Published on : 12/05/2022 – 10:18
The event not to be missed will be the total lunar eclipse this Monday, May 16 in the early morning. This eclipse is not the easiest to observe because it will be observable very low on the western horizon at the time of moonset (just before sunrise). If you have a pair of binoculars, do not hesitate to use them.
As a reminder, a total lunar eclipse takes place when the Sun, the Earth and the Moon are perfectly aligned. The Moon then enters the cone of shadow of the Earth. As the Earth has an atmosphere, the sunlight is filtered and only the red manages to illuminate the cone of shadow. The eclipsed moon then takes on a beautiful copper red color. We are waiting for your photos!
In the West of Africa (in Morocco, Senegal for example), the Moon will emerge from the shadow just at the setting of the Moon while in the East (Egypt, Madagascar), the Moon will set in eclipse.
Planets to observe
The ballet of the planets continues in the second part of the night above the eastern horizon. The sky offers you a nice program with a nice rapprochement between the Moon and Saturn on May 22, a nice triangle made up of Mars, Jupiter and the Moon on May 25an rvery close approach between Venus and the Moon on May 27 and another very close rapprochement between Mars and Jupiter on May 29. Do not hesitate to try to take pictures of all these reconciliations. Today smartphones allow you to take such photos. The best is of course to use a small tripod to stabilize the image. Don’t forget to focus so that the planets are as precise as possible in your images.
Centaurus Constellation
I invite our listeners to discover the constellation Centaurus which is a little difficult to see on the horizon for countries in northern Africa but which becomes very easy to detect for observers in the southern hemisphere and near the Equator. The Centaur is one of the largest constellations and it is supposed to be seen as a half-man, half-horse creature. In absolute terms, its shape is not easy to trace and I already invite you to detect the alpha and beta stars of Centauri, two very bright stars not far from the Southern Cross. FYI, alpha centaur is the closest star system to us, located 4 light years away, or 40,000 billion km! If you have a pair of binoculars, not far from these two stars, you will be able to observe the largest observable globular cluster, Omega Centauri.
A new glasses to win
A new astronomical telescope is put into play thanks to our partners SSVI and RFI. To participate, send on our Facebook page Astronomy Africa your most beautiful photos or videos or even a nice text that you have written. The winner will be announced in July. Good comments. Good heavens to all and don’t forget the sky is the biggest screen, just look up.