December 2019 – Skies News

12/11/2019
December Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Winter Solstice, Planet Plotting, December Moon
Focus Constellations: Pegasus, Pisces, Andromeda, Aries, Perseus, Taurus. Orion, Gemini, Auriga, Camelopardalis, Lynx, Ursa Major, Draco, Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia

Comet Journals

Comet C/2017 T2 PanSTARRS is the only 9th magnitude comet in December. It is a long period comet which rose out of the Oort Cloud below the solar system on an orbit tilted at over 60 degrees to the solar system plane. It crossed the plane into northern skies in August and will move westward from Auriga into Perseus this month reaching closest proximity to Earth on Dec. 29. It may brighten to 8th magnitude in February as it approaches perihelion (closest to the Sun) on May 4, 2020 before dropping back through the plane of the solar system in September and embarking on its long journey back to the Oort Cloud.

C/2018 N2 (ASASSN), is an 11th magnitude comet in northern Pegasus in December. It rises in the afternoon and sets in the wee hours. It was at perihelion on November 11, and will slowly move through northern skies for the next two years.

Mars Landers

After touching down on Elysium Planita in November, 2018, the Insight lander has made numerous atmospheric and surface measurements, recorded mars quake events, and recently recorded magnetic pulses and oscillations which provide fodder for Earthbound research scientists. Attempts to drill to a depth of 16 feet into Martian soil and place the Heat Flow and Physics Properties Package (HP3) in position to accurately measure heat flow have been unsuccessful to date. Further lab testing on Earth still has to proceed to develop better techniques.

The Curiosity rover is in Glen Torridon, the clay-bearing unit in the valley adjacent to Vera Rubin Ridge on 16,404 foot Mt. Sharp at the center of Gale Crater, the ancient remnant of a massive impact. The rover left Glen Etive, the last drilling site, on Sol 2556 (Oct. 17, 2019) and collected grain size, sedimentary structure, and chemistry data from a series of megaripple features as it traveled. The goal as of Sol 2563 (Oct. 21, 2019) was to approach an area of towering buttes to assess the contact between two geologic units that were first identified from orbit. By the end of October (Sol 2572), Curiosity reached the base of Central Butte after the journey over Glen Torridon which provided copious data about the nature of the underlying rocks and soils. The butte is composed of a series of ledge forming rock layers containing fine bedded laminations in the cohesive pitted mudstones which provided a number of targets for analysis. After completing analysis by Sol 2577 (November 5, 2019), the rover progressed around the base of Central Butte to reach a path permitting partial ascent of the the butte. By Sol 2583 the climb provided access to the base of a steeper slope where there are younger rocks which may have fallen from the top of the butte. After analysis of the rocks was completed, Curiosity descended and turned its attention to Western Butte on Sol 2587 (November 15, 2019). On Sol 2607 (December 4, 2019) the western slope of Central Butte was in the rear view mirror and the rover was well on its way to Western Butte.

Meteor Showers, Asteroid Surprises

Despite interference from the almost full moon, the Geminids may still provide an impressive show because the meteor shower is often accompanied by numerous fireballs. Other showers in
December are less impressive unless observers luck out with a surprising display by the Ursids.

December 2: Chi Orionids. Active Nov. 26-Dec. 15. Radiant 5h28m +23°. ZHR 3. 28 km/sec. Waxing Crescent Moon. Progenitor: Asteroid 2008XM1.

December 14: Geminids. Active Dec. 7-Dec. 17. Radiant 7h28m +33°. ZHR 120. 35 km/sec. Waning Gibbous Moon. Progenitor: Asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

December 20: Coma Berenicids. Active Dec. 12-Jan 23. Radiant 11h40m +25°. ZHR 5. 65 km/sec. Waning Crescent Moon. Progenitor: Comet Lowe.

December 22: Ursids. Active Dec. 17-Dec. 26. Radiant 14h28m +76°. ZHR 10, variable to 50+. 33 km/sec. Waning Crescent Moon. Progenitor: Comet 8P/Tuttle.

On Nov 30, seven meter wide Asteroid 2019 WJ4 passed slightly more than 220,000 kilometers from Earth at 18.5km/s/sec.

Winter Solstice

The December Solstice occurs on the 21st at 11:19PM EST. For inhabitants of the northern hemisphere, it is the longest night of the year and the shortest day. Since the axis of the Earth is tilted at its maximum angle away from the Sun on the solstice, inhabitants of north polar regions bounded by the Arctic Circle will see continuous night and will see no sunrise while those in south polar regions bounded by the Antarctic Circle will have 24 hour days and no sunset.

The geographic positions of the Arctic and Antarctic circles (and the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn) are established by the angle of tilt of the Earth’s axis relative to the plane of its orbit. The axis angle of 23.5° cycles between 21.5° to 24.5° over a 40,000 year period which changes the latitudes of the these circles.

The Arctic Circle is currently drifting north at about 50 feet per year. The “Torrid Zone” between the two tropics and the Temperate Zones between the Tropics and the Arctic/Antarctic Circles are currently expanding, but unfortunately these trends can’t be blamed for global climate change. The cause is closer to home. We need to look at a much more important phenomenon for a viable explanation. The forward of Walter Kelly’s 1953 “The Pogo Papers” states “we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us,” a parody of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s letter to Army General William Henry Harrison after his victory in the Battle of Lake Erie, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.”

Planet..Constellation(s)..Magnitude………….Planet Passages
………………………………………………………………….Time………….Date

Sun..Libra, Sagittarius……-26.8…………………..New Moon
……………………………………………………………….12:13AM EST..12/26
Mercury..Libra, Sagittarius………-0.5 to -0.8
Venus.Sagittarius, Capricornus..-3.8 to -3.9…….Saturn, 1.8°N
………………………………………………………………Midnight EST..12/10
Mars……Libra………………………..+1.7 to +1.6
Jupiter…Sagittarius………………..-1.7……………Solar Conjunction
…………………………………………………………………1:00PM EST..12/27
Saturn…Sagittarius……………….+0.6 to +0.5…Venus, 1.8°S
……………………………………………………………….Midnight EST..12/10
Uranus…Aries………………………+5.7
Neptune..Aquarius………………..+7.9

Planet Plotting

Saturn (+0.6), Venus (-3.8), and Jupiter (-1.7) are lined up as early evening planets in Sagittarius near the southwestern horizon in early December. Jupiter drops into the glare of sunset in the 2nd week of December, and Venus is higher in the sky setting between 6:00 and 7:00PM in December. Saturn is the highest and dimmest of the three and will appear to drop lower in the sky as Venus rises higher during the month. On the 10th, Venus will pass within less than 2 degrees of the ringed planet. Neptune (+7.9) in Aquarius, and Uranus (+5.7) in Aries are higher in the southern and eastern sky respectively. Neptune sets around midnight EST in early December and about 10:00PM at the end of the month. Uranus sets about 4 hours after Neptune.

Mars (+1.7 to +1.6) in Libra is a morning planet which rises about 5:00AM. It will increase slightly in brightness as Earth is catching up to it in orbit. It will reach opposition in October, 2020 when it will be closest to Earth. Mercury (-0.5 to -0.8) was at inferior conjunction in November and is buried in the Sun’s glow all month.
The waxing gibbous Moon is 4.0° from Neptune at 7:00AM EST on the 4th, and 5.0° from Uranus at 6:00AM EST on the 8th. The waning crescent is 4.0° from Mars at 9:00PM EST on the 22nd, and 1.9° from Mercury at 7:00AM EST on Christmas. The waxing crescent Moon is 0.3° from Jupiter at 3:00AM EST on the 26th, 0.9° from Saturn at 7:00AM EST on the 27th, 1.0° from Venus at 9:00PM EST on the 28th, and 4.0° from Neptune at 4:00PM EST on the 31st.

December Moon

The New Moon of December on the 26th at 12:13AM EST is the beginning of Lunation 1200 which ends 29.66 days later with the New Moon of January on the 24th at 4:42PM EST. The December New Moon is accompanied by an annular solar eclipse visible in the Middle East and southern Asia. Like the Solar Eclipse of 585 BC which was interpreted as an omen and led to a truce in the longstanding war between the Medes and the Lydians, may it bring peace to the Middle East. December’s Full Moon is on the 12th at 12:12AM EST. Commonly known as the “Moon before Yule” or “Long Night Moon”, it was the “Christmas Moon” in colonial times and in Medieval England it was the “Oak Moon.” Celts called it the “Cold Moon” and the Chinese call it the “Bitter Moon”. Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people recognize it as “Manidoo-Giizisoons” (Little Spirit Moon).

Lunar Apogee (maximum orbital distance) occurs on the 4th at 11:08PM EST when the Moon is at 251,311 miles (63.41 Earth radii). Perigee occurs on the 18th at 3:25PM EST when the Moon is at a distance of 230,072 miles (58.05 Earth radii).

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passages
………………………………………………….Moon Phase..Moon Age
Sun…Sagittarius….-26.8……………..12:13AM EST, 12/26
…………………………………………………………………New..0 days
Mercury..Ophiuchus..-0.2…………..1.9°NNE, 7:00AM EST, 12/25
……………………………………………Waning Crescent..28.87 days
Venus..Capricornus…-3.9………….1.0°S, 9:00PM EST, 12/28
……………………………………………Waxing Crescent..2.87 days
Mars…….Libra………+1.6………….4.0°N, 9:00PM EST, 12/22
…………………………………………….Waning Crescent..26.45 days
Jupiter..Sagittarius…-1.7……………0.3°ENE, 3:00AM EST, 12/26
…………………………………………….Waxing Crescent..2.78 days
Saturn..Sagittarius…+0.6……………0.9°S, 7:00AM EST, 12/27
……………………………………………..Waxing Crescent..1.28 days
Uranus….Aries………+5.7…………….5.0°S, 6:00AM EST, 12/8
………………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..11.93 days
Neptune..Aquarius…+7.9……………..4.0°S, 7:00AM EST, 12/4
………………………………………………..Waxing Gibbous..7.58 days
Neptune..Aquarius…+7.9……………..4.0°S, 4:00PM EST, 12/31
………………………………………………..Waxing Crescent..4.99 days

November 2019 – Skies News

11/11/2019
November Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Quiet Sun, Planet Plotting, November Moon

Focus Constellations: Lyra, Aquila, Cygnus, Pegasus, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Andromeda, Perseus, Taurus. Auriga, Camelopardalis, Ursa Major, Draco, Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia,

Comet Journals

There are no November comets brighter than 10th magnitude and Comet C/2017 T2 PanSTARRS is the only 10th magnitude comet. It is a long period comet which rose out of the Oort Cloud below the solar system on an orbit tilted at over 60 degrees to the solar system plane. It crossed the plane into northern skies in August and will move westward through Auriga this month reaching closest proximity to Earth when in Perseus on Dec. 29. It may brighten to 8th magnitude as it approaches perihelion (closest to the Sun) on May 4, 2020 before dropping back through the plane of the solar system in September and embarking on its long journey back to the Oort Cloud.

C/2018 N2 (ASASSN), is an 11th magnitude comet in northern Pegasus in November. It rises before sunset and sets before sunrise. It will reach perihelion on November 11, then will slowly move through northern skies for the next two years.

Mars Landers

The Insight lander, at its landing site on Elysium Planita and carrying the Heat Flow and Physics Properties Package (HP3), placed its robotic arm next to the self hammering heat probe which was stuck at a depth of 14 inches and was unable to dig deeper on its own. Mission scientists used the robotic arm to “pin” the probe, known as the “mole” against the side of the hole already dug in order to increase friction and hopefully permit deeper digging. The plan worked in mid-October as the probe was able to dig down to a depth of 38 centimeters through the soil compacted by the hammer blows previously executed.. On the 27th, operations were halted when the mole backed halfway out of the hole. The robotic arm applied insufficient pressure to hold the mole in place. Further lab testing on Earth will be needed to develop better techniques.

The Curiosity rover is in Glen Torridon, the clay-bearing unit in the valley adjacent to Vera Rubin Ridge on 16,404 foot Mt. Sharp at the center of Gale Crater. “As we climb Mount Sharp, we see an overall trend from a wet landscape to a drier one,” said Curiosity Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “But that trend didn’t necessarily occur in a linear fashion. More likely, it was messy, including drier periods…, followed by wetter periods, like what we’re seeing in the ‘clay-bearing unit’ that Curiosity is exploring…”.
Gale Crater is the ancient remnant of a massive impact. Sediment carried by water and wind eventually filled in the crater floor, layer by layer. After the sediment hardened, wind carved the layered rock into the towering Mount Sharp, which Curiosity is climbing today. Each layer now exposed on the mountain’s slopes reveals a different era of Martian history and holds clues about the prevailing environment at the time.

