Monthly Night Sky Report: March 2024

             Introduction

    February had few opportunities for stargazers over Utah. Most of the month was cloudy and stormy, with a few brief glimpses of the stars above. I could see Venus early in the month and Jupiter between the clouds, but not much else. 

    Weather permitting, March may be a good month for stargazers to break out their gear and get back out under the stars. This month will usually bring a temperature warm-up over Utah and occasionally, more stormy weather. March lacks a major meteor shower, and many of the planets are close to the Sun, making this month a quiet one, which might be a good thing. March is the best time of the year to participate in a Messier Marathon, viewing as many of the 110 objects as possible in a single night. 

             

Mercury

    Mercury can be found in the evening sky during March. The innermost planet will have its best appearance of the month when it reaches its greatest eastern elongation on the 24th. Leading up to this point, the tiny planet will brighten, reaching its brightest magnitude of -1.5 on the 9th. The following evening, a thin crescent moon can be found close to Mercury. Don't forget that this tiny planet, like the Moon and Venus, goes through phases that can be viewed through binoculars or a telescope.    

  

Venus

    Venus will rise about an hour before the Sun at the beginning of March and about 30 minutes before the Sun as the month ends. On the first morning of the month, Mars can be found close by, less than 4°, but will be hard to spot due to its dim 1.26 magnitude. The pair of planets will drift apart, and by the 7th, a thin crescent Moon can be found rising before the two planets. On the 8th, the Moon can be found between the pair. During the 3rd week of March, Venus will meet up with Saturn in the morning sky. This conjunction occurs on the 21st, with the pair of planets being less than 0.5° apart.    

    

Mars

    Mars can still be found in the morning sky but will be hard to spot in the morning twilight due to its dim magnitude. On the 1st, Venus can be found less than 4° away. On the 7th, a thin crescent Moon can be found just 9° to the right of Mars. On the 8th, the Moon can be found between Venus and Mars. The Red Planet will continue to pull away from the Sun throughout the month. Observers with binoculars can watch Saturn and Mars move closer together until their conjunction in early April. 

Jupiter

Saturn

    Jupiter will be at its best during early March, when it can be found high above the western horizon shortly after sunset. As the days go by, Jupiter will sink ever closer to the horizon, allowing Earth's atmosphere to interfere with binocular and telescope viewing. By March 13th, a thin crescent Moon will join Jupiter in the evening sky, being just 4° away.  

   Saturn was recently in conjunction with the Sun and won't be visible until later in the month. perhaps the best viewing will come near the 21st when Venus passes within 0.5° of Saturn. A pair of binoculars or a telescope will help locate the dim-ringed planet. As the month continues, Mars, Saturn, and Venus will form a line along the ecliptic. On the 31st, Mars will lead the pack by rising above the mountains around 6:00 A.M. Saturn will follow about 20 minutes later, with brilliant Venus bringing up the rear 15 minutes later.      

   

       

Neptune

Uranus

    

    Uranus can be found just 8° to the left of Jupiter during the first evening of the month. This distance will decrease as the month progresses, ending at just 3.5° of separation. The Moon will join this ice giant in the evening sky on the 14th. Be sure to break out a pair of binoculars or a telescope to view this planet.

    Unfortunately, Neptune will reach conjunction with the Sun on March 17th and be lost from view.   

Zodiacal Light, a Comet, and Messier Marathon

     March lacks a major meteor shower, but all is not lost for some great stargazing. This month is the best month for viewing the zodiacal light after sunset. An observer must get away from all light pollution and have a clear view of the western horizon. The zodiacal light will look like an upside-down ice cream cone extending from the western horizon all the way to the zenith, through Taurus and the Pleiades, if the location is dark enough. I recommend using a camera to capture this light as their sensors collect more light than our eyes. This year, the first two weeks of March are ideal due to little to no Moon being found in the western sky. The last few days of the month will also be great to spot the zodiacal light. 

    Comet Pons-Brooks will reach magnitudes that can be seen with a pair of binoculars but may reach unaided eye status if it has an outburst. Watch for this comet to pass through Pegasus, below Andromeda, and head towards Pisces during the first half of the month. Pons-Brooks will continue through Pisces and end the month in Aries. Towards the end of the month, Pons-Brooks is expected to reach unaided-eye visibility but will still be best viewed through binoculars. A dark sky site will also help in locating this comet. Pons-Brooks will be visible for about 90 minutes after sunset throughout March.

    March also brings the best time of the year to participate in the Messier Marathon. This is the time when all 110 objects of the Messier catalog can be viewed in a single night! However, instead of starting at M1, the Crab Nebula, observers should start on M74, the Phantom Galaxy, in Pisces. This object will be one of the first to sink below the western horizon after sunset. The last object to rise before the Sun will be M30, the Jellyfish Cluster in Capricornus. There is a chance that this may be the only object that an observer in Utah might miss due to the morning twilight, but it's still worth the effort! I have updated my Messier Catalog to include a new tab at the bottom of the order the objects should be viewed on March 8th and 9th. This time of the month will be ideal since it will be near the New Moon phase. The viewing order of the Messier objects should be about the same all month, but for observers in a different location, I recommend using the Messier Marathon Planner created by Larry McNish. Simply put in observation location and date to get viewing order and which Messier objects can be viewed.  

