Skynotes
From South Dublin Astronomical Society
Current moon phase. Image from USNO.
- These sky notes are updated every two months and give you the low down on what's up in the skies during the period. If there is any aspect of the notes you do not understand, or would like more comprehensive details of a particular event, then feel free to contact the author, John Flannery, at
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- Links to web sites where you will find more detailed information about particular phenomena are highlighted at the end of this page. An archive of previous months skynotes is availble.
Skynotes for March 2008
Welcome to another sky notes column bringing you all the celestial highlights during March 2008. The notes for this month have been contributed by Neill McKeown of the East Antrim Astronomical Society. All times are in Universal Time (UT – same as Winter Time).
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Useful Resources
Another good site for comprehensive sky notes is that hosted by Ian Morrison at Jodrell Bank in the UK. Ian also has a sky notes podcast that you can download and listen to under the stars.
A good sky chart for the month can be downloaded at SkyMaps.com (the northern hemisphere map is geared towards latitude 40-degrees north but is still pretty valid for Ireland).
Satellite predictions and passes of the International Space Station are available from Heavens Above This site also provides details of Iridium flares.
The Sun
At the start of the month the Sun rises at 07:15 and sets at 18:00. By the end of the month it is rising at 07:00 BST and sets at 20:00 BST.
Summer Time begins at 01:00 on the morning of the March 30th when the clocks going forward one hour.
The Planets
At the beginning of March it may be possible to see both Venus and Mercury in the morning sky before it becomes too light. The pair rise 45 minutes before the Sun on the 1st The gap between the two then widens and Venus passes Neptune on the 7th. The planet now considered the Solar System's most distant may be too faint to spot in the brightening sky however. Mercury is swamped by the dawn mid-month but Venus can be followed with the naked eye after sunrise if you locate it beforehand.
Jupiter is purely a morning sky object and rises two before the Sun on the 1st and is 2½ hours ahead of it by the 30th.
Saturn is not long after opposition but returns to it's pre-February brightness by the end of the month when it is once again magnitude 0.4.
Mars fades by over half a magnitude during March, going from 0.2 to 0.8. The disk shrinks during the same period from 9.06" to 7.1". Mars is visible throughout much of the night and is not setting until around 03h 30m by month’s end. The Red Planet slips past the open star cluster M35 in Gemini on the night of March 10th. Mars passes less than ½° from the magnitude 3.0 star Mebsuta (epsilon Geminorum) on the evening of March 29th.
Uranus is badly placed for observation this month as it is at conjunction on the 8th. By mid-month it has become a morning object, but rises less than half an hour before the Sun by month's end.
Neptune is a morning object this month. It can be found in Capricornus. At the start of the month, it rises less than an hour after the Sun at 06:45 and by month's end it rises more than an hour before the Sun at 05:50 BST. It maintains its brightness at magnitude +8.0 during the month.
The Moon
March phases: New Moon is on the 7th, First Quarter on the 14th, Full Moon this month is on the 21st, and Last Quarter is on the 29th.
- On the morning of March 3rd, a 21% illuminated waning crescent moon lies close to Jupiter low in the southeast. See if you follow Jupiter during the daytime by using the Moon as a guide. Be very careful if attempting this in case you accidentally sweep up the Sun.
- On the morning of the 4th, a 13% illuminated waning crescent moon lies between Jupiter, and the pairing of Venus and Mercury, low in the southeast before sunrise.
- On the morning of the 5th, a 6% illuminated waning crescent moon lies close to Venus and Mercury, low in the southeast before sunrise.
- On the evening of the 8th, a very thin 1% illuminated waxing crescent moon may be observed in the west just after sunset. Please be sure that the Sun is below the horizon before attempting this. Moonset will be around 19:30, over an hour after sunset.
- On the evening of the 12th, a 32% illuminated waxing crescent moon lies close to M45, the Pleiades.
- On the evening of the 14th/morning of the 15th, a 57% illuminated waxing gibbous moon lies close to Mars.
- On the 17th, an 84% illuminated waxing gibbous moon lies within less than four degrees of M44, the Beehive Cluster, in the early evening as darkness falls.
- On the morning of the 19th, a 92% illuminated waxing gibbous moon lies close to Saturn with Regulus (alpha Leonis) lying between the two.
- On the morning of the 27th, a 75% illuminated waning gibbous moon lies close to Antares (alpha Scorpii).
- On the morning of the 31st, a 36% illuminated waning crescent moon lies close to Jupiter, low in the southeastern sky.
Meteors
There are no major meteor showers this month.
The 2008 meteor shower calendar produced by the International Meteor Organisation is now available on their web site
Minor Planets
Asteroid (8) Flora (magnitude +9) lies less than two degrees north of epsilon Tauri just after midnight on the morning of the 6th.
Comets
Comet 17P/Holmes can still be located in Perseus for the month of March. It is fading with current observations estimating its brightness at magnitude +4.8. For the first week of the month it lies south of epsilon Persei and thereafter treks slowly towards Auriga.
Comet 46P/Wirtanen peaked at magnitude +8.3 in February and now is slowly fading. Current observations estimate the comet's brightness at magnitude +9.0. It starts the month in Aries and moves in a northeasterly direction. In the early hours of the 9th it can be located halfway between zeta Persei and M45, the Pleiades. It then moves into Auriga and at around 22h on the evening of the 21st the comet passes less than a degree south of iota Aurigae. In the last week of March it will pass by the splashy open clusters M36 and M38.
Up to date information and finder charts for comets can be found at here and Skyhound's comet page -- both these pages will also have the latest ephemerides.
Deep Sky
On the deep sky front this month, the Double Cluster – NGC 869 and NGC 884 makes for a great sight in Perseus.
In Ursa Major – galaxies M81 and M82 can be observed.
In Leo, we have several galaxies on view including the Leo Triplet - M65, M66 and NGC 3628. M95, M96 and M105 can also be observed here.
The place to really find galaxies is in Virgo. The Virgo supercluster can be found here with numerous galaxies on view. Also in Virgo, M104 - the Sombrero Galaxy can be found.
In Coma Berenices, there is M64 - the Black-Eye Galaxy. Also check out the constellation Canes Venatici with the globular cluster - M3 and several galaxies including M51 - the Whirlpool Galaxy and M63 - the Sunflower Galaxy.
Finally there are some excellent open clusters in Auriga, Gemini and Cancer - M35 in Gemini, M36, M37 and M38 in Auriga and M44 – The Beehive Cluster and M67 in Cancer.
For further observing information, check out the EAAS Stargazers page.
General Notes
Always keep an eye out for Aurorae. Check out Mark Stronge's home page for the most up-to-date information on the aurorae. Another good site is Space Weather
Other interesting naked eye phenomena to look out for include the Zodiacal Light and the Gegenschein. Both are caused by sunlight reflecting off dust particles which are present in the solar system. The Zodiacal Light can be seen in the West after evening twilight has disappeared or in the East before the morning twilight. The best time of year to see the phenomenon is late-Feb to early-April in the evening sky and September/October in the morning sky -- it's then that the ecliptic, along which the cone of the zodiacal light lies, is steepest in our skies. The Gegenschein can be seen in the area of the sky opposite the sun. To view either, you must get yourself to a very dark site to cut out the light pollution. Moonlight also hampers the view.
Clear Skies,
Neill McKeown