Meteor Showers, Asteroid Surprises

The best showers in November are the Leonids which will have to compete with glare from the waning gibbous Moon. Try to block out the Moon with a building or tree to enhance views of the meteors emanating out of Leo in the hours before dawn.

November 5: Southern Taurids. Active Oct.1-Nov. 25. Radiant 3h20m +13°. ZHR 5. 27 km/sec. Waxing Gibbous Moon. Progenitor: Comet Enke.
November 10: Northern Taurids. Active Oct.1-Nov. 25. Radiant 3h52m +22°. ZHR 5. 29 km/sec. Waxing Gibbous Moon. Progenitor: Asteroid 2004 TG10.
November 17-19: Leonids Active Nov. 14-Nov. 21. Radiant 10h12m +22°. ZHR variable to storm. 70 km/sec. Waning Gibbous Moon. Progenitor: Comet Tempel-Tuttle. November 21: Alpha Monocerotids. Active Nov. 15-Nov. 25. Radiant 7h48m +01°. ZHR 2. 70 km/sec. Waning Crescent Moon. Progenitor: Asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

On Oct 29, 5 meter wide Asteroid 2019 UO8 passed within 100,000 kilometers of Earth at 25.3 km/s and on Nov 2, eight meter wide Asteroid 2019 VA passed slightly more than 70,000 kilometers from Earth at 8.6km/s/sec.

The Transit of Mercury

Transits of the Sun have remade our models of the solar system! The first planetary transit seen was that of Venus in 1643. Venus has since had 8 more transits. Mercury transited the Sun 17 times in the last 112 years and will again transit the Sun
on November 11.

In 1543, Nicholas Copernicus proposed that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of revolution for the planets. In the late 1500’s, Tycho Brahe made detailed measurements and proved that Copernicus’ heliocentric theory could be used to accurately predict planetary positions. With Brahe’s data, Johann Kepler modified heliocentric models by replacing circular with elliptical orbits (1st & 2nd law), making prediction of planet position even more accurate. In addition, he determined the ratio of Earth’s and Mars’ distance from the Sun with triangulation. In 1619, he used this and planet periods to deduce that planet period squared is proportional to solar distance cubed (3rd law). However, His best efforts were limited to relative planetary distances from the Sun in comparison with Earth. Neither he nor the astronomical community knew actual distances. In 1716, Edmond Halley’s paper described how to use transits to measure the Sun’s distance. His method uses parallax. Observers stationed far apart simultaneously measure the transiting planet’s position on the Sun and triangulate theresults to determine planet distance. The next transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769 were used to determine its actual distance for the first time. This information was plugged into Kepler’s third law to compute actual distances of all the known planets.

Planet..Constellation(s)..Magnitude………….Planet Passages
………………………………………………………………….Time………….Date

Sun..Virgo, Scorpius……-26.8…………………..New Moon..10.06AM …………………………………………………………………………..EDT..11/26
Mercury..Libra……………-0.2 to +0.7…………..Inferior Conjunction, Transit ………………………………………………………………..10:00AM EST..11/11
…………………………………………………………Max. East Elongation …………………………………………………………………5:00AM EST..11/28
Venus..Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius..-3.8……….Jupiter, 1.4°N
…………………………………………………………………9:00AM EST..11/24
Mars……Virgo……………..+1.8 to +1.7
Jupiter…Ophiuchus……..-1.7……………………..Venus, 1.4°S
…………………………………………………………………9:00AM EST..11/24
Saturn…Sagittarius……..+0.6
Uranus…Aries…………….+5.7
Neptune..Aquarius………+7.9

Planet Plotting

November evening planets include Venus (-3.8) in Libra, Scorpius, and Sagittarius, Jupiter (-1.7) in Ophiuchus, Saturn (+0.6) in Sagittarius, Neptune (+7.9) in Aquarius, and Uranus (+5.7) in Aries. Venus sets about 1.5 hours after the Sun in November and is close to the horizon in the southwestern sky immediately after sunset. Jupiter is close behind at the beginning of the month and drops into the glow of sunset after Venus appears to graze past during the spectacular near conjunction on the 24th. Saturn is higher in the early evening sky at sunset setting about 3 hours after the Sun. Neptune is in the southern sky in the early evening and sets around midnight EST in November. Uranus is In the southeastern sky after sunset and sets well before dawn. Mars was in conjunction with the Sun in September and rises well before dawn in November. It will be slightly north of Spica in Virgo on the 8th and will increase brightness as Earth catches up to it in orbit during the next year when it reaches opposition in October. Mercury (-2.5 to -0.5) is at inferior conjunction on the 11th when it will transit the Sun between 7:35AM and 1:04PM EST.

The waxing crescent Moon is 0.6° from Saturn at 3:00AM EDT on the 2nd, 0.7° from Jupiter at 6:00AM EST on the 28th, and 1.9° from Venus at 2:00PM EST on the 28th, and 0.9° from Saturn at 4:00AM EST on the 29th. The waxing gibbous Moon is 4.0° from Neptune at Midnight EST on the 6th, and 4.0° from Uranus at 11:00PM EST on the 10th. The waning crescent Moon is 4.0° from Mars at 4:00AM EST on the 24th, and 1.9° from Mercury at 10:00PM EST on the 24th.

November Moon

The New Moon of November on the 26th at 10:06AM EST is the beginning of Lunation 1199 which ends 28.43 days later with the New Moon of December on the 26th at 12:14AM EST. The November Full Moon is on the 12th at 8:34AM EST. It has been known as the “Frosty or Beaver Moon” since colonial times. It was named the “Snow Moon” in Medieval England. Celts called it the “Dark Moon” and since the Chinese are on the opposite side of the world they call it the “White Moon”. Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people recognize it as “Baashkaakodin-Giizis” ((Freezing Moon).)

Lunar Apogee (maximum orbital distance) occurs on the 7th at 3:36AM EST when the Moon is at 251,691 miles (63.51 Earth

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passages
………………………………………………….Moon Phase..Moon Age
Sun……Scorpius….-26.8………….10:06AM EST, 11/26
…………………………………………………………………New..0 days
Mercury..Libra……..-0.2…………..1.9°N, 10:00PM EST, 11/24 ……………………………………………Waning Crescent..27.44 days
Venus..Sagittarius…-3.8………….1.9°N, 2:00PM EST, 11/28
……………………………………………Waxing Crescent..2.17 days
Mars…….Virgo………+1.7………….4.0°NNE, 4:00AM EST, 11/24
…………………………………………….Waning Crescent..27.18 days
Jupiter..Ophiuchus…-1.7……………0.7°N, 6:00AM EST, 11/28
…………………………………………….Waxing Crescent..1.83 days
Saturn..Sagittarius…+0.6…………..0.6°S, 3:00AM EDT, 11/2
……………………………………………..Waxing Gibbous..5.18 days
Saturn..Sagittarius…+0.6……………0.9°S, 4:00AM EST, 11/29
……………………………………………..Waxing Gibbous..2.75 days
Uranus….Aries………+5.7…………….4.0°S, 11:00PM EST, 11/10
………………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..13.97 days
Neptune..Aquarius…+7.9……………..4.0°S, Midnight EST, 11/6
………………………………………………..Waxing Gibbous..9.01 days

October 2019 -Skies News

10/6/2019
October Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Quiet Sun, Planet Plotting, October Moon

Focus Constellations: Hercules, Lyra, Aquila, Cygnus, Pegasus, Pisces, Aries, Andromeda, Perseus, Taurus. Auriga, Camelopardalis, Ursa Major, Draco, Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia,

Comet Journals

C/2018 W2 (Africano) is moving southward through Pisces, Aquarius, and Pisces Austrinus in October. It was at perihelion on September 5, 2019, and closest to Earth on the 27th when it reached 8th magnitude. It will retain current brightness throughout October.
C/2018 N2 (ASASSN), an 11th magnitude comet moving through Andromeda and Pegasus in October, rises before sunset and sets before sunrise. It will slowly move through northern skies for the next two years, reaching perihelion on November 11 in Andromeda. Comet 260P/McNaught is an 11th magnitude comet. It is circling through Perseus in October and will be closest to Earth on October 4. It is at perihelion on the 8th.
Comet C/2017 T2 PanSTARRS is in Auriga at magnitude 11. It will be closest to Earth on December 29 and reaches perihelion in May 2020.

Mars Landers

The Insight lander, at its landing site on Elysium Planita and carrying the Heat Flow and Physics Properties Package (HP3), recently placed its robotic arm next to the self hammering heat probe which is stuck at a depth of 14 inches and is unable to dig deeper on its own.
Mission scientist plan to use the robotic arm to “pin” the probe, known as the “mole” against the side of the hole already dug in order to increase friction and hopefully permit deeper digging. Currently they think that the “mole” recoils from each hammer blow, causing it to bounce in place. If the robotic arm pressure in enough, increased friction between the “mole” and the side of the hole may allow it to overcome the unique soil characteristics which halted the “mole” in the first place. If successful, they plan to burrow down to a depth of 16 feet to record heat flow from the interior.
The Curiosity rover is in Glen Torridon, the clay-bearing unit in the valley adjacent to Vera Rubin Ridge on 16,404 foot Mt. Sharp at the center of Gale Crater. After drilling at Glen Etive 1 in early August, the drilling powder was delivered to SAM for gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer analysis on Sol 2500 (8/16/19). The balance of August was devoted to preparation for the solar conjunction of Mars of 9/2/19 when Mars was on the opposite side of the Sun and out of radio communication with Earth for two weeks.
Following conjunction, preparations proceeded for drilling at Glen Etive 2 on Sol 2525 (9/12/19) which culminated with a successful 23rd hole drilled on Mars by the Curiosity rover on Sol 2528. The last half of the month was devoted to further observations at Glen Etive 2, including remote sensing of the surroundings and potential future targets, sample preparation for further testing, and preparation for a rare wet chemical analysis of the drilling powder obtained at Glen Etive 2.

Meteor Showers, Asteroid Surprises

The best showers in October are the Orionids which will suffer from interference by the waning crescent Moon. Try to block out the Moon with a building or tree to enhance views of the meteors emanating out of Orion in the hours before dawn.

October 1: Alpha Aurigids. Active Aug. 25-Sep. 5. Radiant 5h36m +42°. ZHR 10. 66 km/sec. Waxing Crescent Moon. Progenitor: Comet Keiss.

October 8 – 9: Draconids Active Oct. 6-Oct 10. Radiant 17h28m +54°. ZHR variable. 20 km/sec. Waxing Gibbous Moon. Progenitor: Asteroid 2009 WN25.

October 18: Epsilon Geminids. Active Oct. 14-Oct. 27. Radiant 6h48m 27°. ZHR 2. 70 km/sec. Waning Gibbous Moon.
Progenitor: ?

October 20: Orionids. Active Oct. 2-Nov. 7. Radiant 6h20m 16°. ZHR 20. 66 km/sec. Waning Gibbous Moon. Progenitor: Comet 1P/Halley

Nine meter wide Asteroid 2019 TE passed slightly more than 200,000 miles from Earth at 20 km/s/sec on September 28.
On the 29th, 5 meter wide Asteroid 2019 TD passed within 70,000 miles of Earth at 10 km/s, and Asteroid 2018 SM8, also 5 meters wide, passed at less than 100,000 miles on October 1, traveling at 14km/s.

Quiet Sun

The Sun is a variable star. The current sunspot minimum coincides with lower levels of solar wind which has a reduced capacity to counteract cosmic rays thus subjecting Earth to increased bombardment.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Earth typically was slightly cooler during minimums in the 9 to 11 year sunspot cycle and warmer when sunspots were abundant. This may be related to higher levels of ultraviolet light emitted by the Sun during maximums. The last peak was in 2014 during Cycle 24 when maximum sunspot levels reached 140. Previous peaks (Cycles 20 through 23) were in 1959, 1969, 1979, 1988-1989, and 2000 when levels approached or exceeded 200. The current low (# of sunspots = 0) was preceded by sunspot minimums during 2008-2009, 1996-1997, and 1985-1986. Sunspot absence in the current minimum probably eliminates solar variation as a factor in recent elevated global temperatures, as does the lower sunspot numbers during the last peaks when compared to peaks in the latter part of the 20th century.
Earlier extended minimums include the period from 1790 to 1820 known as the Dalton Minimum, the 70 year Maulder Minimum between 1645 and 1715, the Sporer Minimum between 1450 and 1540, and Wolf Minimum of 1230 to 1320. All four were characterized by unusually cool temperatures in Europe during the “Little Ice Age”.
Extended minimums were repeated every 100 to 150 years in the last millennium, so some projections for the current minimum raise the specter of an extended episode possibly rivaling the 30 to 90 year intervals listed above. Solar type stars share this type of variation with the Sun. Whether this leads to counteracting or partially blunting climatic change is in the eye of the beholder until it happens, or when additional relevant data is obtained.

