Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

Monday 6th to Sunday 12th February 2023

Through January, I made several mentions of comet C/2022 E3 ZTF and it can still be seen at the beginning of February. The comet will have a magnitude of around +6.0 so you will need binoculars or a small telescope.

It can be quite challenging to locate the comet, but if you venture outside around 1am on Saturday 11th and find planet Mars in the west, the comet will be a little above and to the left of the planet. If you venture outside the following night, at 1am on Sunday 12th, the comet will then appear a little below and to the left of Mars.

Do you remember the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission that was unable to land in the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon because their Oxygen tank exploded en route? Later, Apollo 14 landed there instead and the rock samples they took indicated that the area was hit by a meteorite over 4.5 billion years ago.

Well the early hours of Sunday 12th is an ideal opportunity for you to take a look at the crater Fra Mauro and the surrounding highlands yourself. After you have finished trying to see the comet, turn your gaze towards the south east, where by 1am a Quarter Moon will have risen above the horizon.

If you imagine the surface of the Moon as a clock face, the Fra Mauro region is towards what would be the 7 o'clock position, a little down and left of centre. I have provided some diagrams, courtesy of astronomer Andrew Planck, to help locate the Fra Mauro region and the craters within it.

Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2023
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