Archive for month: March, 2014

Focus Constellations: Lynx, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Camelopardalis, Perseus, Auriga, Taurus, Orion, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Coma Berenices, Bootes

Comet Journal

The comets of 2013 visible to the naked eye are history. Comet Ison evaporated as it passed through the Sun’s corona in November and Comet C/2013 R1 Lovejoy will gradually drop from 9th to 12th magnitude as it moves southward in the predawn skies though Serpens Cauda and leaves the inner Solar System by June.

An outburst of Comet C/2012 X1 ( LINEAR ) in late October suddenly increased its magnitude by 250 times from 14 to 8 before it passed closest to the Sun at perihelion on Feb. 21st. As it moves through Aquila and Aquarius in the morning skies in March, April and May, scientists expect it to remain at magnitude 8 until June 27th when closest to Earth.

11th magnitude Comet C/2012 K1 ( PanSTARRS ) is dropping into the plane of the solar system along a steeply inclined orbit. It passes above Earth in April, reaches perihelion on the other side of the Sun on August 27th and may reach 6th magnitude when closest to and below Earth in southern hemisphere skies in November. It is currently tracking northwestward through Hercules in evening skies and will approach Bootes at the end of March. The comet may reach 9th magnitude in northern Bootes when at opposition on April 15th.

Mars Landers

Opportunity is on Solander Point on the rim of Endeavor Crater. It is climbing the highest hill encountered during the mission’s ten years on Mars. The hill is part of Murray Ridge rising southward from Solander Point as a ridge forming an elevated portion of the western rim of the 14 mile (22 kilometer) diameter crater. The ridge materials were uplifted by the great impact that excavated the crater billions of years ago, reversing the common geological pattern of older materials lying lower than younger ones.

On Sol 3541 (Jan. 8, 2014), while investigating a target in the Cape Darby area called Cape Elizabeth, mission scientists observed a jelly donut shaped rock dubbed Pinnacle Island which had not been visible in earlier images. They eliminated the proposal that angry Martians were stoning the rover for driving through sacred grounds when they noticed that Pinnacle Island probably broke off of an adjacent similar appearing overturned rock sitting in the rover’s tracks. Investigation of the donut shaped rock with available instruments revealed high levels of elements such as manganese and sulfur. These water-soluble ingredients were probably concentrated in the rock by the action of water. “This may have happened just beneath the surface relatively recently,” said Deputy Principal Investigator Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, “or it may have happened deeper below ground longer ago”.

Opportunity analyzed three more rocks on the ridge in detail by Sol 3588 (Feb. 26, 2014). Solar array energy production rose during the interval from 360 to 464 watt-hours per day.

Curiosity, the Science Laboratory rover, sustained damage to its aluminum wheels as it drove over sharp rocks during the 3 miles of travel since its August 2012 landing. Recent orbital images revealed a nearby relatively smoother path to Mt. Sharp, the long range destination of the mission. This path also leads to KMS-9 (Kimberly), the next proposed drilling site where three terrain types and a relatively dust-free surface are exposed according to science team collaborator Katie Stack of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

The intervening ridge separating the original route from the smooth topography is cut by a shallow valley called Dingo Gap which is blocked by a 3 foot high sand dune spanning the gap. The rover crossed the dune on Feb. 9th after confirming the smooth route on the other side. From the 9th to the end of February, Curiosity traveled over one mile southwestward along the smoother route between Dingo Gap and Kimberly, passing numerous outcrops displaying layered rock.

Meteor Showers

March is about the poorest month for meteor showers. The Gamma Normids on the 14th are a weak shower for observers in the southern hemisphere. The meteors will be lost in the glare of the waxing gibbous Moon.

Spring Equinox

March 20th marks the Vernal Equinox of Spring at 12:57 PM EDT when the Sun enters the astrological sign of Aries which no longer coincides with the constellation Aries. The Sun, Earth, and the constellation Pisces are currently lined up on the Vernal Equinox as we are now in the Age of Pisces. We were in the Age of Aries approximately 2000 years ago when the Sun, Earth and Aries were lined up on the Vernal Equinox. The Age of Aquarius will arrive in about 600 years when the precession of Earth’s axis causes the line up of Sun, Earth, and Aquarius on the Vernal Equinox when the axis is positioned at 90° from a line connecting Earth and Sun causing equal day and night over the entire planet.

Planet Plotting

Evening planets in March include Uranus which sets soon after the Sun but can be seen through binoculars at magnitude 5.9 in Pisces. Jupiter in Gemini rises before sunset and sets well after Midnight, dominating the evening sky. Mars in Virgo rises about 9:30PM and sets after sunrise. It is growing ever brighter as it approaches opposition next month. Saturn in Libra which rises before Midnight and sets after sunrise, is also becoming brighter in March.

Venus in Capricornus and Mercury in Capricornus and Aquarius are 1st magnitude morning planets which rise well before the Sun during the first part of March but rise slightly closer to sunrise as the month progresses. Neptune rises just before sunrise in early March and is better observed in late March when it rises earlier. It is within 1.2° of Mercury on the 22nd.