Planet..Constellation(s)………Magnitude………….Planet Passages
………………………………………………………………….Time………….Date

Sun………Virgo…………-26.8…………..New Moon..11.39PM EDT..10/27
Mercury..Virgo, Libra…-0.2 to +0.7………Max. East Elongation …………………………………………………………….Midnight EDT…..10/19
…………………………………………………………….Venus, 3.0°N, ……………………………………………………………4:00AM EDT…….10/30
Venus..Virgo, Libra………-3.8……………………..Mercury, 3.0°S, …………………………………………………………….4:00AM EDT…….10/30
Mars……Virgo, Libra………..+1.8
Jupiter…Ophiuchus………….-1.9 to -1.8
Saturn…Sagittarius…………..+0.5 to +0.6
Uranus…Aries………………….+5.7…………………….Opposition …………………………………………………………………4:00AM EDT, 10/28
Neptune..Aquarius……………+7.8

Planet Plotting

October morning planets include Neptune (+7.8) in Aquarius, Uranus (+5.7) in Aries, and Mars (+1.8) in Virgo. Neptune, in the southeastern sky in the early evening, sets about 4:00AM EDT. Uranus is at opposition on the 28th and is visible throughout the night. Mars was in conjunction with the Sun last month. It will rise before dawn in late October and will be 7° above the eastern horizon on the 31st. It will increase brightness as Earth catches up to it in orbit during the next year until reaching opposition.

Jupiter (-1.9 to -1.7) in Ophiuchus and Saturn (+0.5 to +0.6) in Sagittarius are bright evening planets in southern skies, rising after the Sun and setting about 10:00PM EDT and 11:30PM EDT respectively. Mercury (-0.2 to +0.7 ) and Venus (-3.8) in Virgo and Libra are low in the southwestern sky after sunset on the 1st and rise higher during the month. Venus is closer to the horizon on the 1st and closes the gap with Mercury and is within 3° when the two are in conjunction on the 30th.

The waxing crescent Moon is 1.9° from Jupiter at 4:00PM EDT on the 3rd, 4.0° from Venus at 10:00AM EDT on the 29th, and 7.0° from Mercury at 11:00AM EDT on the 29th. The waning gibbous Moon is 4.0° from Uranus at 8:00PM EDT on the 14th. The waning crescent Moon is 5.0° from Mars at 1:00PM EDT on the 26th, and the waxing gibbous Moon is 0.03° from Saturn at 5:00PM EDT on the 5th and 4.0° from Neptune at 7:00PM EDT on the 10th.

October Moon

October’s New Moon on the 27th at 11:39PM EDT is the beginning of Lunation 1198 which ends 28.43 days later with the New Moon of November on the 26th at 10:06AM EST.

The October Full Moon is on the 13th at 5:08PM EDT. It is known as the “Hunter’s Moon” because colonial American farmers hunted game in the stubble of their harvested fields in its light to provide meat for the coming winter. The “Hunter’s Moon” rises near sunset for almost as many nights in a row as did the “Harvest Moon” in September because moonrise advances less than the normal 50 minutes a day. Celts called it the “Harvest Moon” and it was named the “Blood Moon” in Medieval England. Chinese call it the “Kindly Moon” and the Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people recognize it as “Binaakwe-giizis” (Falling Leaves Moon.)

Lunar Apogee (maximum orbital distance) occurs on the 10th at 2:29PM EDT when the Moon is at 252,214 miles (63.64 Earth radii). Perigee occurs on the 26th at 6:39AM EDT when the Moon is at a distance of 224,508 miles (56.65 Earth radii).

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passages
………………………………………………….Moon Phase..Moon Age
Sun………Libra…-26.8…………11:39PM EDT, 10/27..New..0 days
Mercury..Libra…..+0.4…………….7.0°N, 11:00AM EDT, 10/29 ……………………………………………Waxing Crescent..1.47 days
Venus….. Libra…..-3.8……………4.0°N, 10:00AM EDT, 10/29 …………………………………………Waxing Crescent..1.438 days
Mars……..Virgo…..+1.8……………5.0°NNE, 1:00PM EDT, 10/26 ……………………………………………Waning Crescent..29.94 days
Jupiter..Ophiuchus…..-1.9…………..1.9°N, 4:00PM EDT, 10/3 ……………………………………………Waxing Crescent..5.07 days
Saturn..Sagittarius…..+0.5……………0.03°S, 5:00PM EDT, 10/5 ……………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..7.11 days
Uranus….Aries………..+5.7……………4.0°S, 8:00PM EDT, 10/14 …………………………………………..Waning Gibbous..16.23 days
Neptune..Aquarius…..+7.8…………….4.0°S, 7:00PM EDT, 10/10 ……………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..12.19 days

September 2019- Skies News

09/5/2019
September Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Autumnal Equinox, Planet Plotting, September Moon

Focus Constellations: Bootes, Corona Borealis, Ophiuchus, Hercules, Lyra, Aquila, Cygnus, Pegasus, Andromeda, Perseus, Camelopardalis, Ursa Major, Draco, Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia,

Comet Journals

C/2018 W2 (Africano) is moving southward through Perseus, Andromeda, and Pegasus in September. It is at perihelion on September 5, 2019, and is closest to Earth on the 27th when it may reach 8th magnitude.

C/2018 N2 (ASASSN) is an 11th magnitude comet moving from Triangulum into Andromeda in September. It rises in early evening skies and slowly moves through northern skies for the next two years. It reaches perihelion on November 11 in Andromeda and probably will not exceed 10th magnitude as it moves perpendicular to the plane of the solar system between Mars and Jupiter.

Comet 260P/McNaught is an 11 to 12th magnitude comet. It moves northward from Aries into Perseus in September, passes closest to Earth on October 4, and is at perihelion on the 8th.

Comet C/2017 T2 PanSTARRS is in Taurus at magnitude 12. It will be closest to Earth on December 29 and reaches perihelion in May 2020.

Mars Landers

The Insight lander continues to monitor atmospheric conditions at its Martian landing site on Elysium Planita and tracking tremors associated with marsquakes. The mole carrying the Heat Flow and Physics Properties Package (HP3) is still stuck at a depth of 30 centimeters, possibly due to an obstruction or other issues. On June 28, InSight’s robotic arm, designed to place instruments onto the Martian surface, lifted the support structure for the HP3 and uncovered the mole as part of efforts to troubleshoot the instrument. The science team and the German manufacturer are continuing testing on Earth to develop procedures to free the instrument, drill deeper, and proceed with heat flow measurements.

The Curiosity rover is in Glen Torridon, the clay-bearing unit in the valley adjacent to Vera Rubin Ridge on 16,404 foot Mt. Sharp at the center of Gale Crater. After drilling into the smooth clay bearing rock unit at Aberlady in April, the rover spent most of June and July moving southward through Glen Torridon, examining pebbles and rocks, rippled sand, and ridges with bedrock layers at the surface of the clay-bearing unit. After investigating Harlaw Ridge in early July, Curiosity analyzed rock exposures in the northern half of Glen Torridon as it moved toward the Southern Outcrop which is the north facing escarpment of an elevated area of exposed, fractured bedrock called the Visionarium. After successfully ascending the 21° slope at the end of July, the search for the next drill site ensued. On August 1, after thorough geochemical analysis of the area, the go-ahead was declared for drilling at Glen Etive 1. By the 5th, the rover completed drilling of the 22nd sample on Mars in the 7 years since arrival. After sample preparation, the drilling powder was delivered to SAM for gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer analysis on Sol 2500 (8/16/19). The balance of August was devoted to preparation for the solar conjunction of Mars of 9/2/19 when Mars will be on the opposite side of the Sun and out of radio communication with Earth for two weeks.

The elevated levels of atmospheric methane discovered by Curiosity in June contrast with levels measured by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter which measures levels 8 times lower. Analysis by a group led by John Moores, York University Research Chair in Space Exploration, was published in the Geophysical Research Letters. It hypothesizes that a small amount of methane (the primary constituent of natural gas) constantly seeps out of the ground on Mars. Limited convection at night allows a build up in the atmosphere near the ground and vigorous convection caused by solar heating during the day rapidly mixes and dilutes the atmosphere, producing the much lower levels recorded by ExoMars.

Meteor Showers, Asteroid Surprises

September meteors are few and far between. The Aurigids are relatively minor showers appearing in the 1st third of September with little interference from the waxing crescent and 1st quarter Moon. September 1: Alpha Aurigids. Active Aug. 25-Sep. 5. Radiant 5h36m +42°. ZHR 10. 66 km/sec. Waxing Crescent Moon. Progenitor: Comet Keiss.
September 8: Delta Aurigids Active Sep. 5-Oct 10. Radiant 4h00m +47°. ZHR 6. 64 km/sec. Waxing Gibbous Moon. Progenitor:  Comet Keiss. September 20: Piscids. Active Sep. 3-Oct. 2. Radiant 0h20m -01°. ZHR 3. 36 km/sec. Waning Gibbous Moon. Progenitor: Comet Wirtanen? Asteroid 2019 QQ3 passed within 50,000 miles of Earth at 20 miles/sec on August 26. It was about 5 meters in diameter.

Autumnal Equinox

The term “equinox” for the day when the hours of night and day are equal, is derived from Nox, the Roman Goddess of Night. At 3:50AM EDT on September 23, Earth’s axis is perpendicular to a line between Earth and Sun and leans 23.5° toward its direction of orbital travel. In this position, all places on Earth have almost, but not quite, 12 hours each of sunlight and darkness. The inequality of night and day isn’t due to a quirky goddess. Rather it is due to the timing of sunrise and sunset which is influenced by latitude, period of time required for all of the Sun to appear or disappear, and atmospheric light refraction. The latter two delay sunset and cause earlier sunrises, lengthening daytime hours. Low latitudes experience the equinox later than high latitudes. Fall equinoxes are delayed until October in equatorial regions.

Northern and southern auroral light displays which are slightly more frequent during equinox seasons are rare this year due to sunspot absence during the current low in the 9 to 11 year sunspot cycle. The last peak in 2014 was for Cycle 24 when sunspots observed reached levels of 140. The previous peaks (Cycle 23 and 22) were in 2000 and 1988-1989 when levels exceeded 200. Previous recent sunspot minimums include 2008-2009, 1996-1997, and 1986-1987.

Planet Plotting

September morning planets are limited to dim Uranus (+5.7) in Aries, and dimmer Neptune (+7.8) in Aquarius. The former rises in the early evening and sets after sunrise and the latter is visible all night long, reaching opposition with the Sun on the 10th. Jupiter (-2.1 to -1.9) in Ophiuchus and Saturn (+0.3 to +0.5) in Sagittarius rise after the Sun and set in the later part of the evening. Mercury (-1.7 to -0.2 ), Venus (-3.8), and Mars (+1.7 to +1.8) in Leo and Virgo are lost in the Sun’s glare in September with the 1st two appearing in the evening twilight slightly after sunset at the month’s end, and Mars is lost in the glow of the sun throughout the month. Mars and Mercury are in conjunction with the Sun on the 2nd and 3rd respectively. Mercury will appear to visit within less than 1° from Mars and Venus on the 3rd and 13th respectively.

