Third time’s the charm – under clear skies, I got to set up my telescope and show the Moon to attendees of the Astronomy Night event at my wife’s school… finally! As always, looking through my telescope was a first-time for several viewers, and I got the customary “Oh WOW!” from several people!
Saturn, Jupiter and the star Antares are in the south-southeastern predawn sky all week.
Saturn and Jupiter in the south-southeastern predawn sky Mar. 19, 2019. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.The image below is the same patch of sky above seen in infrared light – the disk and bulge of the Milky Way can clearly be seen!
The south-southeastern predawn sky Mar. 19, 2019 seen in IR – data from 2MASS satellite. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.The waxing gibbous Moon can be seen setting in the western predawn sky on Mar. 19th. The full and waning gibbous Moon set a bit later each morning.
The waxing gibbous Moon setting in the western predawn sky Mar. 19, 2019. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.The Moon will appear near the star Spica in the southwestern predawn sky on Mar. 22nd.
The waning gibbous Moon near the star Spica in the southwestern predawn sky Mar. 22, 2019. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.The Moon joins Jupiter and Saturn in the south-southeastern predawn sky Mar. 25th.
The Moon, Saturn and Jupiter in the south-southeastern predawn sky Mar. 25, 2019. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.Mars continues to crawl slowly towards the Pleiades, high in the western sky after sunset. P.S. my cat is making it nearly impossible for me to type this sentence…
Mars near the Pleiades in the western sky after dark on Mar. 25, 2019. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
M101 – The Pinwheel Nebula
The Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101, M101 or NGC 5457) is a face-on spiral galaxy distanced 21 million light-years (six megaparsecs)[3] away from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. Discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 27, 1781, it was communicated to Charles Messier who verified its position for inclusion in the Messier Catalogue as one of its final entries. – Wikipedia
M101 – Pinwheel Galaxy. Credit: Fred EspenakOn February 28, 2006, NASA and the European Space Agency released a very detailed image (below) of the Pinwheel Galaxy, which was the largest and most detailed image of a galaxy by Hubble Space Telescope at the time. The image was composed of 51 individual exposures, plus some extra ground-based photos.
On August 24, 2011, a Type Ia supernova, SN 2011fe, was discovered in M101. – Wikipedia
This new Hubble image reveals the gigantic Pinwheel galaxy, one of the best known examples of “grand design spirals”, and its supergiant star-forming regions in unprecedented detail. The image is the largest and most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy ever taken with Hubble.
M101 Location in Ursa Major. Credit: Stellarium/Bob Trembley
The Moon is a waxing gibbous, visible to the southeast in early evening, and up for most of the night.. The full Moon occurs on Mar. 20th, rising at sunset, high in the sky around midnight, and visible all night. After the 20th, the Moon will be a waning gibbous, rising after sunset, high in the sky after midnight, and visible to the southwest after sunrise.
The Moon from Mar 19-25, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.Moon News
We have a spot! SpaceWeather.com notes that sunspot AR2735 is a remnant member of old Solar Cycle 24.
Sunspot AR2735 on Mar. 19, 2019. Image courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.Both northern and southern coronal holes remain open; a small hole appears at the equator – if the hole does not close, it will rotate out of view in a couple days.
SpaceWeather.com says: “Geomagnetic unrest is possible on March 20th when a stream of solar wind hits Earth’s magnetic field. The gaseous material is flowing from a minor hole in the sun’s atmosphere. Arctic sky watchers should be alert for auroras mixed with full moonlight.”
Several small but very nice loop prominences on the Sun’s limb for the past couple days; sunspot AR2735 is the bright orange region just above the equator.
The solar wind speed is 365.5 km/sec (↑), with a density of 10.3 protons/cm3 (↑).
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun’s limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechYou can create your own time-lapse movies of the Sun here: AIA/HMI Browse Data.
You can browse all the SDO images of the Sun from 2010 to the present here: Browse SDO archive.
Sun News
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2019 DH1 |
2019-Mar-18
|
8.6 LD
|
5
|
21
|
| 2019 CL2 |
2019-Mar-18
|
10.2 LD
|
7.5
|
76
|
| 2019 CD5 |
2019-Mar-20
|
10.1 LD
|
17
|
146
|
| 2019 ES2 |
2019-Mar-20
|
7.6 LD
|
6.9
|
24
|
| 2019 DS |
2019-Mar-21
|
17.3 LD
|
8.9
|
38
|
| 2019 EA2 |
2019-Mar-22
|
0.8 LD
|
5.4
|
25
|
| 2019 EK2 |
2019-Mar-23
|
4.7 LD
|
8.1
|
11
|
| 2019 ER2 |
2019-Mar-25
|
8.9 LD
|
4.8
|
23
|
| 2019 EN |
2019-Mar-27
|
9.7 LD
|
15.2
|
208
|
| 2016 GE1 |
2019-Apr-04
|
3.9 LD
|
10.1
|
17
|
| 2014 UR |
2019-Apr-09
|
13 LD
|
4.6
|
17
|
| 2016 GW221 |
2019-Apr-09
|
10.1 LD
|
5.3
|
39
|
| 2012 XO134 |
2019-Apr-18
|
14.8 LD
|
11
|
56
|
| 522684 |
2019-Apr-19
|
19 LD
|
11.5
|
214
|
| 2018 KK1 |
2019-May-05
|
13.9 LD
|
13.9
|
71
|
| 2017 RC |
2019-May-09
|
14.5 LD
|
10.6
|
9
|
| 2008 HS3 |
2019-May-09
|
14.6 LD
|
5.3
|
162
|
| 2018 VX8 |
2019-May-12
|
6.2 LD
|
15.5
|
118
|
Notes: LD means “Lunar Distance.” 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Table from SpaceWeather.com
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1967 (last updated Feb. 26, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 793,533
On Mar. 18, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 5 fireballs.
(5 sporadics)
In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point–Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). From: Spaceweather.com
https://twitter.com/dswanastro/status/1107418861941522432
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system:
NASA – The Lunar Gateway: We’re Going Back to the Moon!
So, of course, someone made a shareable Lunar Gateway Space Station for Kerbal Space Program:
Replica of the Lunar Orbital Platform Gateway in Kerbal Space Program. Credit: RundownPear.OSIRIS-REx – Boulders on Bennu’s South Pole
Mars InSight – Minitremors detected on Mars!
Climate
-Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
Exoplanet Artwork by Bob Trembley
Above an ocean exoplanet, with a Moon and Nebula. Credit: Space Engine / Bob Trembley.
Because it’s pretty:
Apps used for this post:
NASA Eyes on the Solar System: an immersive 3D solar system and space mission simulator – free for the PC /MAC.
I maintain the unofficial NASA Eyes Facebook page.
Stellarium: a free open source planetarium app for PC/MAC/Linux. It’s a great tool for planning observing sessions.
Space Engine: a free 3D Universe Simulator for the PC.
Section header image credits:
The Sky – Stellarium/ Bob Trembley
Observing Target – Turn Left at Orion / M. Skirvin
The Moon – NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Sun – NASA/JPL-Caltech
Asteroids – NASA/JPL-Caltech
Fireballs – Credited to YouTube
Comets –Comet P/Halley, March 8, 1986, W. Liller
The Solar System – NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley
Spacecraft News – NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley
Exoplanets – Space Engine / Bob Trembley
The Universe – Universe Today
2018 is NASA’s 60th Anniversary!
July 20, 2019 is the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
