Astronomy News for the Month of March 2020


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For amateur radio operators and scanner enthusiasts, when in the Denver metro area, please join the Colorado Astronomy Net on the Rocky Mountain Radio League's WØWYX 146.94 MHz and 449.825 MHz repeaters.
Due to hardware issues, links with the Allstar node, Echolink and the Cripple Creek repeater are down until further notice.
The net meets on Tuesday nights at 7 P.M. Mountain Time (US).

Obtain your Amateur Radio (Ham) License or your General Radio Operator's License (GROL)! Visit the South Metro VE Team website for more information. The South Metro VE Team provides test sessions on the 1st Saturday of each month at our new Eagle Street Facility, The City of Centennial, 7272 South Eagle Street, Centennial, Colorado 80112-4244 at 9am.

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For special JPL programs and presentations in your area visit the JPL Solar System Ambassador website.
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In this Newsletter...


Background screen credits: NGC5775
Imaged March 21/22, 2001
using the 16" Kitt Peak Visitors Center telescope
as part of the Kitt Peak Advanced Observing Program.



The Month At-A-Glance
A calendar displaying the daily astronomical events.


06 day moon

The Moon

Phases

Apogee/Perigee

Moon/Planet Pairs

For reference: The Full Moon subtends an angle of ~0.5°.

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The Planets & Dwarf Planets

Planetary Reports generated by "TheSkyX" software. These reports provide predicted data for the planets for the first of each month for the current year. The rise and set times for the Sun and the Moon for each day of the month as well as meteor shower radiants are also included in the reports. These reports have been optimized for the Denver, Colorado location, however, the times will be approximate for other locations on Earth.

(All times are local unless otherwise noted.)

Planetary Highlights for March

"As we enter the waning weeks of winter, Venus dominates the evening sky for more than three hours after sunset. And because of the prominence of the planet, March is a great time to use Venus as your guide to spot Uranus, especially if you've never seen it before. The pair stand close together for a couple of days early in the month. However, the main planetary focus is in the morning sky. Get up before dawn to spot two planetary conjunctions and three great planets -- Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn -- glowing brightly in the southeastern sky. It's a stunning collection that only grows more striking when the Moon briefly joins the party." Astronomy Magazine, March 2020, P. 36.

Mercury

Is stationary on the 9th. Mercury is at greatest western elongation (28°) on the 23rd. Mercury rises at 5:54 a.m. on the 1st and about 5:52 a.m. by month's end. Look for Mercury low to the east-southeast before sunrise. Mercury is in the constellation of Aquarius this month shining at magnitude 0.5 on the 15th.

Venus

Sets at 9:37 p.m. on the 1st and about 11:25 p.m. by month's end. Venus is at greatest eastern elongation (46°) on the 24th. Look for Venus soon after sunset to the southwest. Venus moves from the constellation of Pisces into Taurus shining at magnitude -4.4 on the 15th.

Earth Daylight Saving Time begins for most of the U.S. on the 8th at 2 a.m. The Vernal equinox occurs at 11:50 p.m. EDT on the 19th.
Mars

Rises at 3:23 a.m. on the 1st and about 3:43 a.m. by month's end. Look to the southeast before sunrise to spot Mars. Mars is in conjunction with Jupiter on the 20th. Mars is in conjunction with Saturn on the 31st. Mars moves from the constellation of Sagittarius into Capricornus this month shining at magnitude 1.0.

Jupiter

Rises at 4:00 a.m. on the 1st and about 3:16 a.m. by month's end. Look for Jupiter in the southeast before sunrise. Jupiter is in the constellation of Sagittarius shining at magnitude -2.0.

Saturn

Rises at 4:30 a.m. on the 1st and around 3:37 a.m. by month's end. Look for Saturn in the southeast before sunrise. Saturn is in the constellation of Sagittarius shining at magnitude 0.7.

Uranus

Sets at 10:09 p.m. on the 1st and about 09:14 p.m. by month's end. By the time the Sun sets and the skies darken, Uranus is about 2° southeast of Venus and can be seen through a good pair of binoculars. Uranus is in the constellation of Aries shining at magnitude 5.9.

Neptune

Is in conjunction with the Sun on the 8th. Sets at 6:20 p.m. on the 1st. After conjunction, Neptune returns to the morning sky. Neptune rises about 5:54 a.m. by month's end. Neptune is not visible until late in the month, but still may be lost in the early morning twilight glow. Neptune is in the constellation of Aquarius shining at magnitude 8.0.