The waxing gibbous Moon is 2.0° from Jupiter at 3:00AM EDT on the 6th, 0.04° from Saturn at 10:00AM EDT on the 8th, and

Planet..Constellation(s)………Magnitude………….Planet Passages
………………………………………………………………….Time………….Date

Sun…….Leo, Virgo……..-26.8…….New Moon..2:26PM EDT..9/28
Mercury..Leo, Virgo…….-1.7 to -0.2………….Superior Conjunction …………………………………………………………….10:00PM EDT…..9/3
………………………………………………………………Mars, 0.64°SSW, ……………………………………………………………1:00PM EDT……..9/3 ………………………………………………………………Venus, 0.29°NNE, ……………………………………………………………10:00AM EDT…9/13
Venus..Leo, Virgo………..-3.8……………………..Mercury, 0.29°SSW, …………………………………………………………….10:00AM EDT…9/13
Mars……Leo, Virgo…………..+1.7 to +1.8………Solar Conjunction ……………………………………………………………7:00AM EDT, 9/2 ………………………………………………………………Mercury, 0.64°NNE, ……………………………………………………………1:00PM EDT, 9/3
Jupiter…Ophiuchus………….-2.1 to -1.9
Saturn…Sagittarius…………..+0.3 to +0.5
Uranus…Aries………………….+5.7
Neptune..Aquarius……………+7.8…………………….Opposition …………………………………………………………..3:00AM EDT, 9/10

4° from Neptune at 2:00PM EDT on the 13th. The waning gibbous Moon is 4.0° from Uranus at 4:00PM EDT on the 17th. The waning crescent Moon is 3.8° from Mars at 1:00AM EDT on the 28th, and the waxing crescent Moon is 4.0° from Venus at 2:00PM EDT and 6.0° from Mercury at 6:00PM EDT on the 29th.

September Moon

The New Moon of September on the 28th at 2:26PM EDT is the beginning of Lunation 1197 which ends 29.36 days later with October’s New Moon on the 27th at 11:39PM EDT. The September Full Moon is on the 14th at 12:34AM EDT. It is known as the “Fruit Moon, or Harvest Moon”. Colonial American farmers took advantage of its light to continue harvesting long after sunset. Like most full moons, the “Harvest Moon” rises at sunset, but near the Equinox it rises near sunset for many nights in a row because moonrise advances only 30 minutes a day in contrast to the normal 50 minutes a day. Celts called it the “Singing Moon” and it was named the “Barley Moon” in Medieval England. Chinese call it the “Chrysanthemum Moon” and the Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people recognize it as “Waatebagaa-giizis” (Leaves Turning Moon.)

Lunar Apogee (maximum orbital distance) occurs on the 13th at 9:00AM EDT when the Moon is at 252,511 miles (63.71 Earth radii). Perigee occurs on the 27th at 10:29PM when the Moon is at a distance of 222,328 miles (56.10 Earth radii).

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passages
………………………………………………….Moon Phase..Moon Age
Sun………Virgo…-26.8…………2:26PM EDT, 9/28..New..0 days
Mercury..Virgo…..-0.2…………….6.0°N, 6:00PM EDT, 9/29 ……………………………………………Waxing Crescent..1.15 days
Venus….. Virgo…..-3.8……………4.0°NNE, 2:00PM EDT, 9/29 …………………………………………Waxing Crescent..0.98 days
Mars……..Virgo…..+1.8……………3.8°NNE, 1:00AM EDT, 9/28 ……………………………………………Waning Crescent..29.31 days
Jupiter..Ophiuchus…..-1.9…………..2.0°N, 3:00AM EDT, 9/6 ……………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..6.85 days
Saturn..Sagittarius…..+0.5……………0.04°S, 10:00AM EDT, 9/8 ……………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..9.14 days
Uranus….Aries………..+5.7……………4.0°S, 4:00PM EDT, 9/17 …………………………………………..Waning Gibbous..18.39 days
Neptune..Aquarius…..+7.8…………….4.0°S, 2:00PM EDT, 9/13 ……………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..14.31 days

August 2019 – Skies News

08/5/2019
August Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers/Asteroid Surprises, Planet Plotting, August Moon

Focus Constellations: Bootes, Corona Borealis, Ophiuchus, Hercules, Lyra, Aquila, Pegasus, Cygnus, Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Camelopardalis, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major

Comet Journals

C/2018 W2 (Africano) was discovered on Nov. 27, 2018, and is a 9th magnitude comet in Camelopardalis moving northeastward during the first two weeks of August. It then turns southward and approaches Perseus by the 31st. It is at perihelion on September 5, 2019, and may be at magnitude 9. It is closest to Earth on the 27th when in Pegasus.

C/2018 N2 (ASASSN) is an 11th magnitude comet moving northward in Aries which rises after midnight and slowly moves through northern skies for the next two years. At perihelion on November 11 in Andromeda, the comet will probably not exceed 10th magnitude in brightness as it moves perpendicular to the plane of the solar system between Mars and Jupiter.

C/2017 T2 (Panstarrs) is a 12th magnitude comet in Taurus which deserves mention because it will brighten as it moves northward and westward into Cassiopeia by March and April of 2020 when it may approach naked eye visibility.

Mars Landers

The Insight lander arrived on Elysium Planita of Mars on Nov 26, 2018. After unfurling the solar panels and radio antenna and deploying its seismometer, the mole carrying the Heat Flow and Physics Properties Package (HP3) began burrowing into the ground on Feb. 28, aiming to reach a depth of up to 16 feet (5 meters). But it became stuck at a depth of 30 centimeters, possibly due to an obstruction or other issue. On June 28, InSight’s robotic arm, designed to place instruments onto the Martian surface, lifted the support structure for the HP3 and uncovered the mole as part of efforts to troubleshoot the instrument. By carefully selecting a landing site that had both fewer rocks in general and smaller ones near the surface, mission scientists hoped to avoid hitting a large rock because the robotic arm’s grapple isn’t designed to lift the mole once it’s out of its support structure, so the mole can’t be relocated if a rock is blocking it. Testing at JPL and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) determined that the soil may not provide the kind of friction for which the mole was designed. Without friction, the mole would simply bounce in place instead of digging. “…images coming back from Mars confirm what we’ve seen in our testing here on Earth,” said HP3 Project Scientist Mattias Grott of DLR. “Our calculations were correct: Cohesive soil is compacting into walls as the mole hammers.” Pressing on the soil near the drill pit with a small scoop on the end of the robotic arm may collapse the pit and provide the friction for the mole to dig. Regardless of the heat flow probe issues, the mission of Insight on Mars is proceeding as planned. On December 7, 2018, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument recorded sounds of Martian winds. Winds were detected by recording vibrations coming from the lander’s large solar arrays. On April 6, the same instrument detected a small, but long-duration tremor coming from the planet’s interior. This event, along with many other “marsquakes” detected by this instrument, lends credibility to the assumption that Mars may have an active, liquid center.

In its continuing quest for evidence of past or present life on Mars, Curiosity Rover is investigating Glen Torridon, the clay-bearing unit adjacent to Vera Rubin Ridge on 16,404 foot Mt. Sharp at the center of Gale Crater. Curiosity drilled into a site in the clay-bearing unit nicknamed Aberlady on Sol 2370 (April 6), and again on Sol 2384 (April 21, 2019), Rock powder was then obtained from an adjacent clay rich rock drilled at Kilmarie. After completion of drilling, the rover spent most of June and July traversing through Glen Torridon, examining pebbles and rocks, rippled sand, and ridges with bedrock layers at the surface of the clay-bearing unit. In late June, atmospheric methane levels temporarily spiked by 20 times — the largest amount of the gas Curiosity has ever found — from a transient methane plume like those observed in the past. While scientists have observed the background levels rise and fall seasonally, they haven’t found a pattern in the occurrence of these transient plumes. “The methane mystery continues,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Curiosity doesn’t have instruments that can definitively say whether the source of the methane is biological or geological.

Meteor Showers, Asteroid Surprises

The best meteor shower of August if not the year is the Perseid Shower which averages 75 to 100 meteors per hour in dark skies free of light pollution. Meteors and fireballs emanate out of the NNE in predawn hours following setting of the waning gibbous Moon. Although the peak is on the morning of the 13th, the Moon sets earlier on the 12th, providing a longer viewing time before dawn.

August 4: Iota Aquarius South. Active July 15-Aug 15. Radiant 22h12m -15°. ZHR 2. 34 km/sec. Waxing Crescent Moon. Progenitor: Likely to be a dead comet broken apart into a number of NEO’s (near Earth objects).

August 8: Delta Aquarids North Active July 15-Aug 25. Radiant 22h20m -05°. ZHR 4. 42 km/sec. Waxing Gibbous Moon. Progenitor:  Comet 96P/Machholz

August 12-13 (both mornings): Perseids. Active July 17-Aug 24. Radiant 20 & 22h. ZHR 75 to 100+. 59 km/sec with numerous fireballs. Waxing Gibbous Moon. Progenitor: Comet Swift-Tuttle. Favorable after moonset.

August 18: Kappa Cygnids. Active Aug 3-Aug 25. Radiant 19h04m +59°. ZHR 3. 25 km/sec. Waning Gibbous Moon. Progenitor:  May be fragments associated with Asteroid 1996 JG
August 20: Iota Aquarius North. Active Aug. 11-Aug 31. Radiant 21h48m -06°. ZHR 3. 31 km/sec. Waning Gibbous Moon. Progenitor: Likely to be a dead comet broken apart into a number of NEO’s (near Earth objects).

Asteroid 2019 OK passed within 45,000 miles of Earth on July 25 resulting in our avoiding Close Encounters of the Worst Kind. It was probably as wide as a football field is long and traveling almost 15 miles/sec. “It snuck up on us pretty quickly,” Melbourne-based observational astronomer Mike Brown said. “People are only sort of realizing what happened pretty much after it’s already flung past us.” Although it wasn’t a 5 to 10 mile wide planet killer, and no other asteroid is “expected” to pass closer than the Moon’s distance in the next month, its passage serves to remind us that, in the big picture, the political and economic concerns with which we fill our lives fade into insignificance.

Planet..Constellation(s)………Magnitude………….Planet Passages
………………………………………………………………….Time………….Date

Sun…….Cancer, Leo……..-26.8…….New Moon..6:37AM EDT..8/30
Mercury..Gemini, Leo…….+1.9 to -1.6……….Max. West Elongation ……………………………………………………………..7:00PM EDT…..8/9
Venus..Cancer, Leo………..-3.8………………..Superior Conjunction
…………………………………………………………2:00AM EDT……8/14
………………………………………………………………..Mars, 0.29°SSW, ………………………………………………………….2:00PM EDT…..8/24
Mars……Leo…………………..+1.8 to +1.7………….Venus, 0.29°NNE, ……………………………………………………………2:00PM EDT, 8/24
Jupiter…Ophiuchus………….-2.3 to -2.1
Saturn…Sagittarius…………..+0.2 to +0.3
Uranus…Aries………………….+5.8 to +5.7
Neptune..Aquarius……………+7.8

Planet Plotting

August starts with Mercury (+1.9) in Gemini, Uranus (+5.7) in Aries, and Neptune (+7.8) in Aquarius as predawn planets. At the end of the month Mercury will be much brighter (-1.6) in Leo, Uranus will be slightly brighter (+5.7) and Neptune will not change in brightness. Mercury rises about 1.5 hours before the Sun on the 9th when it is at maximum western elongation (19°) from the Sun. It is well above the ENE horizon for the next week then drops rapidly into the glow of dawn. Uranus and Neptune rise in the evening and are visible the rest of the night. Saturn (+0.2 to +0.3) in Sagittarius rises and sets before sunset and sunrise respectively and Jupiter (-2.3 to -2.1) in Ophiuchus is also up before sunset and sets before Saturn. Venus (-3.8) and Mars (+1.8 to +1.7) in Leo are lost in the glow of sunrise and sunset throughout the month with Venus reaching conjunction with the Sun on the 14th and Mars at conjunction on September 2.

The waxing gibbous Moon is 2.0° from Jupiter at 7:00PM EDT on the 9th and 0.4° from Saturn at 6:00AM EDT on the 12th. A waning gibbous Moon is 4° from Neptune at 9:00AM EDT on the 17th and 5.0° from Uranus at 11:00AM EDT on the 21st. The waning crescent Moon is 1.86° from Mercury on the 29th, 2.91° from Mars at 9:00AM EDT on the 30th, and 2.79° from Venus at 3:00PM EDT on the 30th.

August Moon

The New Moon of August on the 30th at 6:37AM EDT is the beginning of Lunation 1196 which ends 28.96 days later with September’s New Moon on the 28th at 2:27PM EDT. The August Full Moon is on the 15th at 8:29AM EDT. It is known as the “Green Corn, or Grain Moon”. Colonial Americans called it the “Dog’s Day Moon” because, to the Greeks and Romans, the “dog days” occurred in July and August when Sirius in Canis Major appeared to rise just before the Sun. Celts called it the “Dispute Moon” and it was named the “Corn Moon” in Medieval England. Chinese refer to it as the “Harvest Moon” and the Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people recognize it as “Manoominike-giizis” (Ricing Moon.)

