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In the Sky this Week – February 27, 2018

By Robert Trembley  |  27 Feb 2018

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This entry is part 87 of 244 in the series In the Sky This Week

Southern predawn sky, Feb. 27, 2018

The southern predawn sky hasn’t changed much in the last week; Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, Antares and Spica are splashed across the sky, with Mars getting a little closer to Saturn each morning.

Southern predawn sky, Feb. 27, 2018 Southern predawn sky, Feb. 27, 2018. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

On Mar. 1st, the Moon will be 0° 5′ from Regulus in the constellation Leo.

The Moon in Leo, Mar. 1, 2018 The Moon in Leo, Mar. 1, 2018. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

This would make an excellent conjunction to view through binoculars!

The Moon and Regulus, Mar. 1, 2018. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

The Moon plows through the star and planet party in the southern predawn sky from Mar. 4-12

Southern predawn sky, Mar. 3, 2018 Southern predawn sky, Mar. 3, 2018. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

Winter constellations are still in the southern sky after sunset, but they are setting earlier each day as spring approaches.

Southern sky after sunset, Feb. 27, 2018 Southern sky after sunset, Feb. 27, 2018. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

The Moon

Moon week of Feb 27-Mar 5 2018 The Moon this week. Moon visualizations by Ernie Wright, Moon orbit from NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

The Moon is a waxing gibbous visible in the eastern sky during the afternoon and setting shortly after 5:00 AM. The Moon will be full on Mar. 2nd, and will be a waning gibbous afterwards.

The Sun

A small new sunspot group, named AR2700 (AR=Active Region) is crossing the face of the Sun; while flare-free, it is showing a lot of coronal loop activity. SpaceWeather.com says: “New sunspot AR2700 has a simple, stable magnetic field that poses little threat for solar flares.” 

The Sun, Feb. 27, 2018 The Sun with different views of AR2700, Feb. 27, 2018. Images courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams / edited by Bob Trembley.

This video shows the Sun’s corona for the last 48 hours; you’ll note the rather large coronal holes at both poles, and the coronal looping activity over sunspot  AR2700.

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/dailymov/2018/02/26/20180226_1024_0193.mp4

The solar wind speed is 513 km/sec, with a density of 8.0 protons/cm3– the highest solar wind density I’ve seen it since I started reporting it. SpaceWeather.com is reporting a G1-class geomagnetic storm happening right now as Earth enters this fast-moving stream of solar wind. Aurora have been photographed from several northerly locations:

Aurora images Aurora images from SpaceWeather.com’s Realtime Aurora Gallery, Feb. 27, 2018

Again, there are several prominences in the Sun’s chromosphere over the last several days – I especially like the rotating pillar at the 8:00 o’clock position. AR2700 shows some visible activity in this frequency, but does not show off the spectacular coronal loops as in the SDO video above.

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/dailymov/2018/02/26/20180226_1024_0304.mp4
You can view the Sun in near real-time, in multiple frequencies here: SDO-The Sun Now.
You can create your own time-lapse movies of the Sun here: AIA/HMI Browse Data.
You can browse all the SDO images of the Sun from 2010 to the present here: Browse SDO archive.

[widget_area area=’space-weather-twitter’ area_style=’’ class=’’ style=’’]

Asteroids

Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Velocity (km/s)
Diameter (m)
2014 EY24
2018-Feb-27
14.8 LD
8
54
2018 DT
2018-Feb-27
4.2 LD
2.6
13
2018 CU14
2018-Feb-27
5.5 LD
4.4
10
2015 BF511
2018-Feb-28
11.7 LD
5.7
39
2018 DE1
2018-Mar-01
15.3 LD
6.5
29
2018 DC
2018-Mar-03
9.3 LD
8.2
40
2003 EM1
2018-Mar-07
16.6 LD
8
45
2017 VR12
2018-Mar-07
3.8 LD
6.3
287
2018 BK7
2018-Mar-09
10.2 LD
8.7
73
2015 DK200
2018-Mar-10
6.9 LD
8
27
2018 DH1
2018-Mar-27
9.2 LD
14.3
218
2016 SR2
2018-Mar-28
18.7 LD
7.3
20
2010 GD35
2018-Mar-31
15.5 LD
11.6
45
2004 FG29
2018-Apr-02
4 LD
14.9
22
363599
2018-Apr-12
19.3 LD
24.5
224
2014 UR
2018-Apr-14
9.3 LD
4.4
17
2016 JP
2018-Apr-20
12 LD
12.7
204
2012 XL16
2018-Apr-23
15.8 LD
6.1
28

Notes: LD means “Lunar Distance.” 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Table from SpaceWeather.com

[widget_area area=’asteroid-watch-twitter’ area_style=’’ class=’’ style=’’]

The Solar System

This is the position of the planets in the solar system:

Solar system, Feb. 27, 2018 Position of the planets in the solar system, Feb. 27, 2018. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
Solar system, Feb. 27, 2018 Position of the planets in the solar system (side view), Feb. 27, 2018. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Apps used for this post:

Stellarium: a free open source planetarium app for PC/MAC/Linux. It’s a great tool for planning observing sessions.
NASA Eyes on the Solar System: an immersive 3D solar system and space mission simulator – free for the PC /MAC. I maintain the unofficial NASA Eyes Facebook page.

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More Posts in this Series:
"In the Sky This Week"

78  |  What Do We Lose When We Sacrifice Science?

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69  |  To err is human… to admit it, is science

By Br. Guy Consolmagno  |  25 Mar 2021  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

86  |  In the Sky this Week – February 13, 2018

By Robert Trembley  |  13 Feb 2018

88  |  In the Sky this Week – March 7, 2018

By Robert Trembley  |  7 Mar 2018

89  |  In the Sky this Week – March 13, 2018

By Robert Trembley  |  13 Mar 2018

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