Podaster: Shane and Chris
Title: The Observer’s Calendar for March 2024
Organization: Actual Astronomy
Link : https://actualastronomy.podbean.com/
Description: The Actual Astronomy Podcast presents The Observer’s Calendar for March 2024. In this episode we’ll talk about Asteroids like Juno and Thalia, the Moon pairing with Jupiter and Mercury plus spotting the star Sirius in the daytime sky.
Bio: Shane and Chris are amateur astronomers who enjoy teaching astronomy classes and performing outreach where they help the eyes of the public to telescope eyepieces.
Peter Jedicke was National President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada from 2004 to 2006 and is now a Fellow of the RASC.
He is also Honorary President of the RASC London Centre.
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Transcript:
The Observer’s Calendar for March 2024 on Episode 404 of the Actual Astronomy podcast. I’m Chris and joining me is Shane. We are amateur astronomers who love looking up at the night sky and this podcast is for everyone who enjoys going out under the stars.
- Get any observing in this week Shane?
- I continue on my journey of practice sketching while the skies are sketchy
- A couple asteroids at opposition, Gegenschein, we have some planets line up with the Moon, Mercury well placed in the evening sky (well for Mercury it’s well placed)
- March 2nd – Last quarter Moon
- March 3rd – Asteroid Juno at opposition magnitude 8.7
Juno (minor-planet designation: 3 Juno) is a large asteroid in the asteroid belt. Juno was the third asteroid discovered, in 1804, by German astronomer Karl Harding. It is one of the twenty largest asteroids and one of the two largest stony (S-type) asteroids, along with 15 Eunomia. It is estimated to contain 1% of the total mass of the asteroid belt.
- March 4th – Gegenschein visible from a very dark site high overhead at midnight till
For ~2 weeks.
The Gegenschein is sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust. The dust orbits the Sun near the plane of the ecliptic, with a possible concentration of particles centred at the L2 point of the Earth–Sun system. Isn’t that where the James Webb Telescope is stationed?
- March 9th – New Moon
- March 10 -daylight savings time
- March 11 – Mercury Moon and Jupiter Line up in evening sky
- March 12th – Asteroid 23 Thalia at opposition magnitude 9.5
Thalia (minor planet designation: 23 Thalia) is a large main-belt asteroid. An S-Type Asteroid discovered by J. R. Hind on December 15, 1852, at the private observatory of W. Bishop which was located in Hyde Park, London, England. Bishop named it after Thalia, the Muse of comedy and pastoral poetry in Greek mythology. Made up of Iron and magnesium silicates.
March 13th – Moon pairs with Jupiter – 3-degrees
- Large tides this week
- March 14th – Moon with pleiades this evening
- March 16th – First Quarter Moon
- March 17th – St Patrick’s day
- March 18th – Lunar Straight Wall Visible
- March 19th – Spring Equinox
- March 24th – Full Moon & Mercury at Greatest Elongation (19-degrees) this evening
- Follow Vega with your unaided eye into daylight this week
- Spot Sirius with the unaided eye before sunset this week
Concluding Listener Message: Please subscribe and share the show with other stargazers you know and send us show ideas, observations and questions to actualastronomy@gmail.com
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365 Days of Astronomy
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