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passages
………………………………………………….Moon Phase..Moon Age
Sun………Leo……-26.8…………6:37AM EDT, 8/30..New..0 days
Mercury..Leo…….+1.6…………….1.86°NNE, 11:00PM EDT, 8/29 ……………………………………………Waning Crescent..28.32 days
Venus…..Leo……..-3.8……………2.79°NNE, 3:00PM EDT, 8/30 …………………………………………Waxing Crescent..0.33 days
Mars……..Leo…….+1.8……………2.91°NNE, 9:00AM EDT, 8/30 ……………………………………………Waxing Crescent..0.08 days
Jupiter..Ophiuchus…..-2.4…………..2.0°N, 7:00PM EDT, 8/9 ……………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..8.16 days
Saturn..Sagittarius…..+0.1……………0.4°S, 6:00AM EDT, 8/12 ……………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..10.49 days
Uranus….Aries………..+5.8……………5.0°S, 11:00AM EDT, 8/21 …………………………………………..Waning Gibbous..19.82 days
Neptune..Aquarius…..+7.8…………….4.0°S, 9:00AM EDT, 8/17 ……………………………………………Waning Gibbous..15.74 days

July 2019 – Skies News

07/3/2019
July Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Intergalactic Space, Planet Plotting, July Moon

Focus Constellations: Coma Berenices, Virgo, Bootes, Corona Borealis, Ophiuchus, Hercules, Lyra, Aquila, Cygnus, Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Camelopardalis, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major

Comet Journals

C/2018 N2 (ASASSN) is an 11th magnitude comet moving northward through the head of Cetus which rises in the wee hours after midnight. It will slowly move through northern hemisphere skies for the next two years. Even at perihelion on November 11, the comet will probably not exceed 10th magnitude in brightness as it moves perpendicular to the plane of the solar system between Mars and Jupiter. Since its orbit around the Sun takes more than 2 million years, seeing it is probably a once in a lifetime event, maybe even once in the lifetime of the human race. C/2018 R3 (Lemmon) is at 12th magnitude as it moves from Lynx to Leo in July after passing through perihelion on June 7. After moving southeastward into Leo in August it will exit the inner solar system on its return trip beyond the Kuiper Belt.

Mars Landers

The Insight lander arrived on Elysium Planita of Mars on Nov 26, 2018. After unfurling the solar panels and radio antenna and deploying its seismometer, the mole carrying the Heat Flow and Physics Properties Package (HP3) began burrowing into the ground on Feb. 28, aiming to reach a depth of up to 16 feet (5 meters). But it became stuck at a depth of 30 centimeters, possibly due to an obstruction or other issue. Project scientists and engineers do not believe that the cause is either the mole hitting a rock it cannot push aside or a snag in the mole’s tether within the instrument’s housing. The most likely hypothesis and — importantly — one for which they can do something to help the mole, is that it is stuck because of a lack of friction with the surrounding regolith. This means the mole simply bounces in place when it attempts to hammer deeper into the surface. On June 5, they decided to lift the support structure to examine the mole.

On June 28, InSight’s robotic arm, designed to place instruments onto the Martian surface, lifted the support structure for the HP3 and uncovered the mole as part of efforts to troubleshoot the instrument. They concluded that pressing down on the surface adjacent to the instrument (with the robotic arm) may increase friction and allow the mole to gain traction.

In its continuing quest for evidence of past or present life on Mars, Curiosity Rover is investigating Glen Torridon, the clay-bearing unit adjacent to Vera Rubin Ridge on 16,404 foot Mt. Sharp at the center of Gale Crater. After spending almost 2 years examining Vera Rubin Ridge, the rover descended almost 15 meters into a trough south of the ridge on the northern flank of Mt. Sharp to explore the northern part of the clay-bearing unit.
Before Curiosity arrived on Mars in 2012, mission scientists selected a Gale Crater landing because spectral signatures of clay were measured by NASA orbiters in the Glen Torridon area and clay deposits are often formed in water, which is essential for life. Airborne fine grains of clay tend to be transported, not deposited, by wind. In water, minimal current or wave activity such as found in stagnant ponds or deep water lakes and seas allows clay to settle to the bottom.

Curiosity drilled into a site in the clay-bearing unit nicknamed Aberlady on Sol 2370 (April 6). Analysis of the sample revealed the most clay rich content of any sample yet examined on Mars. On Sol 2384, (April 21, 2019), rock powder was obtained from an adjacent rock drilled at Kilmarie. Processing and analysis of the powder again revealed a very high clay mineral content. Further analysis and interpretation of analysis data may allow for earthbound scientists to develop deeper insight into the origin of the clay, deposition conditions, and changes resulting from varying environmental conditions on Mars during the billions of years since formation.

After completion of drilling, the rover continued its traverse through Glen Torridon, driving over and around pebbles and rocks, rippled sand, and ridges with bedrock layers at the surface of the clay-bearing unit. The next destination is the sulfate unit and Greenheugh Pediment farther up Mt. Sharp.

Meteor Showers

July’s best meteor shower viewing is the Delta Aquarid Shower which averages 20 meteors per hour in dark skies free of light pollution. Meteors emanate out of the south-southwestern sky in predawn hours following waning crescent Moonset.

July 9: Pegasids. Active July 7-13. Radiant 22h40m +15°. ZHR 3. 70 km/sec. 1st Quarter Moon. Progenitor: C/1979 Y1 (Bradfield).

July 28: Delta Aquarids Active July 12-Aug 19. Radiant 22h36m -16°. ZHR 20. 41 km/sec. Waning Crescent Moon. Progenitor: Comet 96P / McCholtz

July 30: Alpha Capricornids Active July 3-Aug 15. Radiant 20h28m -10°. ZHR 0 to 100+. 23 km/sec. Waning Crescent Moon. Progenitor: Comet 169/P Neat

Intergalactic Space

Although telescopic views of the planets are relatively distorted by their proximity to the western, southern, and eastern horizon in July, the western evening sky is the window to deep space which is normally closed in other seasons when we must peer through the disk of our galaxy, the Milky Way. On summer evenings, the north pole of the galaxy’s disk is in the western sky in Coma Berenices where far fewer Milky Way stars intervene and block views of the depths of space outside the galaxy. Observation with telescopes with apertures of 6 inches or more through this window reveals scattered Milky Way globular star clusters and the distant galaxies and clusters of galaxies in Leo, Virgo, Coma Berenices, Canes Venetici, and Ursa Major. In the last 100 years, telescopic observations by amateur astronomers, professional astronomers, university astronomers, NASA, and others worldwide have altered our perception of the universe and our place in it. Even so, this perception remains exceedingly myopic and is destined to be drastically altered by discoveries yet to come.

Planet..Constellation(s)………Magnitude………….Planet Passages
………………………………………………………………….Time………….Date

Sun..Gemini………………….-26.8..New Moon..3:16PM EDT..7/2
……..Cancer………………….-26.8..New Moon..11:12PM EDT..7/31
Mercury..Cancer, Gemini..+1.3 to +2.1……….Mars,4.0°N ……………………………………………………………10:00AM EDT, 7/6 …………………………………………………………Inferior Conjunction …………………………………………………………7:00PM EDT…..7/21
Venus..Taurus, Gemini, Cancer..-3.8
Mars…..Cancer, Leo………………+1.8………………Mercury, 4.0°S, ……………………………………………………………10:00AM EDT, 7/6
Jupiter…Ophiuchus………….-2.4 to -2.3
Saturn…Sagittarius…………..+0.1 to +0.2……………..Opposition
…………………………………………………………1:00PM EDT……..7/9
Uranus…Aries………………….+5.8
Neptune..Aquarius……………+7.8

Planet Plotting

July begins with Venus (-3.8) in Taurus rising an hour before the Sun. At months end, the interval is less than 15 minutes. Uranus (+5.8) in Aries, and Neptune (+7.9) in Aquarius are in the southeast and south respectively at sunrise. Saturn (+0.1 to +0.2) in Sagittarius rises and sets with the Sun at opposition on the 9th and Jupiter (-2.4 to -2.3) in Ophiuchus is up before sunset and sets before Saturn. Mercury (1.3 to +2.1) in Cancer and Gemini and Mars (+1.8) in Cancer and Leo are evening planets visible in the west after sundown. Mercury is within 4.0° of Mars at 10:00AM EDT on the 6th and is at inferior conjunction with the Sun at 7:00PM EDT on the 21st.

The waning crescent Moon is 2.5° from Venus at 11:40PM EDT on the 1st and 5.0° from Uranus at 3:00AM EDT on the 25th. The Moon’s waxing crescent is 3° from Mercury at 5;00AM EDT on the 4th and 0.09° from Mars at 2:00AM EDT on the same night. A waning gibbous Moon is 4° from Neptune at 4:00AM EDT on the 21st. The waxing gibbous Moon is 2.0° from Jupiter at 4:00PM EDT on the 13th and 0.2° from Saturn at 3:00AM EDT on the 16th.

July Moon

July’s New Moon on July 2 at 3:16PM EDT creates a total solar eclipse in the South Pacific, Chile, and Argentina. It is the beginning of Lunation 1194 which ends 29.32 days later with the another New Moon on the 31st at 11:12PM EDT. Some have called the latter a “Black” Moon because it is the second New Moon during a single calendar month for North American inhabitants west of the Atlantic time zone (and ATZ time zone areas on standard time).

July’s Full Moon on the 16th at 5:38PM EDT is partially eclipsed in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The July Moon is known as the “Thunder, or Hay Moon”. Some prefer to call it the “Buck Moon”. Colonial Americans called it the “Summer Moon” and Celts called it the “Moon of Claiming”. It was named the “Mead Moon” in Medieval England. Chinese refer to it as the “Hungry Ghost Moon” and the Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people recognize it as “Miin-giizis” (Berry Moon.) Lunar Perigee (minimum orbital distance) is on the 5th at 1:00AM EDT when the Moon is at a distance of 226,009 miles (57.03 Earth radii). Apogee occurs on the 20th at 7:59PM EDT when the Moon is at 251,954 miles (63.58 Earth radii).

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passages
………………………………………………….Moon Phase..Moon Age
Sun……..Gemini……-26.8……..3:16PM EDT, 7/2..New..0 days
…………..Cancer……-26.8…….11:12PM EDT, 7/31..New..0 days
Mercury..Cancer…….+1.6………………3.0°N, 5:00AM EDT, 7/4 ……………………………………………Waxing Crescent..1.57 days
Venus…..Taurus……..-3.8………………2.5°S, 11:40PM EDT,7/1 …………………………………………Waning Crescent..28.54 days
Mars……..Cancer…….+1.8……………0.09°S, 2:00AM EDT, 7/4 ……………………………………………Waxing Crescent..1.45 days
Jupiter..Ophiuchus…..-2.4…………..2.0°N, 4:00PM EDT, 7/13 ……………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..11.03 days
Saturn..Sagittarius…..+0.1……………0.2°S, 3:00AM EDT, 7/16 ……………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..13.99 days
Uranus….Aries………..+5.8……………5.0°S, 3:00AM EDT, 7/25 …………………………………………..Waning Crescent..22.49 days
Neptune..Aquarius…..+7.8…………….4.0°S, 4:00AM EDT, 7/21 ……………………………………………Waning Gibbous..18.53 days

June Skies News – 2019

06/3/2019
June Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Summer Solstice, Planet Plotting, June Moon

Focus Constellations: Cancer, Leo, Leo Minor, Coma Berenices, Virgo, Bootes, Corona Borealis, Ophiuchus, Hercules, Lyra, Cygnus, Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Camelopardalis, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor

Comet Journals

C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) is an evening comet at 12th magnitude in Perseus which sets slightly after the Sun on June 1 and before sunset on June 30. It moves eastward until July after which it moves north northwestward through Perseus as it exits the inner solar system and returns to its aphelion between the Oort Cloud (10000+ AU’s) and Kuiper Belt (30 – 50 AU’s), the normal homes for longer period comets. C/2018 R3 (Lemmon) is brighter than Iwamoto at 11th magnitude as it moves through Camelopardalis and Lynx in June and passes through perihelion on June 7. It then moves southeastward into Leo in August as it exits the inner solar system on its return trip beyond the Kuiper Belt.

