Menkent Mania 2021

On Sunday May 30th 2021, the star Menkent rises and rolls along the horizon heralding the arrival of Christmas Australis! The following three guides are designed to assist observing the star Menkent. Click on the icons to open the corresponding files.         Menkent Guide                             Menkent Pure                          Menkent Real (With constellation lines)                         (Without atmosphere                (Atmosphere included                                  for clarity.         )                       for more reality.    ) The observation of Menkent from Bognor Regis on Monday May 31st at 22:50 was confirmed. This was around 1 hour and 40 minutes after sundown. According to Stellarium the transit was at 22:32 and the altitude was given as 2 degrees, 39 minutes. So, in fact, Menkent was well clear of the horizon and did not just roll along it. Consequently, when investigating low-level objects using Stellarium it is better to remove the ground (press the G key) and use the horizon for guidance (press the H key). A representation of a method to observe Menkent (using binoculars) is given in the following diagram based on notes taken on May 31st 2021.  Locate Spica in Virgo and then gamma Hya. Sweep left and down to find pi Hya.  Next locate the Head of Centaurus. The top three stars act as an arrow pointing to Menkent.  Follow the arrow to find Menkent.  Each circle shows the field of view through binoculars. So this is what an altitude of 2 degrees,  39 minutes looks like through binoculars; a useful gauge when considering other low-level objects.  

Menkent Observation 2021