Skip to content
Vatican Observatory
  • About
    • Overview
    • Team
    • FAQ
  • Telescopes
    • Overview
    • Telescope Images
  • Latest
    • Overview
    • Resources
    • Press
    • Audio
    • Video
    • Research
    • Authors
      • FAQs
    • Newsletter
    • Tucson Meteor Cameras
  • Podcast
  • Education
    • Overview
    • Resource Center
    • Image Gallery
    • Summer School
    • Books
    • Software
    • Additional Resources
    • ACME
    • Ambassadors
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Support
    • Overview
    • Donate Now
    • Smart Ways to Give
    • Sacred Space Astronomy
      • View Content
    • Fr. Coyne Fundraiser
    • Bequests / Trusts
    • The Foundation
      • Newsletters
      • Annual Reports
  • Press
  • Specola Vaticana
  • Contact
    • Contact
  • About
    • Overview
    • Team
    • FAQ
  • Telescopes
    • Overview
    • Telescope Images
  • Latest
    • Overview
    • Resources
    • Press
    • Audio
    • Video
    • Research
    • Authors
      • FAQs
    • Newsletter
    • Tucson Meteor Cameras
  • Podcast
  • Education
    • Overview
    • Resource Center
    • Image Gallery
    • Summer School
    • Books
    • Software
    • Additional Resources
    • ACME
    • Ambassadors
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Support
    • Overview
    • Donate Now
    • Smart Ways to Give
    • Sacred Space Astronomy
      • View Content
    • Fr. Coyne Fundraiser
    • Bequests / Trusts
    • The Foundation
      • Newsletters
      • Annual Reports
  • Press
  • Specola Vaticana
  • Contact
    • Contact

In the Sky This Week – March 24, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  24 Mar 2020

Share:
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email

This entry is part 142 of 248 in the series In the Sky This Week

Conjunction of the Moon and Venus

My wife and I have finished moving out of our home of 22 years, and are now living in her parent’s basement; we were planning on taking our time looking for a new home, but with Michigan on COVID-19 lock-down, any home-hunting plans have gone out the window. My wife’s school is having teachers interact with students via Google Classroom, and the Warren Astronomical Society held their first online “virtual meeting.”

I saw a comment on a Solar System Ambassador (SSA) forum that the greatly increased streaming activity is putting a lot of pressure on the internet. In one SSA’s community, she could not connect to Skype or Facebook Live because of internet congestion. With so many communities going to telework, tele-education, etc. and also streaming HD video around the clock, the internet is very congested on a limited bandwidth. Some people cannot stream a doctor’s appointment; some doctors cannot get pages to load to refill much needed prescriptions. For educational purposes, a suggestion for SSAs was to create pre-recorded videos and load them in SD, that would help the situation and still meet the educational needs of families and communities. I’ve had ideas for a couple videos for quite some time – perhaps now is the time to start on them.

The three planets in the early morning southeastern sky are a much closer to each other this week; Mars appears very near Saturn by the weekend.

Christopher J. Corbally, S.J.

Venus is high in the western sky at sunset; the Moon appears near Venus in the western sky at dusk from March 27-30th.

Conjunction of the Moon and Venus The Moon appears near Venus in the western sky at dusk from March 27-29th this week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

The bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra rises in the northeastern sky around midnight this week.

Vega in the northeastern sky at midnight The star Vega in the constellation Lyra rising in the northeastern sky around midnight on March 24th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

 

The new Moon occurs on March 24th – it will not be visible at this time… unless it eclipses the Sun and the orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory catches it again.

After March 24th, the Moon will be an waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening.

Moon The Moon from 2020-03-24 – 2020-03-30. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.
Click this image to go to the NASA 2020 Moon Phase and Libration site. Click the image of the Moon on that site to download a high-rez image of the current Moon phase with the names of craters and other features shown – many along the terminator.

The Moon as Art

The Moon as Art?