Mars Landers

Opportunity’s obituary: The rovers landed on Mars in 2004. Spirit explored for 1892 Martian days (sols) until Mayday, 2009 when the plucky rover became stuck in the sand after traveling a total of 7.73 kilometers. It maintained contact until March, 2010 when the rover became silent. Opportunity steadily continued on until June, 2018 before ending its 45.16 kilometer, 5111 Sol tour and permanently lost contact during a planet wide dust storm on Mars. Both rovers and the scientific teams in control of operations revolutionized understanding of Mars and set the stage for subsequent exploration.

The InSight lander arrived on Elysium Planitia on Mars on Nov. 26, 2018. After unfurling the solar panels and radio antenna and deploying its seismometer, the mole carrying the HP3 heat probe package burrowed into the ground. Although the heat probe got stuck soon after it started digging, teams analyzing its data still hope they can free the mole from the obstruction that halted its progress more than 3 months ago, but the mission’s chief scientist says the chances of completing the heat probe experiment — one of InSight’s two main science instruments — may not look promising.

HP3’s metallic mole began burrowing into the Martian soil Feb. 28, aiming to reach a depth of up to 16 feet (5 meters) — deeper than any previous Mars lander — with a series of thousands of hammer blows planned in several stages over several weeks. Within minutes, an obstruction stopped the mole at a depth of roughly 1 foot (30 centimeters), diverting the probe to a tilt of roughly 15 degrees. Another four-hour hammering session March 2 produced no further progress, and mission managers ordered a stop to the digging operation to allow engineers to evaluate the situation.

The Curiosity Rover is investigating Glen Torridon the clay-bearing unit adjacent to Vera Rubin Ridge, which is on the flank of 16,404 foot Mt. Sharp at the center of Gale Crater. Curiosity drilled a piece of bedrock nicknamed Aberlady on Sol 2370 (April 6). Analysis of the samples reveals the most clay rich composition of any sample yet examined on Mars. Clay minerals are often found in water deposits. When sediment is carried by wind and water into a water body, the coarser grain pebbles and sand settle first in the nearshore area characterized by active waves and the finer silts and clays are carried out to deeper quiet water areas and slowly settle to form a muddy bottom. Long term deposition gradually produces thick layers which may eventually lithify into hard rock with abundant clay minerals such as mudstone and shale. The rocks found in Glen Torridon suggest that nearly 3.5 billion years ago the area was a large lake which eventually dried up, and the buried sediment was compacted into mudstone.

So far, evidence collected on Mars indicates that conditions billions of years ago were favorable for life. Moderate temperatures, lakes with low salinity and fairly neutral acidity, and a much thicker atmosphere combined to form environments in which life could thrive. The final proof would be the discovery of fossils, an activity not included in the design parameters of Curiosity and the other rovers. Those parameters include search for the chemical evidence of ancient or current life, not the physical evidence provided by fossils. That is a task for future rovers or human explorers.

Meteor Showers

In late June, the best meteor shower is the Bootid Shower in the relatively dark waning crescent Moon skies unpolluted by unshielded outdoor lighting.

June 7: Arietids. Peak 16hr 0min UT Active May 22-Jul 2. Radiant 02h56m 24°. Radio Meteors. 37 km/sec. After New Moon. The shower is of uncertain parentage with the near-Earth asteroid 1566 Icarus and Comet 96/P Machholtz as likely candidates.

June 16: Lyrids Active June 11-June 21. Radiant 18h32m 35°. ZHR 0 to 5. 31 km/sec. Before and after Full Moon. Progenitor: Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher

June 27: Bootids Active June 26-July 2. Radiant 14h26m 48°. ZHR 0 to 100+. 18 km/sec. Waning Crescent Moon. Progenitor: Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke

Summer Solstice

On Friday, June 21 at 11:54 AM EDT the Earth’s northern hemisphere will be tilted directly toward the Sun which is 68.5° above the southern horizon, its highest position of the year. The day will be the longest of the year and the night will be shortest. The waning gibbous Moon will arc through the night sky on its southernmost path of the year. The northern hemisphere receives its most direct rays of the Sun on the this day but the warmest part of the northern hemisphere’s summer lags behind until July and August because the atmosphere, land, and oceans require extra time to warm up.

Earth temperature is a balance between solar gain and heat loss to space. Northern hemisphere heat gain increases each day as the June solstice approaches because these gains exceed loses. The difference between the two is greatest at the solstice and even though the difference gradually decreases after the solstice, gains continue to exceed loses until well into August. The ancient Egyptians noticed that the maximum heat of summer was in the “dog days of August” following the helical rising of Sirius, the first magnitude star of Canis Major (the Great Dog). This event (Sirius rising with the Sun) also marked the start of the Nile flooding and heralded the adoption of the first calendar based on the solar year.

Planet..Constellation(s)………Magnitude………….Planet Passages……………………….Time………….Date

Sun..Aries, Taurus..-26.8..New Moon..6:02AM EDT..6/3
Mercury..Taurus, Gemini, Cancer..-1.0 to +1.2……….Mars, 0.2°S ……………………..9:00PM EDT, 6/18……………………………………………………………..Max. East Elongation ……..7:00AM EDT..6/23
Venus…..Aries, Taurus……..-3.8
Mars……Gemini, Cancer…….+1.8……………………Mercury, 0.2°N, …………………..9:00PM EDT, 6/18
Jupiter…Ophiuchus………….-2.5 to -2.4
Saturn…Sagittarius…………..+0.3 to +0.1
Uranus…Aries………………….+5.9 to +5.8
Neptune..Aquarius……………+7.9

Planet Plotting

Venus (-3.8) in Aries and Taurus, Uranus (+5.9 to +5.8) in Aries, and Neptune (+7.9) in Aquarius grace eastern predawn skies as Jupiter (-2.5 to -2.4) in Ophiuchus, and Saturn (+0.3 to +0.1) in Sagittarius rise well before midnight and are in the western sky before sunrise. Mercury (-1.0 to +1.2) in Taurus and Cancer and Mars (+1.8) in Gemini and Cancer are evening planets visible in the west after sundown. Mercury is within 0.2° of Mars at 9:00PM EDT on the 18th and Mercury is farthest from the Sun in the sky on the 23rd when it is at maximum eastern elongation. Earth is visible beneath your feet all month.

The waning crescent Moon is 3° from Venus at 2PM EDT on the 1st and 5.0° from Uranus at 6:00AM EDT on the 27th. The Moon’s waxing crescent is 4° from Mercury at Noon EDT on the 4th and 1.6° from Mars at 11:00AM EDT on the 5th. A waning gibbous Moon is 0.4° from Saturn at Midnight EDT on the 18th and 4° from Neptune at 9:00PM EDT on the 23rd. The waxing gibbous Moon is 2.0° from Jupiter at 3:00PM EDT on the 16th.

June Moon

The New Moon of June is on the 3rd at 6:02AM EDT. It is the beginning of Lunation 1193 which ends 29.37 days later with the New Moon of July on the 2nd at 3:16PM EDT which coincides with total solar eclipse in Chile and Argentina.

June’s Full Moon on the 17th is at 4:31AM EDT. The June Moon is known as the “Rose, Flower, or Strawberry Moon”. Colonial Americans called the June Moon the “Rose Moon” and Celts called it the “Moon of Horses”. It was named the “Dyan Moon” in Medieval England. Chinese refer to it as the “Lotus Moon” and the Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people recognize it as “Odemiini-giizis” (Strawberry Moon.)

Lunar Perigee (minimum orbital distance) is on the 7th at 7:15PM EDT when the Moon is at a distance of 228,978 miles. (57.78 Earth radii). Apogee occurs on the 23rd at 3:50AM EDT when the Moon is at 251,375 miles (63.43 Earth radii).

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passages
………………………………………………….Moon Phase..Moon Age
Sun……..Taurus……-26.8……..6:02AM EDT, 6/3..New..0 days
Mercury..Taurus……..-1.1………………4.0°S, Noon EDT, 6/4 ………………….Waxing Crescent..1.25 days
Venus…..Aries……….-3.8………3.0°S, 2:00PM EDT, 6/1 ………………………Waning Crescent..27.80 days
Mars……Gemini…….+1.8………1.6°S, 11:00AM EDT, 6/5 …………………….Waxing Crescent..2.21 days
Jupiter..Ophiuchus..-2.5………2.0°N, 3:00PM EDT, 6/16 ……………………….Waxing Gibbous..13.37 days
Saturn..Sagittarius…+0.2……..0.4°S, Midnight EDT, 6/18 …………………….Waning Gibbous..14.65 days
Uranus….Aries………+5.8……..5.0°S, 6:00AM EDT, 6/27 ……………………..Waning Crescent..24.00 days
Neptune..Aquarius…+7.9……..4.0°S, 9:00PM EDT, 6/23 ………………………Waning Gibbous..20.62 days

May Skies News – 2019

05/3/2019
May Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Planet Plotting, May Moon

Focus Constellations: Auriga, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Leo Minor, Coma Berenices, Virgo, Bootes, Corona Borealis, Hercules, Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Camelopardalis, Lynx, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor

Comet Journals

C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) is an evening comet at 12th magnitude in Perseus which sets after 10:00PM EDT on the 1st and before 9:00PM EDT on May 31. It will move eastward until July after which it will move north northwestward through Perseus as it exits the inner solar system and returns to its aphelion between the Oort Cloud (10000+ AU’s) and Kuiper Belt (30 – 50 AU’s), the normal homes for longer period comets. No other comet is brighter than 13th magnitude in May.

Mars Landers

Opportunity’s mission is complete as of Sols 5347 to 5353 (Feb. 7, 2019 – Feb. 13, 2019). No response has been received from Opportunity since Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018,) due to a planet-encircling dust storm on Mars. With the last uplink transmission on Sol 5352 (Feb. 12, 2019), the rover recovery efforts are concluded. Total odometry on Mars for the rover was 28.06 miles (45.16 kilometers).

The InSight lander arrived on Elysium Planitia on Mars on Nov. 26, 2018. It immediately unfurled its solar panels and radio antenna and successfully deployed its seismometer on the Martian surface by December 19. The mole carrying the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument burrowed 30 cm. into the ground for the first time on Feb. 28 with its hammer drill and encountered a zone through which it could not penetrate. German scientists who designed the mole are now conducting a series of tests on Earth which are designed to evaluate and solve the drilling problem. Measurements of conditions during the drilling include temperature data, visual images, and seismic data recorded during hammering provided a basis for designing the tests which include the possibilities that the mole may have encountered a large rock through which it was unable to drill, or the Mars sand may be more cohesive than expected causing hammering induced cavities to form around the mole, allowing it to shift sideways instead of drilling downwards. Despite the drilling difficulties, InSight is actively continuing with other measurements. These include surface weather conditions, magnetic field measurements, and detection of small seismic events on March 14, April 10, April 11, and a larger event on April 6 that may represent a likely “marsquake.”

The Curiosity Rover is investigating 16,404 foot Mt. Sharp at Gale Crater’s center in its search for evidence of pre-existing life on Mars. Curiosity is within Glen Torridon the clay-bearing unit adjacent to Vera Rubin Ridge which was the target of investigation of the rovers activities even before the spacecraft was launched because it may hold more clues about the ancient lakes that helped form the lower levels on Mt. Sharp. Curiosity drilled a piece of bedrock nicknamed Aberlady on Saturday, April 6 (Sol 2,370), and delivered the sample to its internal mineralogy lab on Wednesday, April 10 (Sol 2374).

The rock was easily drilled by the rover in contrast to harder rocks drilled earlier on Vera Rubin Ridge. The drill didn’t even use its percussive technique. This was the mission’s first sample obtained using only rotation of the drill bit.

“Curiosity has been on the road for nearly seven years,” said Curiosity Project Manager Jim Erickson of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “Finally drilling at the clay-bearing unit is a major milestone in our journey up Mount Sharp.”

Clay minerals are tempting targets for analysis because they usually form in water. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spied a strong clay “signal” here long before Curiosity landed in 2012 and discovery of the signal’s source could determine if a wetter Martian era shaped this layer of Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain.

Clay minerals in mudstones were found before in many places on Mars. The mudstones formed as rivers entered ancient lakes nearly 3.5 billion years ago and deposited their sediment load. As with water elsewhere on Mars, the lakes eventually dried up, and the buried sediment was compacted into mudstone.

