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In the Sky this Week – March 30, 2021

By Robert Trembley  |  30 Mar 2021  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

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This entry is part 188 of 246 in the series In the Sky This Week

April is Global Astronomy Month, and there are numerous online events being held that you can participate in! There’s a mix of programs ranging from astro arts to observational programs; the festival runs the whole month of April, and features partners that are part of a large community of astronomy enthusiasts that spans the globe!

For Yuri’s Night, on April 12th, I will be holding a live demo of Kerbal Space Program – I’ll post a link next week.

Share your love of astronomy and get involved with Global Astronomy Month – the world's largest celebration of astronomy! #Gam2021 #OnePeopleOneSky

Event list: https://t.co/rhPPqnSM4Q pic.twitter.com/QSvx6GR95i

— Astro w/o Borders (@awb_org) March 30, 2021

  • The Sky
  • The Moon
  • The Sun
  • Asteroids
  • Fireballs
  • The Solar System
  • Spacecraft News
  • Exoplanets
  • Aurora
  • Light Pollution
  • The Universe

Mars appears near the constellations Orion and Taurus high in the southwestern sky after sunset all week.

Southwestern sky after sunset
Mars appears near the constellations Orion and Taurus high in the southwestern sky after sunset this week. Credit: Bob Trembley / Stellarium.

The Moon appears near the star Spica in the constellation Virgo, in the southeastern sky several hours before dawn on March 30th.

Southern sky before dawn
On March 30th, the Moon appears near the star Spica in the southern sky several hours before dawn. Credit: Bob Trembley / Stellarium.

Moon appears near the star Antares in the southeastern sky several hours before dawn on April 2nd.

Southeastern sky before dawn
On April 2nd, the Moon appears near the star Antares in the southeastern sky several hours before dawn. Credit: Bob Trembley / Stellarium.

Jupiter and Saturn appear low above the southeastern horizon before dawn all week; the Moon appears near Saturn on April 5th.

Southeastern horizon before dawn
Jupiter and Saturn appear low above the southeastern horizon before dawn all week; the Moon appears near Saturn on April 5th. Credit: Bob Trembley / Stellarium.

The Moon will be a waning gibbous – rising after sunset, visible high in the sky after midnight, and visible to the southwest after sunrise.

The third quarter Moon occurs on April 5th – rising around midnight, and visible to the south after sunrise.

After April 5th, the Moon will be a waning crescent – visible low to the east before sunrise.

Moon
The Moon from 2021-03-30 – 2021-04-05. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.

If you click on the Moon image above, or click this link, you will go to NASA’s Moon Phase and Libration, 2021 page – it will show you what the Moon looks like right now. If you click the image on that page, you will download a high-rez TIFF image annotated with the names of prominent features – helpful for logging your lunar observations!

Moon Close-Up: Shadows on Ptolemaeus and Alphonsus

On April 5th, the shadow-play across Ptolemaeus and Alphonsus craters makes for good telescope observing…. if you like being up early in the morning.

Moon
Shadow-play in Ptolemaeus crater on April 5th. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.

Moon News:

This is an interesting idea, and solar power HAS been a problem for me in Kerbal Space Program at the Mun’s poles… so I suggested this needs to be implemented in a mod… or as an in-game feature – either will do!

Needs to be a @KerbalSpaceP mod! 🙂

— AstroBalrog (@AstroBalrog) March 30, 2021

Sunspot AR2812 remains stable and quiet. Credit: SDO/HMI-SpaceWeather.com

The Sun has 1 named sunspot; looking at a close-up on the Solar Dynamic Observatory site, the spot is actually a pair, and is very small.

SpaceWeather.com reports:

FARSIDE SUNSPOT: NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft is monitoring a possible sunspot on the farside of the sun. It could be the source of an impressive farside CME detected by SOHO on March 26th. In a few days this active region will rotate onto the Earthside of the sun, giving us a clear view of its structure and potential for future explosions.

Moderate coronal loop activity; the two holes near the equator seem to want to merge, but never actually do – that whole region just looks like it’s boiling! The hole at the Sun’s south pole is smaller than last week, and is about the same size as the northern hole.