For over 10 years, our Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has taken spectacular images of our Moon, like this one. See the full Moon as Art gallery: https://t.co/iuCkty79dP pic.twitter.com/RoZZoHGWUs

— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) March 23, 2020

 

The Sun has been spot-free for 14 days. At the risk of sounding like a broken record (does that date me?), the northern coronal hole remains open but small, while the southern coronal hole is enormous! A large coronal hole is rotating into view below the Sun’s equator.

The Sun seen in 193 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet) Mar. 23, 2020:

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/dailymov/2020/03/23/20200323_1024_0193.mp4

More beautiful large prominences on the Sun’s limb over the last couple days!

The Sun seen in 304 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet) Mar. 23, 2020:

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/dailymov/2020/03/23/20200323_1024_0304.mp4
Videos courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.
You can view the Sun in near real-time, in multiple frequencies here: SDO-The Sun Now.
You 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.

 

Facebook: SolarActivity

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10163245986400274&set=gm.3069960459681944&type=3&theater&ifg=1

Solar Corona

Solar wind speed is 457.6 km/sec (↑), with a density of 6.9 protons/cm3 (↑) at 0835 UT.

Near real-time animation of the corona and solar wind from the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO):

SOHO LASCO C2 Latest Image Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun’s limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech-SOHO

Sun News

After nearly two decades monitoring the Sun, the SORCE spacecraft was powered down in February. Read about how its data has advanced our understanding of our star and its influence on Earth. ⬇️ https://t.co/AvZjx7nktS

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) March 20, 2020

Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 97  (+87), this year: 650  (+88), all time: 22,482  (+89)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 2018  (last updated  Oct. 1, 2019)
Total Minor Planets
discovered: 957,596  (+1938)

 

Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Velocity (km/s)
Diameter (m)
2020 FF
2020-Mar-24
15.9 LD
5.6
15
2020 FB
2020-Mar-25
8.6 LD
4.7
31
2020 FP
2020-Mar-27
14.7 LD
9.5
24
2012 XA133
2020-Mar-27
17.4 LD
23.7
235
2020 FE2
2020-Mar-28
4.5 LD
7.1
27
2010 GD35
2020-Mar-29
15.3 LD
12
43
2006 FH36
2020-Mar-30
11.3 LD
5.1
93
2020 FB1
2020-Mar-30
19.1 LD
10.5
27
2020 FA1
2020-Mar-31
18.3 LD
2.2
18
2019 GM1
2020-Apr-02
9 LD
4.2
14
2015 FC35
2020-Apr-04
10.5 LD
13.8
148
2020 DT3
2020-Apr-05
17.6 LD
11.8
200
2019 HM
2020-Apr-10
7.2 LD
3.2
23
363599
2020-Apr-11
19.2 LD
24.5
224
2019 HS2
2020-Apr-26
13.6 LD
12.6
17
2019 GF1
2020-Apr-27
18.7 LD
3.2
12
52768
2020-Apr-29
16.4 LD
8.7
2457
2020 DM4
2020-May-01
18.4 LD
6.4
163
438908
2020-May-07
8.9 LD
12.8
282
2016 HP6
2020-May-07
4.3 LD
5.7
31
388945
2020-May-10
7.3 LD
8.8
295
2000 KA
2020-May-12
8.9 LD
13.5
162
478784
2020-May-15
8.5 LD
3.6
28
136795
2020-May-21
16.1 LD
11.7
892

Notes: LD means “Lunar Distance.” 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Red highlighted entries are asteroids that either pass very close, or very large with high relative velocities to the Earth. Table from SpaceWeather.com

 

On Mar. 23, 2020, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 2 fireballs. 
(2 sporadics)

Fireball & Meteor News:

Nice video of the AMS Event #1246-2020 over Florida.

Event page: https://t.co/V9UsT5YXum pic.twitter.com/McshLIsvi0

— AMSMETEORS (@amsmeteors) March 16, 2020

Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system.