The region clearly has several other clues to reveal. There are several kinds of bedrock and sand, including active sand ripples that have shifted in the past year. Pebbles are scattered everywhere – are they eroding from the local bedrock? Several eye-catching landmarks, such as Knockfarril Hill, stick out as well.

“Each layer of this mountain is a puzzle piece,” said Curiosity Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada of JPL. “They each hold clues to a different era in Martian history. We’re excited to see what this first sample tells us about the ancient environment, especially about water.”

The Aberlady sample will give the team a starting point for investigation of the clay-bearing unit. Mission scientists plan to drill into the unit several more times over the course of the next year. That will help them understand what makes this region different from Vera Rubin Ridge behind it and an area higher on the mountain in which the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) detected a sulfate signal.

Meteor Showers

In early May, dark New Moon skies unpolluted by unshielded outdoor lighting offer two Meteor Showers:

Early May, June, and July: Sagittarids. Peak 22hr 30min UT Active Apr 15-Jul 15. Radiant 16h28m -22°. ZHR ~5. 30 km/sec. just before and after New Moon.

May 6: Eta Aquarids Active Apr 19-May 28. Radiant 22h32m -01°. ZHR ~40. 66 km/sec. 1 day after New Moon. Progenitor: Comet 1P/Halley

Planet..Constellation(s)..Magnitude..Planet Passages………………………………………Time………….Date

Sun..Aquarius, Taurus..-26.8..New Moon..4:50AM EDT..5/4
Mercury..Pisces, Aries, Taurus..+0.2 to -2.2 to +1.1………Uranus, …………….1.26°NNW, Noon EDT, 5/8 …Superior Conjunction …………………………………………………………………..9:00AM EDT….5/21
Venus…..Pisces, Aries……..-3.8……….Uranus, 1.2°N, …………………………….4:00AM EDT, 5/18
Mars……Taurus, Gemini…….+1.6 to +1.8
Jupiter…Ophiuchus………….-2.2 to -2.4
Saturn…Sagittarius…………..+0.5 to +0.3
Uranus…Aries………………….+5.9…………………..Mercury, 1.26°SSE…………..Noon EDT, 5/8
……….Venus, 1.2°S,………4:00AM EDT, 5/18
Neptune..Aquarius……………+7.9

Planet Plotting

May morning skies reward early risers with Jupiter (-2.2 to -2.4) in Ophiuchus, Saturn (+0.5 to +0.3) in Sagittarius, Venus (-3.8) in Pisces and Aries, Uranus (+5.9) in Aries, and Neptune (+7.9) in Aquarius. The planets appear in the southeastern sky with Jupiter rising before midnight EDT in early May, followed by Saturn about 2 hours later, and the last three rise in the twilit skies of dawn. At the beginning of the month, Mercury (+0.2) in Pisces may be visible north of Venus right above the horizon. Both will sink deeper into the glow of sunrise during May as Neptune moves higher in the dawn sky.
Mars (+1.5 to +1.6) in Taurus and Mercury (+0.2 to -2.2 to -1.1) in Pisces, Aries, and Taurus, are evening planets in May. Mars is low in the early evening western sky and sets before 11:00PM EDT on the 1st and about 10pm EDT on the 31st. Mercury will not appear in the western sky until very late in May after its conjunction with the Sun on the 21st.
The waning crescent Moon is 4° from Venus at 8AM EDT on the 2nd, 3° from Mercury at 2:00AM EDT on the 3rd, 4° from Neptune at 1:00PM EDT on the 27th, and 5.9° from Uranus at 6:00AM EDT on the 31st. Its waxing crescent is 3° from Mars at 8:00PM EDT on the 7th and a waning gibbous Moon is 1.7° from Jupiter at 1:00PM EDT on the 20th and 0.5° from Saturn at 6:00PM EDT on the 22nd

May Moon

May’s New Moon is on the 5th at 4:50AM EDT. It is the beginning of Lunation 1192 which ends 29.47 days later with the New Moon of June on the 3rd at 6:02AM EDT.

The Full Moon on the 18th at 5:11PM EDT. The May Moon is known as the “Planting or Milk Moon”. Colonial Americans called the May Moon the “Milk Moon” and Celts called it the “Bright Moon”. It was named the “Hare Moon” in Medieval England. Chinese refer to it as the “Dragon Moon” and the Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people recognize it as “Zaagibagaa-giizis” (Budding Moon.)

Lunar Perigee (minimum orbital distance) is on the 13th at 5:53PM EDT when the Moon is at a distance of 229,291 miles. (57.86 Earth radii). Apogee occurs on the 26th at 9:27AM EDT when the Moon is at 251,119 miles (63.36 Earth radii).

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passages…………………………………………Moon Phase..Moon Age
Sun……..Aries……..-26.8……..6:46PM EDT, 5/4..New..0 days
Mercury..Pisces…….-0.4……..3.0°S, 2:00AM EDT, 5/3………………………….Waning Crescent..27.62 days
Venus…..Pisces…….-3.8………4.0°S, 8:00AM EDT, 5/2 ……………………….Waning Crescent..27.13 days
Mars……Taurus……..+1.7………3.0°S, 8:00PM EDT, 5/7 ……………………..Waxing Crescent..2.34 days
Jupiter..Ophiuchus..-2.4………1.7°N, 1:00PM EDT, 5/20 ………………………Waning Gibbous..15.47 days
Saturn..Sagittarius…+0.3……..0.5°S, 6:00PM EDT, 5/22 ……………………..Waning Gibbous..17.63 days
Uranus….Aries………+5.9……..5.9°S, 6:00AM EDT, 5/31………………………Waning Crescent..26.59 days
Neptune..Aquarius…+7.9……..4.0°S, 1:00PM EDT, 5/27 ………………………Waning Crescent..22.38 days

April Skies News – 2019

04/2/2019
April Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Planet Plotting, Spring Skies, April Moon

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

Comet Journal

C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) is an evening comet at 10th magnitude in Perseus which sets after 8:00PM EDT in April. It passed through perihelion south of western Virgo on Feb. 6 and was closest to Earth (28 million miles) in Leo on Feb. 11 & 12. It will move eastward until July after which it will move north northwestward through Perseus as it exits the inner solar system and returns to its aphelion between the Oort Cloud (10000+ AU’s) and Kuiper Belt (30 – 50 AU’s), the normal homes for longer period comets.

Mars Landers

Opportunity’s mission is complete as of Sols 5347 to 5353 (Feb. 7, 2019 – Feb. 13, 2019). No response has been received from Opportunity since Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018,) due to a planet-encircling dust storm on Mars. With the last uplink transmission on Sol 5352 (Feb. 12, 2019), the rover recovery efforts are concluded. Total odometry on Mars for the rover was 28.06 miles (45.16 kilometers).

After arriving in Elysium Planitia on Mars on Nov. 26, the InSight lander unfurled its solar panels and radio antennas. Preliminary deployment of the seismometer on the Martian surface was achieved on December 19. Space.com states: “InSight’s Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument burrowed underground for the first time on Feb. 28. The main goal of NASA’s InSight lander, which arrived on the Red Planet in November 2018, is to measure underground heat flow and seismic activity. That isn’t going quite as planned as the drill encountered rocks through which it could not yet penetrate. However, the lander is using one of its less important sensors to make the very first measurements of Mars’s magnetic field from the surface, which may help to find ground water at depth.

Curiosity Rover is investigating 16,404 foot Mt. Sharp at Gale Crater’s center in its search for evidence of pre-existing life on Mars. Curiosity is within Glen Torridon the clay-bearing unit adjacent to Vera Rubin Ridge which was the target of investigation of the rovers activities for the past 17 months. Clay minerals in this unit may hold more clues about the ancient lakes that helped form the lower levels on Mt. Sharp.

In November, the rover’s computer suffered a reset due to a memory failure which caused mission scientists to shut down the computer and to bring the backup computer on line. The issue was corrected by reformatting the computer and isolating the suspect memory chips. On February 15, a hiccup during boot-up interrupted planned activities and triggered a protective safe mode. The rover exited this mode on Tuesday, Feb. 19, and operated normally. On March 6, 2019 (Sol 2,339) Curiosity experienced a computer reset that triggered another safe mode. This was the second computer reset in three weeks; both resets were related to the backup computer’s memory. The mission team decided to switch back to the repaired computer and proceed with analysis of the clay-bearing unit which features several low, linear ridges of sand near the rover. These are shaped by the winds, which have herded the sand grains into transverse dunes. On Sol 2356, the rover targeted Stonebriggs and imaged densely packed round and smooth rocks possibly shaped by water currents. Wind tends to create flat, faceted surfaces due to sandblasting.

Meteor Showers

Apr. 22: Lyrids. Peak 22hr 30min UT Active Apr 16-25.
Radiant 18h04m -34°. ZHR ~var<90. 49 km/sec. 3 days after Full Moon. Progenitor: Comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher)

Apr. 24: Pi Puppids Peak 4 UT Active Apr 15-18. Radiant 07h20m -45°. ZHR ~0-40. 18 km/sec. 5 days after Full Moon. Progenitor: Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup

Planet Plotting

Jupiter (-2.1 to -2.3) in Ophiuchus, Saturn (+0.6 to +0.5) in Sagittarius, Mercury (+0.9 to -0.3) and Venus (-3.9 to -3.8) in Aquarius and Pisces, and Neptune (+8.0 to +7.9) in Aquarius are morning planets in April. They are visible in the southeastern sky with Jupiter rising about 1:30AM EDT in early April, followed by Saturn an hour and a half later, and the last three rise in the twilit skies of dawn. One of April’s highlights occurs on the 3rd when the Moon, Mercury, and Neptune are within a circle of diameter 3.39°; 26° west of the Sun. At the end of April, Jupiter rises before midnight, Saturn rises about 1:15AM EDT, and sunrise is an hour earlier than on April 1. During the month, Venus will sink deeper into the glow of sunrise as it appears to move closer to Mercury, and Neptune will move higher in the dawn sky.

Uranus (+5.9) in Aries and Mars (+1.5 to +1.6) in Taurus are evening planets in April. Uranus may appear briefly on the western horizon after sunset on the 1st but will then disappear for the month as it reaches conjunction with the Sun on the 22nd. Mars is high in the early evening western sky and does not set until after 11:00PM EDT throughout April.

The waning crescent Moon is 3° from Venus at midnight EDT on the 1st, 3° from Neptune and 4° from Mercury at 7:00PM EDT on the 2nd, and 3° from Neptune at 4:00AM EDT on the 30th. Its waxing crescent is 5° from Uranus at 9:00AM EDT on the 6th and 5° from Mars at 3:00AM EDT on the 9th. A waning gibbous Moon is 1.6° from Jupiter at 6:00AM EDT on the 23rd and 0.4° from Saturn at 10:00AM EDT on the 25th.

Planet..Constellation(s)..Magnitude..Planet Passages…………………Time………….Date

Sun..Aquarius, Pisces, Aries..-26.8..New Moon..4:50AM EDT..4/5
Mercury..Aquarius, Pisces…-0.9 to +0.3……Neptune, 0.4°S, ……………………3:00PM EDT, 4/2 …………………Max. West Elong. …………………./……….4:00PM EDT..4/11
Venus…..Aquarius, Pisces…-3.9 to -3.8…….Neptune, 0.3°S, ……………Midnight, 4/9
Mars……Taurus……………….+1.5 to +1.6
Jupiter…Ophiuchus………….-2.1 to -2.3
Saturn…Sagittarius………….+0.6 to +0.5
Uranus…Aries…………………+5.9………………Solar Conjunction
Neptune..Aquarius…………..+8.0 to +7.9 …..Mercury, 0.4°N,………..3:00PM EDT..4/2
……………………………………………………….Venus, 0.3°N,……………..Midnight, 4/9

Spring Skies

The spring evening sky serves as an entry into infinity and helps us determine directions. In addition it provides a means of keeping time.

During April and May, the zenith hosts the Milky Way’s north galactic pole in Coma Berenices. When we view the zenith, the plethora of stars and nebulae making up the disk of the Milky Way does not interfere with the scene of the depths of intergalactic space. Instead, we peer parallel to the axis of the disk, its thinnest dimension. Distant galaxies, galactic clusters, and galactic superclusters jump into view because fewer Milky Way stars and nebulae obstruct the infinity beyond.

