…
..
.by Anura Guruge

Related posts:
1/ Where to spot C/2011 L4 in northern skies — Mar. 10, 2013.
2/ Naked Eye Visible … — Mar. 6, 2013.
3/ Comet First of two BIG 2013 comets: C/2011 L4 (Pan-STARRS)
>>— Mar. 5, 2013.

Not fair. This is over smoggy, orangy L.A. on March 12 at 9:31 pm their time. Click to ENLARGE.

Today was the first day in a week that we have had clear skies. Nonetheless I have been out each night scanning the western skies over central NH. Nada. I am bummed. C/1973 E1 (Kohoutek) redux. Yes, in 1973 I went trudging up hills looking for Kohoutek. Did finally see it, faintly. Very anticlimactic.

Click to ENLARGE. The night sky over NH, looking west, around 8:15 pm tonight, St. Patrick’s Day, from the other side of Prospect Mountain in the Lakes Region.

Since this was our first clear night, at 8pm we went out (though we had just got back from skiing at Loon). We went up Prospect Mountain road — since we live right off it. The light pollution really annoys me. One farm was lit up like a sports stadium — and they complain about how tight their finances are. Turn off the lights.

We had three pairs of binoculars and a good compass. Stopped multiple times. Nothing.

But a beautiful array of celestial objects. Jupiter in perfect conjunction with the Moon. Pleiades. Not as bright as it is in November. Yes, it is also called the ‘Seven Sisters‘. Did you know that it is the Subaru logo? Check it out. Subaru is the Japanese name for the Pleiades. Sirius, the Dog Star, was also clearly visible.