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The Night Sky March 2021. Cancer Constellation

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The Night Sky March 2021. Cancer Constellation Binocular Observing March 2021 by Andrew Lohfink. The Night Sky March 2021. Cancer Constellation. Iota Cancri – A Double Star. Cancer lies between Gemini and Leo. It can be difficult to find as it’s main stars are not very bright. Look between Castor and Pollux of Gemini and The Sickle asterism of Leo and you can pick put 4 dull stars in an inverted “Y” shape – Cancer. Iota Cancri is at the top the this inverted “Y” and can just be seen with the naked eye. It is a true binary star with a separation of 31 arcseconds so needs at least x15 magnification mounted. It is a beautiful double with a fantastic colour difference and is sometimes compared to the famous Albireo. Messier 44 – An Open Cluster. M44 – also known as The Praesepe or The Beehive – is a famous open cluster in Cancer. Look below Iota Cancri in the inverted “Y” of Cancer to the next two visible stars Asellus Borealis and below this Asellus Australis. Slightly west of a point midway between these stars lies M44 which is visible as a naked eye misty patch. Best seen in low magnification wide field binoculars the misty patch is transformed into a glorious open cluster surrounded by four “manger stars” at each corner. Look for the patterns of stars at the centre of the cluster especially The House asterism. Messier 67 – An Open Cluster. M67 is easily found by looking 2 degrees west of Alpha Cancri which can be found at the east end of the inverted “Y” of cancer. It lies approximately 2700 light years distant and can be seen as a faint fuzzy patch in x10 binoculars. Higher magnifications of x20 or x25 may resolve several stars and with averted vision they appear / disappear and glitter lie diamonds on cotton wool. Leo Constellation. Regulus – A Double Star. The constellation Leo The Lion is easily recognised in the night sky. Look for The Sickle asterism which forms the head and front paws of the lion. The front paw star at the bottom of The Sickle is Regulus. It is a true binary with a separation of 3 arcminutes and so is easily split in all binoculars from x10 up. This binary has a dramatic difference in brightness of over 500! Vesta – An Asteroid. Vesta – An Asteroid. Throughout March the asteroid Vesta will be visible in binoculars from x10 upwards. ●Identify Theo Leonis towards the rear paws of Leo and Vesta will be visible slowly moving close to this star throughout March. ●At magnitude +6.1 it will be brighter than any star and should be easy to distinguish. It will also move as each night passes. The Sailboat Asterism. The Sailboat Asterism. The SailBoat asterism is a famous binocular asterism. Just above Leo lies the constellation Leo Minor. Look for the star 22 Leo Minoris which forms part of The Sailboat. In Binoculars it looks like an upside boat with different colour red stars in the mast..
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