March 15 – March 22
As darkness settles in this Monday evening, go out and raise a glass to the southwest and toast the constellation Orion, the mighty sky-hunter who on that day signs his name as O’Ryan. And if you had dusted off an Irish Rovers record during the day, perhaps you will be hunting the sky for some animals in their signature tune written by Shel Silverstein, “The Unicorn.”
You will have no luck finding green alligators, chimpanzees, rats and elephants. There is no humpy-back camel, either, but there is the large and faint Camelopardalis in the seemingly blank sky high in the north-northwest between Polaris and bright Capella. The name means camel-leopard or giraffe. Cygnus the Swan is waving part of one wing above the northern horizon, hoping to be picked for a long-necked goose. If you check Cygnus out in the morning there is a faint constellation below its head called Vulpecula the Fox. Nineteenth century star maps depicted the fox with a goose in its mouth and the constellation was labelled as Vulpecula and Anser. Cats? Well, there is Leo the Lion in the east, tiny Leo Minor between it and Ursa Major, and elusive Lynx above Ursa Major. Oh, and don’t forget Monoceros the unicorn to the immediate east of O’Ryan.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:31 and sunset will occur at 7:25, giving 11 hours, 54 minutes of daylight (7:36 and 7:30 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:17 and set at 7:34, giving 12 hours, 17 minutes of daylight (7:22 and 7:39 in Saint John). The Sun reaches the Vernal Equinox at 6:01 am on Thursday, the first day of spring.
The Moon is near Spica this Saturday and it reaches third quarter next Saturday, when it is at its farthest south of the ecliptic during this 18.6 year Saros period. Venus sets about 45 minutes after sunset this weekend and look for much dimmer Mercury seven degrees to its left with binoculars. Venus reaches inferior conjunction next Saturday, followed by Mercury two days later. Jupiter reigns in the southwest after evening twilight above the V-shaped Hyades cluster, while Mars edges closer to Pollux over the week. Saturn is out of sight behind the Sun and Neptune is in solar conjunction on Wednesday. Rural observers might see the faint wedge of the zodiacal light angling up toward the Pleiades 60 to 90 minutes after sunset over the next two weeks.Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at [email protected].
March 8 – March 15
There are two five week eclipse seasons each year when the Sun and the Moon align, and those periods occur 19 days earlier each year. Lunar and solar eclipses usually occur in pairs but both are not always seen in the same area. This week brings a total eclipse of the Moon, and near month’s end New Brunswick will also get a partial eclipse of the Sun. In September there will be a total lunar eclipse in the eastern hemisphere and a partial solar eclipse in the South Pacific two weeks later.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the full Moon passes partly or completely through Earth’s shadow, which is about twice as wide as the Moon at that distance. Just past midnight on March 14 the Moon enters the subtle gray penumbral shadow, which might not be noticed until half an hour later. The partial phase begins at 2:09 a.m. with the dark shadow creeping westward across the lunar maria, mountains and craters. As it progresses we notice more stars appearing as the sky darkens, and the Moon starts taking on a new hue with the red portion of sunlight being bent through our atmosphere toward that direction. At 3:26 the Moon becomes fully engulfed in the umbral shadow for 66 minutes, and by 5:48 it is all over except for the receding penumbra. Our last total eclipse of the Moon occurred in November 2022, setting before the end of totality. Clouds obliterated a late evening total eclipse in May of that year.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:44 and sunset will occur at 6:15, giving 11 hours, 31 minutes of daylight (6:49 and 6:21 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:31 and set at 7:25, giving 11 hours, 54 minutes of daylight (7:36 and 7:30 in Saint John). Clocks go ahead for DST this Sunday at 2 am.
The Moon is full and within Earth’s shadow very early next Friday, and it is near Spica the following day. Mercury is at greatest elongation this Saturday, maintaining the same altitude at sunset all week as Venus slides past to its right. They will be within the same binocular view most of the week. Jupiter rides high in the northwest in evening twilight above the V-shaped Hyades cluster, while Mars is higher in the south triangulating with the Gemini twins. Before midnight Tuesday telescope users might see a double shadow transit of Jupiter’s moons Europa and Ganymede. Saturn is in solar conjunction on Wednesday.
The Fredericton Astronomy Club meets in the UNB Forestry-Earth Sciences Building on Tuesday at 7 pm. Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at [email protected].