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/dailymov/2021/03/29/20210329_1024_0193.mp4
The Sun seen in 193 angstroms on March 29, 2021

Continuous prominence activity for the last couple days – the one in the upper right is very active!

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/dailymov/2021/03/29/20210329_1024_0304.mp4
The Sun seen in 304 angstroms on March 29, 2021
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.

 

Solar Activity on Facebook – Run by Volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador Pamela Shivak

Sun
SOLARACTIVITY PICTURE OF THE DAY for March 30th, 2021 is this awesome prominence capture by Dave Mason from the Netherlands. Equipment details: 80mm f6 apo refractor, Daystar Quark Chromosphere filter. zwo asi 120mm mini, Autostakkert3, Sharpcap, ImPPG, PS CS5

Solar Corona

Solar wind speed is 328.4 km/sec, with a density of 5.5 protons/cm3 at 0940 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

Looks like I need to update my Sun lecture, again!

This #SunDay, explore a solar puzzle. 🧩 Switchbacks are S-shaped kinks in the solar wind’s magnetic field, first discovered by #ParkerSolarProbe. Scientists can’t explain what causes them yet, but they have several ideas on the table. https://t.co/9M9YWHwPjU pic.twitter.com/qriykAsfbK

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) March 28, 2021

  • Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) discovered this month: : 193, this year: 706, all time: 25,515 (+28)
  • Potentially hazardous asteroids: 2173 (+1, updated 2021-03-30)
  • Total Minor Planets discovered (NASA): 1,068,751 (+1468)
  • Total Minor Planets discovered (MPC): 1,043,047 (updated 2021-03-16)
 

Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Velocity (km/s)
Diameter (m)
2021 FW2
2021-Mar-31
5.9 LD
8.1
30
2021 FD1
2021-Mar-31
10 LD
9.3
17
2019 GM1
2021-Mar-31
15.1 LD
3.9
14
2021 FT
2021-Apr-02
4.3 LD
5.4
15
2015 MB54
2021-Apr-06
13.6 LD
3.7
57
2020 GE1
2021-Apr-07
12.2 LD
4.2
14
2014 FO38
2021-Apr-07
16.8 LD
8.3
20
2021 EH4
2021-Apr-08
13 LD
7.7
37
2020 UY1
2021-Apr-15
16 LD
8.7
22
2017 HG4
2021-Apr-16
7.6 LD
4.1
10
2020 HE5
2021-Apr-17
8.5 LD
4.3
10
2019 HQ
2021-Apr-20
14.8 LD
8.8
20
2020 HO5
2021-Apr-22
16.5 LD
3.3
7
2019 PS1
2021-Apr-23
14.5 LD
10
16
2016 QE45
2021-Apr-24
13.2 LD
15.3
162
2021 FK3
2021-Apr-24
15.8 LD
14.1
127
2015 HA177
2021-Apr-26
18.7 LD
8.7
10
2019 HF4
2021-Apr-26
7.8 LD
6.8
11
2021 EZ4
2021-Apr-29
14.9 LD
2.5
23
2019 VT3
2021-May-01
12.1 LD
5.9
8
2021 AF8
2021-May-04
8.8 LD
9.4
344
2018 JP
2021-May-05
10.6 LD
7.8
12
2021 AE4
2021-May-06
18.5 LD
9.1
153
2015 KJ19
2021-May-14
15.1 LD
23
118
478784
2021-May-18
15.8 LD
5
27
2013 VO11
2021-May-25
3.8 LD
10.1
8

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

Asteroid News:

Things are moving at @NASAJPL, as a major component of our spacecraft Psyche is delivered. Psyche is set to launch next year. It will explore a metal-rich asteroid in the main asteroid belt between Mars & Jupiter.

Get milestone details: https://t.co/XfGv28z1Pn pic.twitter.com/QmjJbFOe5N

— NASA (@NASA) March 29, 2021

NASA Analysis: Earth is safe from asteroid Apophis for 100-plus years. The near-Earth object was thought to pose a slight risk of impacting Earth in 2068, but now radar observations have ruled that out. More: https://t.co/bHGboyF0IC pic.twitter.com/6R3mNo90WJ

— NASA 360 (@NASA360) March 29, 2021

On March 29, 2021, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 3 fireballs!
(3 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). Credit: SpaceWeather.com

Fireball News

Another great video of the Falcon 9 rocket second stage streaking across the Pacific Northwest skies tonight after failing to make a deorbit burn.