Dwarf Planets

Ceres

Rises at 5:41 a.m. on the 1st and around 5:15 a.m. by month's end. Even though Ceres rises a bit earlier this month, Ceres may still be lost in the early morning twilight. Ceres is in the constellation of Capricornus shining at magnitude 9.3.

Pluto

Rises at 4:19 a.m. on the 1st and around 3:20 a.m. by month's end. Pluto is situated between Jupiter and Saturn and may be visible if skies are dark enough. Pluto is in the constellation of Sagittarius shining at magnitude 14.8.

As always, good luck at spotting Neptune, Ceres and Pluto, a large telescope and dark skies will be needed.

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Astronomical Events

Meteor Showers

  • There are a few minor meteor showers but none that produce rates much higher than 2-5 per hour, except the Gamma Normids that extend over the period of March 11 to 21, with the maximum occurring on March 16. The maximum rate reaches about 5-9 meteors per hour.

    Meteor Shower Radiant Report

    For more information about Meteor Showers, visit Gary Kronk's Meteor Showers Online web page.

    Meteor Scatter (or Meteor burst communications) - "is a radio propagation mode that exploits the ionized trails of meteors during atmospheric entry to establish brief communications paths between radio stations up to 2,250 kilometres (1,400 mi) apart." Tune your shortwave or your HF amateur radio to 54.310 MHz SSB and see if you can hear any pings. Try other frequencies as well... 6m FT8 digital - 50.313 Mhz & 50.276 Mhz, JP-65 digital mode and the carrier frequencies of the lower VHF bands for TV channels 2, 3 & 4.

  • Comets

  • "The brightening of Comet PANSTARRS (C/2017 T2) is getting better every week as it approaches its peak in early May. If you prefer to see it during the evening hours, you will have to wait until Friday the 13th, when the Moon's glare doesn't spoil the view until after midnight. 


    
This is the last weekend the PanSTARRS is posing with the picturesque Heart and Soul nebula in Cassiopeia. For electronic detectors, it will appear as a green fuzzball on a colorful background, but for organic eyeballs, the comet will look like a gray cotton ball on a misty backdrop. For suburban observers, the dirty snowball is likely a challenge to spot with even a 10-inch scope, but the 9th-magnitude nebulosity is quite noticeable when using a 4-inch scope under dark, country skies." Astronomy Magazine, March 2020, P. 42.

  • For information, orbital elements and ephemerides on observable comets, visit the Observable Comets page from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

    For more information about Comets, visit Gary Kronk's Cometography.com webpage.

  • Eclipses

    Solar Eclipses

  • No solar eclipse activity this month.

    Lunar Eclipses

  • No lunar eclipse activity this month.
  • Observational Opportunities

  • Look for Venus and Uranus in the early evening sky soon after sunset.
  • Look for Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in the early morning before sunrise.
  • Look for Comet PanSTARRS in Cassiopeia.

  • Asteroids

    (From west to east)
    • Vesta is in the constellation of Taurus.
    • Euterpe is at opposition on the 14th in the constellation of Leo.
    • Juno is in the constellation of Virgo.

    • Information about the Minor Planets can be found at the Minor Planet Observer website.
    Ocultations

    IOTA Logo

  • Information on various occultations can be found by clicking the IOTA logo.
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    Subscriber Gallery

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    Member Meteor Sightings

    This is a new section where I will post meteor, fireball, etc sightings that have been published on the American Meteor Society's web site. I want to make this an active section of the web pages and newsletter and would like to publish the links to member sightings. If you have any published sightings, please provide me with the links and I will post them here for all to enjoy.

    Event ID Date/Time Location Observer Link
    3587-2015 2015-11-22 17:38 MST CO Kevin S 3587aw
    3829-2015 2015-12-05 18:06 MST Highlands Ranch, CO Burness A 3829a
    3871-2015 2015-11-13 01:55 MST CO Charles N 3871a
    986-2020 2020-02-21 22:20 MST CO Lukas S 986

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    Planetary/Lunar Exploration Missions

    (Excerpts from recent JPL mission updates)

    JPL Latest News
    The Latest from Space

    JPL Latest News

    February 27, 2020
    Robots Autonomously Navigate Underground in DARPA Challenge

    Full Article & Images

    "Whether robots are exploring caves on other planets or disaster areas here on Earth, autonomy enables them to navigate extreme environments without human guidance or access to GPS.