Discerning the direction of north is easily accomplished all year long by observing the direction of Polaris, the north star at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper in Ursa Minor. Unfortunately, despite Lucy’s contention in the Charlie Brown cartoon, there is currently no visible South Star.

The Big Dipper in Ursa Major is our timepiece. It reveals sidereal time which is time by the stars. When the two pointer stars (Merak and Dubhe) at the end of the cup are lined up due south of Polaris, sidereal time is 11:00, when they are lined up between Polaris and the north horizon, it is 23:00. To convert to local solar time, add ~2 hours for each month (4 minutes for each day) after the Spring Equinox or subtract ~2 hours for each month (4 minutes for each day) before the
Spring Equinox.

April Moon

The New Moon of April is on the 5th at 4:50AM EDT. It is the beginning of Lunation 1191 which ends 29.55 days later with the New Moon of May on the 4th at 6:46PM EDT.

The Full Moon on the 19th at 7:12AM EDT is the Paschal Full Moon which precedes and defines the date of Easter Sunday and its associated holidays. The April Moon is known as the “Grass, Egg, or Easter Moon”. Although Full Moon is only ~2.5 days after perigee, when Earth and Moon are closest, the Full Moon, although slightly larger than normal, does not qualify as a “supermoon,” like those of the first 3 months of 2019. Colonial Americans called the April Moon the “Planter’s Moon” and Celts called it the “Growing Moon”. It was named the “Seed Moon” in Medieval England. Chinese refer to it as the “Peony Moon” and the Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people recognize it as “Pokwaagami-giizis” (Broken Snowshoe Moon)

Lunar Perigee (minimum orbital distance) occurs on the 16th at 6:05PM EDT when the Moon is at a distance of 226,306 miles.

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passages ………………..Moon Phase..Moon Age
Sun……..Pisces……..-26.8…….4:50AM EDT, 4/5..New..0 days
Mercury..Aquarius….+0.9…….4.0°S, 7:00PM EST, 4/2 …Waning Crescent..27.33 days
Venus…..Aquarius….-3.9……3.0°S, Midnight EDT, 4/1 …Waxing Crescent..25.54 days
Mars……Taurus……..+1.5………5.0°S, 3:00AM EDT, 4/9…Waxing Crescent..3.92 days
Jupiter…Ophiuchus….-2.3….1.6°N, 6:00AM EDT, 4/23 ….Waning Gibbous..18.05 days
Saturn…Sagittarius….+0.5…0.4°S, 10:00AM EDT, 4/25 ..Waning Gibbous..20.22 days
Uranus….Pisces……+5.9……….5.0°S, 9:00AM EDT, 4/6 …Waxing Crescent..1.17 days
Neptune..Aquarius…..+8.0…..3.0°S, 7:00PM EDT, 4/2 …Waning Crescent..27.33 days Neptune..Aquarius..+8.0.3.0°S, 4:00PM EDT, 4/30.+7.9..Waning Crescent.24.97 days 

March Skies News – 2019

03/4/2019
March Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Planet Plotting, Spring Equinox, March Moon

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

Comet Journal

C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) is an evening comet at 8th magnitude in Auriga and Perseus setting after midnight in March. It passed through perihelion south of western Virgo on Feb. 6th and was closest to Earth (28 million miles) in Leo on Feb. 11th & 12. It will move westward, paralleling the ecliptic during March, and will reach Auriga by month’s end. It is now exiting the inner solar system and returning to its aphelion between the Oort Cloud (10000+ AU’s) and Kuiper Belt (30 – 50 AU’s,) the normal homes for longer period comets.
Comet 46P/Wirtanen (2018) has decreased to 10th magnitude as it leaves western Ursa Major and enters Leo Minor in March. It is a short period comet returning to the Asteroid Belt.

Mars Landers

The Opportunity rover is now officially considered inoperable after the global dust storm on Mars during opposition last summer, no signal has been heard since Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018.) NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab attempts to send newly revised commands to Opportunity failed to rouse a response and further attempts have now been abandoned.
After arriving in Elysium Planitia on Mars on Nov. 26th, the InSight lander unfurled its solar panels and radio antennas. Preliminary deployment of the seismometer on the Martian surface was achieved on December 19. space.com states: “InSight’s Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument burrowed underground for the first time on Feb. 28. After 400 hammer blows over the course of four hours, the instrument apparently got between 7 inches and 19.7 inches (18 to 50 centimeters) beneath the red dirt — but obstacles slowed its progress.

The Curiosity Rover is investigating 16,404 foot Mt. Sharp at Gale Crater’s center in its search for evidence of pre-existing life on Mars. Central mountains often appear in impact craters and are thought to result from crustal rebound in the area most highly compressed by the impact. Alternatives to this hypothesis include erosional remnants in craters which were filled with layers of sediments and/or lava flows and then underwent erosion which worked its way inward from the margin of the crater to the uneroded remnant. Based on studies by Curiosity which reveal that variations in gravitational fields along the rovers traverse, the sedimentary layers in the crater and on Mt. Sharp’s lower slopes are unusually porous, much more porous than would be expected in layers compressed by impact or overlain by thousands of feet of sediment/lava layers. This porosity may indicate that the above alternatives for the formation of Mt. Sharp may be inadequate explanations. Instead, the mountain may have formed as sediments carried by inflowing wind and water built a free standing mound in the crater’s center.

Curiosity’s next destination is to study the clay-bearing unit adjacent to Vera Rubin Ridge, the target of investigation of the rovers activities for the last 17 months. Clay minerals in this unit may hold more clues about the ancient lakes that helped form the lower levels on Mount Sharp.

Meteor Showers

Mar. 24: Virginids. Peak 5 UT Active Jan 25-Apr 15. Radiant 13h00m -04°. ZHR ~5. 30 km/sec. 4 days after Full Moon. Progenitor: Unidentified – possibly an asteroid
Mar. 13 Wed.: Gamma Normids Peak 7 UT? Active Feb 25-Mar 22. Radiant 16h36m -51°. ZHR ~8?. 56 km/sec. 1 day before 1st quarter Moon. Progenitor: Unidentified – possibly a comet

Planet Plotting

Mercury (-0.2 to +1.0) is in Aquarius and Pisces in March and is visible in the southwestern sky in the first week of March after passing through Maximum Eastern Elongation on February 26. It is within less than 8° of the thin waxing crescent Moon at 2:00 PM EST on the 9th as it drops into the glow of sunset before reaching inferior conjunction with the Sun at 10:00PM EDT on the 14th. It will reappear low in the morning sky before dawn at months end.

Mars (1.2 to 1.34) in Aries and Taurus and Uranus (+5.9) in southwestern Aries are in the early evening western sky in March, setting well before midnight. A waxing crescent Moon is 5.0°S of Uranus at 11:00PM EST on the 9th and 6.0°S of Mars at 8:00AM EDT on the 11th. Uranus will drop lower into the setting Sun’s glare during the month while Mars appears higher in the western sky as it moves eastward and does not set until after 11:00PM EDT at the end of March. As it moves into Taurus, it appears to pass 3°S of the Pleiades star cluster (known to the Japanese as Suburu) on the 29th and 30th.

The waning crescent Moon passes Saturn (+0.6) in Sagittarius twice in March. On the 1st it is 0.3°N of the planet at 1:00PM EST and is 0.25°E at 5:00AM EDT on the 29th when both are visible in the eastern predawn sky. Jupiter (-1.9 to -2.1) in nearby Ophiuchus is also a morning planet, rising earlier than its ringed companion. Venus (-4.0 to -3.9) in Capricornus and Aquarius rises after the giant planets yet dominates them in brightness. Before dawn on the 13th, the 3 planets are spaced equally along the ecliptic from Ophiuchus through Capricornus. The waning crescent Moon is 1.2°S of Venus at 4:00PM EST on the 2nd, and the waning gibbous Moon is 1.9°N of Jupiter at 10PM EDT on the 26th.

Neptune is hidden behind the Sun throughout March, reaching conjunction with the Sun at 8:00PM EST on the 6th.

Planet..Constellation(s)..Magnitude..Planet Passages…………………………………………….Time………….Date

Sun..Aquarius, Pisces..-26.8..New Moon..11:04AM EST..3/6
Mercury..Aquarius, Pisces…-0.2 to +5.0 to +1.0…….Inferior ………Çonjunction…………..10:00PM EDT..3/14
Venus…Capricornus, Aquarius..-4.0 to -3.9
Mars…..Aries, Taurus…………….+1.2 to +1.4
Jupiter…Ophiuchus……………….-1.9 to -2.1
Saturn…Sagittarius……………….+0.6
Uranus…Aries………………………+5.9
Neptune..Aquarius………………..+8.0…………Solar Conjunction …………………………………8:00PM EST..3/6
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….1:00AM EST..2/19

Spring Equinox

The Vernal Equinox on 3/20 at 3:48PM EDT can be used to determine the astronomical date of Easter. The Christian definition states that Easter, the most important holiday of the Christian calendar, occurs on the first Sunday following the first “paschal” full moon after the Vernal Equinox. In 2019, Easter should occur on March 24 since the full moon on the 20th is ~5 hours after the equinox, making Sunday the 24th the date of Easter, the earliest date for Easter since 1913.
However, the 2019 calendar lists April 21 as Easter, the latest Easter of the 20th & 21st centuries. In order to simplify previous calculations, the Christian Church specified that the paschal full moon need not coincide with the astronomical full moon. The former was defined as always occurring on the 14th day of the lunar month. In addition, the Church specified that the Vernal Equinox was to be redefined as March 21. The astronomical definition for the equinox is that the date varies due to when Earth’s axis is oriented at precisely 90° to a line between Earth and Sun so that the entire Earth experiences 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of dark (assuming a horizon free of obstructions). Thus, Christian definitions for the full moon and the equinox ignore real astronomical arrangements because the ancient Christians did not have the ability to precisely measure the astronomical motions of the Earth, Sun, and Moon.

If you wish, you are astronomically justified in coloring and hiding a few eggs and eating chocolate bunnies on March 24.

March Moon

The New Moon of March is on the 6th at 11:04AM EST. It is the beginning of Lunation 1190 which ends 29.71 days later with the New Moon of April on the 5th at 4:50AM EDT.

The Full Moon on the 20th at 9:43PM EDT is the first spring full moon of 2019. The March Moon is known as the “Sap, Crow, or Lenten Moon”. Since the Full Moon is ~30 hours after perigee, when the Earth and Moon are closest, the Full Moon appears larger than normal producing a “supermoon” for the third month in a row! Colonial Americans called the March Moon the “Fish Moon” and Celts called it the “Moon of Winds”. It was the “Chaste Moon” in Medieval England to symbolize innocence and fruitfulness associated with spring. Chinese refer to it as the “Sleepy Moon” and the Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people recognize it as “Onaabani-giizis” (Snowcrust Moon).

Lunar Apogee (maximum orbital distance) occurs on the 4th at 6:26AM EST when the Moon is at 252,519 miles (63.72 Earth radii). Another Apogee occurs on the 31st at 8:14PM EDT when the Moon is 252,014 miles from Earth (63.59 Earth radii). Perigee occurs on the 19th at 3:48PM EDT when the Moon is at a distance of 223,307 miles (56.34 Earth radii).

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passages……………………………………………………Moon Phase..Moon Age
Sun……Aquarius……..-26.8…..11:04AM EST, 3/6..New..0 days
Mercury..Pisces………+2.8…….7.9°SSE, 2:00PM EST, 3/9 …………………………………..Waxing Crescent..3.12 days
Venus….Capricornus..-4.0…….1.2°S, 4:00PM EST, 3/2 ………………………………………Waning Crescent..26.00 days
Mars……Aries…………+1.3……..6.0°S, 8:00AM EDT, 3/11 …………………………………….Waxing Crescent..4.87 days
Jupiter…Ophiuchus….-2.1……..1.9°N, 10:00PM EDT, 3/26 ………………………………….Waning Gibbous..20.46 days
Saturn…Sagittarius….+0.6……..0.3°N, 1:00PM EST, 3/1 …………………………………….Waning Crescent..24.87 days
………………………………………….0.25°E, 5:00AM EDT, 3/29 ………………………………….Waning Crescent..22.75 days
Uranus…Aries…………+5.9………5.0°S, 11:00PM EST, 3/9 …………………………………..Waxing Crescent..3.50 days
Neptune..Aquarius…..+8.0……….3.0°SSE, Noon EST, 3/6 …………………………………..Waxing Crescent..1.04 days