Planet……Constellation……Magnitude……Planet Passages

Sun………Aquarius……………-26.8…………New Moon, ………………………………………………………….3/1, 3:00AM EST
Sun………Pisces………………-26.8……………3/30, 2:00PM EDT
Mercury..Capricornus, Aquarius..+0.8 to -0.2…..Greatest …………………………………………………………Western Elongation
…………………………………………………………..3/14, 3AM EDT
…………………………………………………………Neptune, 1.2°N, …………………………………………………………..3/22, 8AM EDT
Venus…..Capricornus………..-4.8 to -4.4
Mars…….Virgo………………….-0.5 to -1.3
Jupiter….Gemini………………..-2.4 to -2.2
Saturn…..Libra………………….+0.4 to +0.3
Uranus…..Pisces……………….+5.9
Neptune…Aquarius……………+8.0………….Mercury, 1.2°S,
…………………………………………………………..3/22, 8AM EDT

March Moon

The March 1st New Moon introduces Lunation 1128 at 3AM EST. It ends 29.49 days later with the second New Moon of March on the 30th at 2PM EDT. The March 1st New Moon occurs 1.5 days after the February 27th perigee when the Moon was nearer to Earth than at any other time in February. Both Jan. 1st and Feb. 1st New Moons were closer to perigee, resulting in higher tides than those of March 1st. Both January 30th and March 30th New Moons are known as “Black Moons” because each is the second New Moon of their respective months.

The Full Moon of March is in Leo on the 16th at 1:08PM EDT. It was traditionally referred to as the “Fish Moon” in Colonial America. Celts referred to it as “Moon of Winds” and Chinese call it “Sleepy Moon.” To Medieval English it was the “Chaste Moon” and Anishnaabe (Chippewa and Ojibwe) of northern Michigan celebrate it as “Bebookwaadaagame-giizis(oog)” (Snow Crust Moon).

The Moon is at the farthest point in its orbit, 251,881 miles (63.56 Earth Radii) from Earth at apogee on the 11th at 3:47PM EDT. Perigee, at a distance of 227,238 miles (57.34 Earth Radii), is on the 27th at 2:34PM EDT.

The gyroscopic effect of Earth’s rotation acts to hold Earth’s rotational axis in a tilted position where it points to Polaris.

The varying distances of the Moon and Sun as the Moon and Earth respectively travel in their monthly and annual elliptical orbits cause varying gravitational attraction for the Earth from each. The gravitational effects of the Moon and Sun act to position Earth’s axis so that it is at right angles to the line connecting Earth, Sun and Moon.

The results of these conflicting forces are twofold. The first effect is the precession or wobbling of Earth’s axis and the second is the gradual slowing of Earth’s rotation.

Precession of axis is a 26,000 year cycle during which the lineup of the Sun and Earth on the Equinoxes and Solstices progresses through the Zodiacal constellations at a rate slightly over one constellation per 2000 years.

The slowing of Earth’s rotation causes a reduction of one day per year for each million years. In the Devonian Period fossil evidence indicates that there were 400 days per year in contrast to the 365 days per year at present.

The variation of gravitational attraction between Earth and the Sun and Moon results in variation of the rate of Precession and variation in the rate of slowing of Earth’s rotation. The consequences are rather erratic minor changes in axial tilt and rotation rate. These erratic changes are supplemented with other changes due to earthquake activity and occasional impacts of cometary and asteroid material. The long term result is instability of Earth’s orbit (and those of the other planets which are similarly influenced by their neighbors).

This instability suggests that the current arrangement and contents of the Solar System will probably change rather catastrophically through time. Read the science fiction story by Fritz Leiber called “A Pail Of Air” for an example of one scenario.

Planet….Constellation…Magnitude..Moon Passage..Moon Phase/Age

Sun…….Aquarius….-26.8…………3:00AM EST, 3/1
…………………………………………….New ~ 0 days
Sun…….Pisces……..-26.8…………2:00PM EDT, 3/30
…………………………………………….New ~ 0 days Mercury..Aquarius….-0.2……….,,.6.0°N, 1AM EDT, 3/29
………………………………………,,.Waning Crescent ~ 27.92 days
Venus…Capricornus..-4.4…………4.0°N, 6AM EDT, 3/27
…………………………………………Waning Crescent ~ 26.12 days
Mars………Virgo………-0.9……..3.0°S, 11PM EDT, 3/18
…………………………………………Waning Gibbous ~ 17.83 days
Jupiter…..Gemini……..-2.4……..5.0°S, 7AM EDT, 3/10
…………………………………………Waxing Gibbous ~ 9.17 days
Saturn…..Libra………..+0.3……..0.2°S, 5PM EDT, 3/20
…………………………………………Waning gibbous ~ 19.83 days
Uranus…..Pisces……..+5.9……..2.0°N, 6AM EST, 3/3
…………………………………………Waxing Crescent ~ 2.12 days
Neptune…Aquarius….+8.0……..5.0°N, 10AM EDT, 3/28
………………………………………….Waning Crescent ~ 27.29 days