about 62 million miles away (with a magnitude of -1.2) so it rivals Sirius, the brighest star in the sky which has a magnitude of -1.47 (according to my book). To be honest it just looked like a really bright star to the naked eye, but that’s not the point. I can officially say I have witnessed Mars at opposition and lived to tell the tale. Obviously though I had to double check the January 2010 edition of the Sky at Night magazine with my new red light LED torch to be 100% certain that I’d identified it correctly. But what’s the point in buying an unusual torch off eBay if you’re not going to use it?
I also practiced my basic stargazing skills. I identified Sirius in Canis Major and the constellation of Orion, including the red tinged star Betelguese (which seemed about the same colour as Mars, or maybe even redder). I then found the consellation Auriga, with it’s bright star Capella and the nearby Kids. I saw Aldebaran in Taurus, although it wasn’t possible to see any other stars in Taurus because of the light pollution. Procyon in Canis Minor was easy to spot and helped me navigate my way to Castor and Pollux in Gemini. Again, these were the only stars in these constellations I could see with the bright lights of Manchester on the one hand, and the bright fat moon on the other.
As usual the Plough (or Ursa Major) was easy to find; I learned this one as a child. It seemed particularly huge tonight, and yet strangely faint. From here I found Polaris, the pole star, before getting reaquainted with Cassiopeia. We studied the story of Cassiopeia in primary school, and while I’d once been able to find her constellation I’d lost forgotten how to recognise her over the years. But she’s still there. Finally I was able to pick out Perseus which I’d never seen before, so overall I was very pleased with my progress.
I pointed out, well tried to point out, these various stars and constellations to Mark. We’ve settled on one constellation at a time so they can sink in gently. Tonight he learned Sirius and Orion. Then we went to the pub, had a pint and huddled up against the heater to warm up. All in all, it was a very pleasant trip out stargazing.