Inner Solar System Position of the planets and several asteroids in the inner solar system, 2020-03-10. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

Position of the planets in the middle solar system.

Middle Solar System Position of the planets and several asteroids in the middle solar system, 2020-03-10. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

Side view of the inner and middle solar system, showing the alignment of the planets causing the conjunction in the eastern predawn sky.

Side view of the solar system Side view of the position of the planets in the inner and middle solar system on 2020-03-24. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

Position of the planets, dwarf planets, transneptunian objects in the outer solar system:

Outer Solar System Position of the planets and several transneptunian objects in the outer solar system, 2020-03-10. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission

Probably one of Bennu’s coolest rocks.

Image details: https://t.co/MsCDf7h2b0 pic.twitter.com/I5sNTvZ0FD

— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) March 19, 2020

Juno Mission at Jupiter

Massive beauty: During my most recent pass by Jupiter, my JunoCam imager provided this intricately detailed view of the solar system’s largest planet. Details — https://t.co/Zkxa6lzOur Image processed by Kevin M. Gill. pic.twitter.com/Yh3gEczC17

— NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) March 16, 2020

International Space Station

Vision tests and 3D bioprinting took place aboard the station today as a new crew on Earth prepares for launch next month. Read more… https://t.co/F9VVB7lACZ pic.twitter.com/Y1daNMvaYf

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) March 23, 2020

I’ve never seen the word bioprinting before (neither has my spell-checker); my guess was close, but I was still surprised when I saw: “NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Meir activated a 3-D bioprinter that is being tested for its ability to manufacture human organs in space.” My jaw hung slack for a moment there… Just WOW!

Hubble Space Telescope

Using Hubble, astronomers have discovered that the pressure from some supermassive black holes can push material away at a fraction of the speed of light. Depicted in this illustration, these outflows are the most energetic ever witnessed in the universe: https://t.co/kA525J8L6x pic.twitter.com/DcTA3jNH5P

— Hubble (@NASAHubble) March 19, 2020

Climate

NASA’s new 3-dimensional portrait of methane shows the world’s second largest contributor to global warming as it travels through the atmosphere, along with its ground sources. https://t.co/bmU8hyewgx

— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) March 23, 2020

Exoplanet
ex·o·plan·et /ˈeksōˌplanət/, noun: a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun.

All Exoplanets 4141  (+6)
Confirmed Planets with Kepler Light Curves for Stellar Host 2357
Confirmed Planets Discovered by Kepler 2348
Kepler Project Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 2420
Confirmed Planets with K2 Light Curves for Stellar Host 430
Confirmed Planets Discovered by K2 397
K2 Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 889  (-1)
Confirmed Planets Discovered by TESS 43  (+1)
TESS Project Candidates Integrated into Archive (2020-03-18 04:30:02) 1766  (+29)
Current date TESS Project Candidates at ExoFOP 1766  (+29)
TESS Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 1115  (+13)

Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
* Confirmed Planets Discovered by TESS refers to the number planets that have been published in the refereed astronomical literature.
* TESS Project Candidates refers to the total number of transit-like events that appear to be astrophysical in origin, including false positives as identified by the TESS Project.
* TESS Project Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed refers to the number of TESS Project Candidates that have not yet been dispositioned as a Confirmed Planet or False Positive.

During this difficult time, IDA has witnessed how the night, and its star-filled sky, can be a source of comfort, unity & inspiration for our worldwide community. In the coming weeks, we commit to maintaining our passion for the night. Learn more: https://t.co/ZQ9FrHtNpd

— IDA Dark-Sky (@IDADarkSky) March 17, 2020

Around the world, we're faced with the unique challenge to come together by being apart – to be #AloneTogether. We hope wherever you are, you can safely gaze upon the #nightsky this evening & feel connected to our global community. We'll be looking up with you ✨
?: Royce Bair pic.twitter.com/xy7GXcucom

— IDA Dark-Sky (@IDADarkSky) March 20, 2020

The Local Stellar Neighborhood

Continuing with my visual tour of nearby stars and their systems, we travel to the red dwarf Ross 248, 10.31 light years distant.

