The winter triangle will meet the “Mars triangle” in the night sky this month

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We are now shortly behind the center of the astronomical winter -at this moment that marks the Midway point between the winter solstice in December and the Vernal equinocation of March. This moment took place on February 3 at 4.11.11 p.m. Eastern Time, and falling as a darkness this week, we have what many call “winter triangle” as “winter triangle” that dominate the southeast of the sky.

This large, almost equivalent triangle consists of three of the brightest stars in the sky, each of which belongs to their own constellation. The brightest is the bluish -white star Sirius (size -1.45) in Canis Major the Big Dog; The brightest of all the bang. Next is yellow-white procyon (size +0.37) in the brightness in Moll, the small dog. The name Procyon is derived from ancient Greek, which means “in front of the dog” because it precedes the “dog star” Sirius if it travels over the sky due to the rotation of our earth. From the middle of the northern defender, Procyon rises about 25 minutes in front of the dazzling Sirius above the east-southeast horizon over the eastern northeast horizon. After all, there is reddish prayeruse (size +0.48), in Orion the Hunter, a star that is known for its irregular variability of brightness. These stars appear in this order when the sky of dusk becomes dark. This outstanding trio crosses the meridian around 9 p.m. when you wait until around 2 a.m. The triangle started in the West Südwest.

Usually this is the best known triangular star sample of the winter sky. But this year there is an exception.

Temporary triangle

There is also a much smaller triangle configuration in our evening sky today, although it is only temporary, since one of the three points on the triangle is not marked by a star but by a planet. In view of this week around 6:30 p.m. local time, we see an almost perfect Ischenkellian triangle formed by the light stars that mark the heads of Gemini, Pollux and Castor and the brilliant planetary.

Since the Mars is the brightest of the three points, I suggest that we call it “the Mars triangle”.

The brilliant yellow-orange light of Mars (size –0.6) at the apex. The orange Sternpollux (size +1.15) and the nearby white star race (size +1.58) form the basis of the reverse triangle. The Pollux Mars and Castor Mars pages of the triangle measure a length of about 7 degrees, while the Pollux-Castor side is about 4.5 degrees. Note that your concentrated fist, which is held at arm length, measures a width of approximately 10 degrees.

Form in the flow

But in contrast to the winter triangle, which consists of fixed stars, the Mars triangle will be in a constant river state in the coming weeks, since the Mars is slowly shifting its position against the background stars.

Since December 7, Mars has been backwards (backward) movement and has shifted west in front of the star background. That night the Mars was good east of the twins, in the adjacent zodiac constellation of crab from the crab; Just a few degrees from the famous Bienstar -Stern Cluster. Since that night, Mars has been tracking a path west in front of the star background.

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On January 12, Mars crossed the borders of Gemini and on January 16, it formed an almost perfect straight line with Pollux and Castor. With Pollux and Castor, a different kind of Isceles triangle to the west formed on February 2 and formed a different kind of Isceles triangle on February 2, with Pollux marking the apex and Mars and Castor, which formed the basis.

Now we have a “more broadcasters” triangle formed by this trio, and it will not change much in the next few weeks.

And there is a good reason for that. On February 24, Mars will get its second inpatient point in his retrograde loop and turn around and return on a more normal course to the background stars. As a result, the Mars triangle will be changed again and is similar to a right triangle configuration on March 10, with the hypotenuse being formed by Mars and Castor and the right angle at Pollux. After that, the appearance of a triangle is increasingly distorted until Mars, Pollux and Castor will finally be released in a straight line on April 9.

And brightness too!

Note that Mars is currently going back from the earth and consequently will be dimmer in the coming days and weeks. At the moment it is 70 million miles (113 million km) from the earth and shines in size -0.6; It would describe it as third in the brightness under the stars, only behind Sirius and Canopus.

By April 9, Mars will have decreased to a distance of 182 million km from earth and will have dropped up to a size of +0.6. This is still light and ranks under the top 10 brightest stars, but it will shine with only a third of the charisma that it is doing now.

Read more: Night sky for tonight: visible planet, stars and more in the sky of this evening

Return movement explained

For the most part, the planets move east through the constellations. This is called direct movement, because in this direction it revolves around the sun. Sometimes, however – and this is what is currently happening in the case of Mars – a planet seems to be turning and moving to the west. You retrograde for a while before you pick up your normal movement to the east. They should be stationary at the curves (where Mars will take place on February 24). And so the planets seem to march in a series of loops across the sky. These loops mystified the old astronomers such as Claudius Ptolemaios (85-165 AD), but can be easily explained and understood today.

It was only in 1543, when the great Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). By roaming the earth from its sacred position in the middle of the solar system and replacing it through the sun, he was able to triumphantly explain the puzzle of the apparent “reverse movement effect” of the planets.

In fact, it is the same effect that is achieved on the highway when handing over another car: both cars go in the same direction, but you move slower. When you come by, the slower car seems to move backwards in relation to the faster. Copernicus simply applied the same effect on the planets in the room. In the current situation, both the earth and the Mars move around the sun in the same direction, but the slower – Mars – seems to move backwards compared to faster, earth.

This reverse movement began to manifest after Mars arrived at its first inpatient point on December 7th. Mars then started to push west again. The earth overtook Mars on January 15.

Finally, on February 24, the combined movements of earth and Mars will cancel the apparent reverse movement, with Mars reaching a second inpatient point. From then on, Mars will return to the east and resume its normal path to the east under the stars.

So enjoy the Mars triangle while it still takes, because after mid-March it will no longer be.

Would you like to see stars like Castor and Pollux or take a look at Mars? Our leaders on Best telescopes And Best binoculars are a helpful instrument to get a close-up view of the night sky. And if you want to take photos of the night sky, take a look at our guides for instructions Best cameras for astrophotography And Best lenses for astrophotography.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History MagazineThe Farmer’s and other publications.