KOMO News viewer Brent Marshall shot this video from a football field in Wilsonville, Oregon tonight. pic.twitter.com/ZytHvBrDD4

— Preston Phillips (@PrestonTVNews) March 26, 2021

Bright meteor seen over #Virginia and #NorthCarolina last night (Sunday) around 8:30 PM EDT

If you saw this event (or if you have a video), please, fill a fireball report here: https://t.co/6WrVfuI28I
Event map: https://t.co/FZJnH95OY3 pic.twitter.com/qaKBvhmXh9

— AMSMETEORS (@amsmeteors) March 29, 2021

If you see a bright meteor or a fireball, please REPORT IT to the American Meteor Society and the International Meteor Organization!

Position of the planets and several spacecraft in the inner solar system:

Inner Solar System
Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, May 30th – looking down on the plane of the ecliptic. Credit: Bob Trembley / NASA Eyes on the Solar System.

Position of the planets in the middle solar system:

Middle Solar System
Position of the planets in the middle solar system, March 30th. Credit: Bob Trembley / NASA Eyes on the Solar System.

Position of the planets, and a several transneptunian objects in the outer solar system.

Outer Solar System
Position of the planets and several transneptunian objects in the outer solar system on March 30th, the orbit of dwarf planet Pluto is highlighted. Credit: Bob Trembley / NASA Eyes on the Solar System.

Mars Perseverance Rover:

Getting ready to drop the helicopter!

Swing low, sweet helicopter…@NASAPersevere is slowly and carefully deploying the #MarsHelicopter, Ingenuity. The tech demo is currently unfolding from its stowed position and readying to safely touch down on the Martian surface. See upcoming milestones: https://t.co/TNCdXWcKWE pic.twitter.com/3AyaiHOH2k

— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) March 30, 2021

International Space Station:

Last month I spoke with Astronauts Dr. Shannon Walker and Dr. Kate Rubins aboard the International Space Station. They are setting an example for little girls around the world to dream big, lead with conviction, and to see themselves as the scientists and astronauts of tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/tQR5lK7JSY

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) March 24, 2021

HiRISE – on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter:

Hi3D: A Crater in Arabia Terra

Geologically young craters with exit breaches are important because they record a relatively wet event on Mars in the distant past. This breach might have been precipitation or ice-melt fed. https://t.co/8AT5KTaYNn

NASA/JPL/UArizona#Mars pic.twitter.com/Qma59ZLSUu

— HiRISE: Beautiful Mars (NASA) (@HiRISE) March 29, 2021

Hubble Space Telescope:

Hanging out in space together are NGC 4302 (left) and NGC 4298. Both about 55 million light-years away from Earth, the galaxies were discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1784: https://t.co/TdxXIY5w8E pic.twitter.com/kaqSNbjJ1N

— Hubble Space Telescope (@HubbleTelescope) March 26, 2021

Climate: NASA-ISRO Mission

I had a mission in Kerbal Space Prorgram to put up something like this – I wondered what that HUGE antenna was for… now I know!

An SUV-size satellite with the largest reflector antenna NASA has ever launched is taking shape in the clean room @NASAJPL. The @NASA–@ISRO mission has big goals, including monitoring groundwater and tracking ice sheet melt (a driver of sea level rise): https://t.co/hcpd1FcqEH pic.twitter.com/dPQxi0L7G1

— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) March 24, 2021

I love how the antenna uses Origami techniques to extend out fully! Speaking of which:
https://youtu.be/vYS2H4t-Ih0

See a list of current NASA missions here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/?type=current

Exoplanet
Conjunction of Mars and the Moon in the southern sky shortly after sunset on Nov. 15, 2018. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

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

All Exoplanets 4367
Confirmed Planets Discovered by Kepler 2394
Kepler Project Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 2366
Confirmed Planets Discovered by K2 426
K2 Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 889
Confirmed Planets Discovered by TESS 120
TESS Project Candidates Integrated into Archive (2021-03-27 13:00:02) 2597  (+4)
Current date TESS Project Candidates at ExoFOP 2601  (+8)
TESS Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 1441 (-6)

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.