    The Subterranean Challenge, or SubT, is testing this kind of cutting-edge technology. Sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the contest concluded its second circuit on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Taking first in the competition was CoSTAR, a 12-robot, 60-person team led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (there were also winners declared for a separate, virtual competition)."

    Read the latest news and discoveries from JPL's dozens of active space missions exploring Earth, the solar system and worlds beyond.

    Past, Present, Future and Proposed JPL Missions.

    For special JPL programs and presentations in your area visit the JPL Solar System Ambassador web site.

    Juno - February 18, 2020
    DEEP MOTION

    Full Article & Images

    "NASA's Juno mission has provided its first science results on the amount of water in Jupiter's atmosphere. Published recently in the journal Nature Astronomy, the Juno results estimate that at the equator, water makes up about 0.25% of the molecules in Jupiter's atmosphere - almost three times that of the Sun. These are also the first findings on the gas giant's abundance of water since the agency's 1995 Galileo mission suggested Jupiter might be extremely dry compared to the Sun (the comparison is based not on liquid water but on the presence of its components, oxygen and hydrogen, present in the Sun)."

    Images from NASA's JunoCam.

    More information on the Juno mission is available at: Juno and Mission Juno.

    The public can follow the Juno mission on Facebook and Twitter.

    New Horizons - February 18, 2020
    Pluto at 90

    Full Article & Images

    "Ninety years ago today, Clyde Tombaugh, a young astronomer working at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, discovered Pluto. In doing so he unknowingly opened the door to the vast "third zone" of the solar system we now know as the Kuiper Belt, containing countless planetesimals and dwarf planets—the third class of planets in our solar system."

    New Horizons gallery

    Find New Horizons in the iTunes App Store.

    For more information on the New Horizons mission - the first mission to the ninth planet - visit the New Horizons home page.

    TESS - January 24, 2020
    How Earth Climate Models Help Scientists Picture Life on Unimaginable Worlds

    Full Article & Images

    "In a generic brick building on the northwestern edge of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center campus in Greenbelt, Maryland, thousands of computers packed in racks the size of vending machines hum in a deafening chorus of data crunching. Day and night, they spit out 7 quadrillion calculations per second. These machines collectively are known as NASA's Discover supercomputer and they are tasked with running sophisticated climate models to predict Earth's future climate.

    But now, they're also sussing out something much farther away: whether any of the more than 4,000 curiously weird planets beyond our solar system discovered in the past two decades could support life."

    For more information on the TESS mission, visit the Latest Tess Stories page.

    Past, Present, Future and Proposed JPL Missions

    Visit JPL's mission pages for current status.

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    Mars Missions

    Be A Martian

    Mars website mobile version is here!

    MARS WEATHER
    Mars Daily Weather Report

    Mars on the Go! NASA Be A Martian Mobile App
    If you want the latest news as it happens, try our Be A Martian app.
    Download on Mobile Devices
    Android | iPhone | Windows Phone
    JMARS

    JMARS is an acronym that stands for Java Mission-planning and Analysis for Remote Sensing. It is a geospatial information system (GIS) developed by ASU's Mars Space Flight Facility to provide mission planning and data-analysis tools to NASA's orbiters, instrument team members, students of all ages, and the general public.

    Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

    "The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) began in 1948, a decade before NASA. We are the world's only research institute to have sent instruments to all eight planets and Pluto.

    LASP combines all aspects of space exploration through our expertise in science, engineering, mission operations, and scientific data analysis. As part of CU, LASP also works to educate and train the next generation of space scientists, engineers and mission operators by integrating undergraduate and graduate students into working teams. Our students take their unique experiences with them into government or industry, or remain in academia to continue the cycle of exploration.

    LASP is an affiliate of CU-Boulder AeroSpace Ventures, a collaboration among aerospace-related departments, institutes, centers, government labs, and industry partners."

    LASP/MAVEN - February 11, 2020
    CU Boulder leads the nation in Cubesat launches

    Full Article & Images

    "Up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's (another) University of Colorado Boulder CubeSat!