Monthly Breakdown

March 03: Last Quarter Moon🌗
March 07: Moon passes within 4° of Mars 
March 08: Moon passes within 3° of Venus
March 08: Messier Marathon  

March 09: Messier Marathon
March 10: New Moon 🌑
March 13: Moon passes within 4° of Jupiter
March 14: Moon passes within 3° of Uranus
March 17: First Quarter Moon 🌓
March 17: Neptune-Sun conjunction
March 19: Vernal equinox
March 21: Venus and Saturn conjunction
March 24: Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation 
March 25: Full Moon 🌕

         

Now get outside and look up!

Planet images were taken by NASA.

Andrew vs. the Cosmos image was taken by Jeff Greenland.

The Milky Way and Trees image was taken by Andrew Greenland.

Orion, Taurus, and Pleiades image was taken by Andrew Greenland.

    

Midmonth Check-In: February 2024 and the Asteroid Belt

  Introduction and Monthly Reminders   

    February has brought a mix of clear skies with warm temperatures and days filled with clouds, rain, and snow. Due to the unpredictable weather, I was unfortunately unable to view some of the highlights of the first half of the month. However, I was able to see Venus and the Moon in the morning sky before their close approach on the 7th. 

    The second half of the month will allow observers to view the Moon passing close by Jupiter and Uranus, weather permitting. Well-equipped stargazers may still view a few comets and the zodiacal light if they bundle up and get away from all sources of light pollution. A conjunction between Mars and Venus may be seen on the 22nd. A clear view of the eastern horizon will be required to view this rare event.  

    Asteroids

    Instead of moving on to Jupiter after discussing Mars last month, I will cover the asteroids in the solar system. A majority of the known asteroids can be found between Mars and Jupiter. These asteroids are known as Main-Belt asteroids. The Asteroid Belt is estimated to contain between one and two million asteroids that are larger than half a mile and millions of smaller asteroids. It is thought that the asteroid belt was created due to the massive amount of gravity produced by Jupiter that is felt in this region of the solar system. If all the material in the asteroid belt were to coalesce to form a planet, it would be about the size of the Earth's Moon. Many movies depict asteroid belts as being tightly packed with chunks of rock, making it nearly impossible to fly a spacecraft through. The asteroid belt of our solar system is not like this! The asteroids are spread far apart making it easy to fly a spacecraft through if needed. 

    The four largest asteroids in the asteroid belt are Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea. Ceres is the largest having a nearly 300-mile diameter and is considered a dwarf planet, like Pluto. The mass of these four asteroids make up about half of the mass of the entire asteroid belt. Most asteroids have an irregular shape and are often referred to as "space potatoes" by astronomers. 

    The compositional makeup of asteroids is divided into three different categories: chondrite, stony, and metallic. The chondrite (C-type) asteroids are composed of clay and other silicate rocks. These asteroids have a low albedo and appear dark in color. C-type asteroids are the most common and oldest in our solar system.

    The stony (S-type) asteroids are made up of silicate material and nickel-iron. These asteroids make up about 17% of the total known asteroids and have a higher albedo than C-type asteroids. This means that more light is reflected off the surface, making them easier to detect with an optical telescope.

    The metallic (M-type) asteroids are made of a nickel-iron compound. These asteroids are the most rare but also have the highest albedo. M-type asteroids are the densest and often the smallest. Metallic asteroids are also thought to be the source of iron meteorites found on Earth.

    Asteroids can also be found sharing the orbit of a planet. These asteroids are known as Trojan Asteroids and are found at the L4 Lagrange Point which is in front of the planet, and the L5 Lagrange Point which is trailing the planet. At these two points, the gravity of the Sun and planet balance each other out, allowing the objects in this location be to stable. Most of the known Trojan Asteroids can be found around Jupiter, while others have been detected around Mars, Neptune, and even the Earth. Jupiter's Trojan Asteroids are estimated to be near the same amount as that of the Main-Belt Asteroids.

    The final classification of asteroids is known as Near Earth Objects or NEOs. These objects have orbits that pass close to the Earth and have the potential of crashing to the surface of our planet. Thousands of NEOs have been discovered and their orbits have been mapped, allowing scientists to find the objects that will impact the Earth. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a website that shows data on these objects including the chance they have of impacting the Earth. There are two specific programs for monitoring NEOs. Sentry monitors long-term NEOs while Scout monitors the newly discovered NEOs. A legend can be found at the bottom of the list of data that describes each column. The ones that most people will gravitate towards will be the Torino Scale of the Sentry list and the Impact Rating of the Scout list. The larger the number, the higher the chance the asteroid has of colliding with the Earth and causing lots of damage. Notice that most of the objects have a zero rating on both lists. Next time there is a big news story about an asteroid that will impact the Earth, be sure to check out the Sentry and Scout data first!          

    Check back soon for my next Monthly Night Sky Report!

   

 

    

Now get outside and look up!