Ross 248 Distance to Ross 248 from Sol; the plane (green) is aligned with the orientation of the plane of the Milky Way galaxy. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

Ross 248

Ross 248, also called HH Andromedae or Gliese 905, is a small star approximately 10.30 light-years (3.16 parsecs) from Earth in the northern constellation of Andromeda. It was first catalogued by Frank Elmore Ross in 1926 with his second list of proper-motion stars; on which count it ranks 261st in the SIMBAD database. It was too dim to be included in the Hipparcos survey.

Within the next 80,000 years, Ross 248 is predicted to be nearest star to the Sun for a brief time, overtaking the current nearest star and triple system, Alpha Centauri. Despite its proximity it is too dim to be seen with the naked eye. 

This star has about 12% of the Sun’s mass and 16% of the Sun’s radius, but only 0.2% of the Sun’s luminosity. It has a stellar classification of M6 V, which indicates it is a type of main-sequence star known as a red dwarf. This is a flare star that occasionally increases in luminosity. With high probability, there appears to be a long-term cycle of variability with a period of 4.2 years. This variability causes the star to range in visual magnitude from 12.23 to 12.34. In 1950, this became the first star to have a small variation in magnitude attributed to spots on its photosphere. – Wikipedia

Artist’s concept of a hypothetical exoplanet, exomoon and exocomet orbiting Ross 248. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley

Stay safe, be well, and look up!


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. A web-based version of Stellarium is also available.
Universe Sandbox: a space simulator that merges real-time gravity, climate, collision, and material interactions to reveal the beauty of our universe and the fragility of our planet. Includes VR support.
SpaceEngine: a free 3D Universe Simulator for Windows. Steam version with VR support available.

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
Light Pollution – NASA’s Black Marble
The Universe – Universe Today

Share:
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email

Sacred Space Astronomy

The Vatican Observatory’s official digital community and online magazine.

Become a Member

Recent Posts

Science, Baptists and the Underground Railroad

By Mr. Christopher Graney  |  1 Apr 2023  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

Venus Has More Than 85,000 Individual Volcanic Landforms!

By Robert Trembley  |  30 Mar 2023  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

ⓜ Full Moon-th Meetup: 6 April, 2023

By Robert Trembley  |  29 Mar 2023  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

Centuries of Stargazing Leave Jesuit Names Written in the Heavens

New York Times  |  29 Mar 2023  |  Press

Archives

      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • August
      • June
      • March
      • January
      • November
      • October
      • December
      • November
      • April
      • May
      • January
      • December
      • September
      • May
      • March
      • December
      • November
      • February

More Posts in this Series:
"In the Sky This Week"

78  |  What Do We Lose When We Sacrifice Science?

By Br. Guy Consolmagno  |  27 May 2021  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

69  |  To err is human… to admit it, is science

By Br. Guy Consolmagno  |  25 Mar 2021  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

141  |  In the Sky This Week – December 4, 2018

By Robert Trembley  |  4 Dec 2018

143  |  In the Sky This Week – March 31, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  31 Mar 2020

144  |  In the Sky This Week – April 7, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  7 Apr 2020

Newsletter

Upcoming astronomical events, scientific breakthroughs, philosophical reflections… just a few reasons to subscribe to our newsletter!

Vatican Observatory
  • About
  • Telescopes
  • Latest
  • Podcast
  • Education
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Support
  • Press
  • Specola Vaticana
  • Contact
Privacy Policy  |   Cookie Policy  |   Disclosure Statement

Podcast:

  • Apple Podcasts Listen onApple Podcasts
  • Spotify Listen onSpotify
  • Google Podcasts Listen onGoogle Podcasts
  • Stitcher Listen onStitcher
  • Amazon Alexa Listen onAmazon Alexa
  • TuneIn Listen onTuneIn
Made by Longbeard