Exoplanet News

4,367. That's how many planets beyond our solar system we've discovered so far. Another 5,852 planet candidates await confirmation. We're in an age of discovery.https://t.co/G8HwE04ACN pic.twitter.com/6eCDdWP2sl

— NASA Exoplanets (@NASAExoplanets) March 29, 2021

Extreme forms of life on our own planet might reveal secrets of how life could form beyond Earth. Meet two @NASA women who have traversed Earth’s most extreme landscapes in the name of science.
📆: Wednesday, March 31
⏰: 3pm ET | 12pm PT
? #askNASA https://t.co/ar4vdAxLng pic.twitter.com/W4uob4hanq

— NASA Exoplanets (@NASAExoplanets) March 29, 2021

Jupiter and Saturn and appear above the southwestern horizon at dusk. Credit: Bob Trembley / Stellarium.

It’s always a pleasure to see pics taken by buddies!

Aurora
Auroras. Taken by Adrian T. Bradley on March 20, 2021 @ Port Hope, MI, USA

SpaceWeather.com Realtime Aurora Gallery: https://spaceweathergallery.com/aurora_gallery.html

A newly published scientific paper finds that satellites and space debris are brightening the world’s night skies at a surprisingly high level. Read more about the new study and what it means for dark skies.https://t.co/adPBK65DFO

— IDA Dark-Sky (@IDADarkSky) March 29, 2021

Visit an International Dark Sky Park: https://www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/parks/

For Teachers:

Nebulae are far away from Earth. We know what they look like because scientists use powerful telescopes to capture images of them. A nebula can take many different forms and shapes, but where did these stunning dust clouds come from? 🔎

More here: https://t.co/MTyIrdslak pic.twitter.com/PxLvDo9sTf

— NASA Space Place (@NASAspaceplace) March 29, 2021

Next month, @NASAPersevere's Mars Helicopter Ingenuity will lift off on its historic 1st flight in the thin Martian atmosphere.🔴🚁

While we wait for the big day, try your hand at flying your own Mars Helicopter with a fun coding game online. https://t.co/SVXKxbIo0P pic.twitter.com/ihJPhEl2Bt

— NASA STEM – Inspiring the #Artemis Generation (@NASASTEM) March 26, 2021

Nova in Cassiopeia:

Taken by yet another buddy!

Nova Cas 2021 with M 52, March 29, 2021 at 21:00 EDT pic.twitter.com/56H5nW2fEF

— Doug Bock (@Mars_1956) March 30, 2021

Hubble – Veil Nebula

The Veil Nebula. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Z. Levay

New processing techniques have been applied, bringing out fine details of the Veil nebula’s delicate threads and filaments of ionized gas. To create this colorful image, observations taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 instrument through 5 different filters were used. The new post-processing methods have further enhanced details of emissions from doubly ionized oxygen (seen here in blues), ionized hydrogen and ionized nitrogen (seen here in reds).

The Veil Nebula lies around 2100 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus (The Swan), making it a relatively close neighbor in astronomical terms. Only a small portion of the nebula was captured in this image. The Veil Nebula is the visible portion of the nearby Cygnus Loop, a supernova remnant formed roughly 10 000 years ago by the death of a massive star. The Veil Nebula’s progenitor star — which was 20 times the mass of the Sun — lived fast and died young, ending its life in a cataclysmic release of energy. Despite this stellar violence, the shockwaves and debris from the supernova sculpted the Veil Nebula’s delicate tracery of ionized gas — creating a scene of surprising astronomical beauty. – NASA

Stay safe, be well, and look up!


Software 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.
SpaceEngine: a free 3D Universe Simulator for Windows. Steam version with VR support available.
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.


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
Aurora – Bob Trembley
The Universe – Universe Today

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

78  |  What Do We Lose When We Sacrifice Science?

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187  |  In the Sky this Week – March 2, 2021

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189  |  In the Sky this Week – March 9, 2021

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190  |  In the Sky this Week – March 16, 2021

16 Mar 2021  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

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