    CU Boulder's role as a major force in cube satellites is being highlighted by Bryce Space and Technology, a space research and consulting firm.

    According to the company's just-released 2020 Bryce Small Sat Report, CU Boulder is leading all United States academic institutions and non-profits in the launch of small satellites between 2012 and 2019 and is No. 3 globally, behind only Japan's Kyushu Institute of Technology and Germany's Technical University of Berlin."

    Visit LASP and MAVEN for more information.

    Mars Science Laboratory - Curiosity - December 10, 2019
    Two Rovers to Roll on Mars Again: Curiosity and Mars 2020

    Full Article & Images

    "Curiosity won't be NASA's only active Mars rover for much longer. Next summer, Mars 2020 will be headed for the Red Planet. While the newest rover borrows from Curiosity's design, they aren't twins: Built and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, each has its own role in the ongoing exploration of Mars and the search for ancient life. Here's a closer look at what sets the siblings apart."

    Follow the Mars Curiosity rover on Foursquare.

    For information about NASA's partnership with Foursquare.

      Mars Rover Landing - Free for the Xbox 360 (requires Kinect)

      Visit the Mars Science Laboratory page.

    Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission - February 18, 2020
    NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Undergoes Memory Update

    Full Article & Image

    "From Feb. 17 to Feb. 29, 2020, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) will go on hiatus from its science mission and its relay operations while engineers on Earth conduct long-distance maintenance. During the hiatus, other orbiters will relay data from the Mars Curiosity rover and Mars InSight lander to Earth.

    The maintenance work involves updating battery parameters in the spacecraft's flash memory - a rare step that's been done only twice before in the orbiter's 15 years of flight. This special update is necessary because it was recently determined that the battery parameters in flash were out of date and if used, would not charge MRO's batteries to the desired levels."

    MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER HIRISE IMAGES
    All of the HiRISE images are archived here.

    More information about the MRO mission is available online.

    Mars Odyssey Orbiter - August 23, 2019
    What's Mars Solar Conjunction, and Why Does It Matter?

    Full Article and Images

    "The daily chatter between antennas here on Earth and those on NASA spacecraft at Mars is about to get much quieter for a few weeks.

    That's because Mars and Earth will be on opposite sides of the Sun, a period known as Mars solar conjunction. The Sun expels hot, ionized gas from its corona, which extends far into space. During solar conjunction, this gas can interfere with radio signals when engineers try to communicate with spacecraft at Mars, corrupting commands and resulting in unexpected behavior from our deep space explorers."

    Daily Mars Odyssey THEMIS Images
    Can be found at the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) website.

    The Odyssey data are available through a new online access system established by the Planetary Data System.

    Visit the Mars Odyssey Mission page.

    Journey to Mars - InSight - Revealing the Heart of Mars - February 24, 2020
    A Year of Surprising Science From NASA's InSight Mars Mission

    Full Article and Images

    "A new understanding of Mars is beginning to emerge, thanks to the first year of NASA's InSight lander mission. Findings described in a set of six papers published today reveal a planet alive with quakes, dust devils and strange magnetic pulses."

    Interactive selection of raw images taken by the cameras aboard InSight.

    Learn more about the InSight Mission.

    Mars Missions Status

    New Mars missions are being planned to include several new rover and sample collection missions. Check out the Mars Missions web page and the Mars Exploration page.

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    Astronomy Links and Other Space News

    (If you have a link you would like to recommend to our readers, please feel free to submit it.)

    Green Laser

    Colorado Astronomy Links

    Radio Astronomy Links

    Other Astronomy Links

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    Astronomical Lexicon

    Definitions of astronomical terms. Many of the astronomical terms used in this newsletter are defined here.

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    UT Logo

    Read the Universe Today Newsletter by clicking on the logo.

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    Acknowledgments and References

    Much of the information in this newsletter is from Astronomy® Magazine (Kalmbach Publishing), JPL mission status reports, the Internet, "Meteor Showers - A descriptive Catalog" by Gary W. Kronk, Sky & Telescope web pages, and other astronomical sources that I have stashed on my bookshelves.

    The author will accept any suggestions, constructive criticisms, and corrections. Please feel free to send me any new links or articles to share as well. I will try to accommodate any reasonable requests. Please feel free to send questions, comments, criticisms, or donations to the email address listed below. Enjoy!

    More Acknowledgements and References

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