[meteorite-list] Vesta and Mars

From: MexicoDoug_at_aol.com <MexicoDoug_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat Jan 7 02:05:02 2006
Message-ID: <243.4d0efed.30f0c1f2_at_aol.com>

Hola List...

Has anyone seen brilliant Vesta tonight in the Americas? Get out the
binoculars! She's at opposition, magnitude about 6.2, and beautiful, right now as
high up as she can get on the ecliptic right in the heart of Pollux, in the
constellation Gemini. Find Betelgeuse (the brightest red armpit of Orion the
Hunter) and find the Twins on the way to the zenith. Pollux is the brighter
twin. Vesta mag. 6.2 is practically colinear with Pollux, making the third
dimmest point of a triangle with two stars in Gemini around Pollux' waist
(Mekbuda mag. 3.8 and Wasat mag. 3.5). The Moon has set in the Eastern Time
Zone and Mars will soon be below the horizon, but and Vesta is currently at the
best viewing for a two and a half period!

Vesta is visible in the darkest night skies now with the naked eye and is an
easy binocular object. Tonight is opposition. If you want a chance to see
her, step out in the cold and sketch out Gemini with the binocs, and fill in
all the interior points of light through the binoculars ... and then see
which one is that big hunk of reflective Eucrite out there! Only about a half
dozen stars between the twins are brighter than Vesta...

Clear skies, tonight's her night - A Vestan Night!
Saludos, Doug
Received on Sat 07 Jan 2006 02:04:18 AM PST