Items Featured IN TGP NOMINAL Xtra - March Skies 2019
ROSS HOCKHAM'S MARCH SKy Guide:
On the morning of 11th, The gas giant Jupiter will be best seen after 3am as it rises in the SouthEast,
with Saturn following not long after.
Grab a telescope or possibly some binoculars around 4am to watch two of Jupiter's moons 'Ganymede' and 'Europa' move slowly towards the planet eventually transiting it not long after.
They will move across the face of Jupiter but you will also notice the moon 'IO' moving from the other side of the planet and then disappearing it. showing you which direction they move and almost bringing the moon's orbits to life.
On the 13th Its time for the well known Moon phenomenon to take place again.
The Lunar X and V where the terminator, or shadow hits the tips of several crater walls or tops making the effect of letters seeming to shine out against the shadow.
It will be visible only for a few hours but it’s well worth popping out just after dusk to see.
The Lunar X and V where the terminator, or shadow hits the tips of several crater walls or tops making the effect of letters seeming to shine out against the shadow.
It will be visible only for a few hours but it’s well worth popping out just after dusk to see.
On the 17th, you will be able to see another Moon phenomenon called Cassini's Moon Maiden.
Hopefully we've heard of the man on the moon an effect of the Dark Mares seen by our eyes or binoculars,
creating a face or man, but it seems there's a maiden too.
If like me you've never heard of it, it seems to be part of the Montes Jura region we spoke about last month,
it's a mountainous cape situated in Mare Imbrium, towards an area called Promontories Heraclides.
It's a large Mare that can be easily found,
in fact it skirts a smaller semi circular mare within the Mare Imbrium called Sinus Iridum.
so it's a craterous mountain range skirting a small Mare that’s part of a larger Mare.
To be viewed properly it needs to be inverted (upside down) so possibly in a reflector telescope you can make out,
what looks to me a lady sat on a rock with flowing hair.
I have not seen this yet but in photos it appears that the raised mountainous region creates the illusion.
It's one I'll definitely try to spot!
Hopefully we've heard of the man on the moon an effect of the Dark Mares seen by our eyes or binoculars,
creating a face or man, but it seems there's a maiden too.
If like me you've never heard of it, it seems to be part of the Montes Jura region we spoke about last month,
it's a mountainous cape situated in Mare Imbrium, towards an area called Promontories Heraclides.
It's a large Mare that can be easily found,
in fact it skirts a smaller semi circular mare within the Mare Imbrium called Sinus Iridum.
so it's a craterous mountain range skirting a small Mare that’s part of a larger Mare.
To be viewed properly it needs to be inverted (upside down) so possibly in a reflector telescope you can make out,
what looks to me a lady sat on a rock with flowing hair.
I have not seen this yet but in photos it appears that the raised mountainous region creates the illusion.
It's one I'll definitely try to spot!
On the 20th At 10pm, our sun's disc crosses our Celestial Equator. Moving from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere, to mark the Spring Equinox, also known as the Vernal Equinox. This means means the length of daylight will be expanding at its fastest rate for the year, and hopefully warmer weathers on the way! |
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The 21st marks the full moon. Which is always a Awesome time to walk the dogs or take the kids out. As it rises up from the horizon, why not take an arty snap of it, by or on a landmark or in someone's hand. Go out and play! |
Back to a morning sky on 25-26th,
to see a nice little conjunction between the planet Jupiter and a waning Moon as they form a triangle with the star Antares, with its distinctly reddish look often mistaken for the planet Mars,
which is still up in the night sky but with little detail visible as it moves away from us in orbit.
26/27th the next morning Jupiter is again not far from the Moon.
Rising around 1.30am, grab a scope as at around 2.30am you will see a double eclipse of the moons IO and Europa, into Jupiter's shadow, and then behind the planet. Although with Jupiter being low on the horizon this is a challenge. |
On the 31st Mars moves close to the Pleiades,
a bright cluster of blue stars this date also marks the start of British Summertime.
So what a better way to see it in than seeing the colour difference of the red Mars and blue Pleiades.
Another great opportunity for a nice photo!
a bright cluster of blue stars this date also marks the start of British Summertime.
So what a better way to see it in than seeing the colour difference of the red Mars and blue Pleiades.
Another great opportunity for a nice photo!
Between 24-31 March is a good time to see a phenomena known as the Zodiacal Light.
Although hard to see a dark sky definitely has its advantage here.
Zodiacal Light is where dust along the Ecliptic Plane scatters sunlight creating a white glow in the sky.
Widest near the horizon thinning up to between Orion and Auriga.
It's typically visible 90mins after sunset and will be through Aries up to Taurus between, Triangulum, Auriga and Orion.
I've not seen it yet but I will be keeping an eye out in the future,
You'll be looking for a Rounded conical shape, tilted from the horizon.
It is a naked eye object but a camera with wide angle lens would be your best bet at picking it up.
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Around same time towards the end of the month there's a possible chance to see the Aurora Borealis,
or the Northern Lights.
This is because our planetary magnetic field can weaken around the Equinox,
creating cracks that help drive the displays across the skies.
Venus is slowly slipping back towards the sun, so make the most of it at the beginning of the month
and Mercury is popping above the morning horizon, but still hard to see.
I have saved this bit until last but IT'S VERY IMPORTANT!
On the 31st in the U.K. clocks go forward one hour,
from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to British summertime (BST).
So why do we do it…????
and Mercury is popping above the morning horizon, but still hard to see.
I have saved this bit until last but IT'S VERY IMPORTANT!
On the 31st in the U.K. clocks go forward one hour,
from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to British summertime (BST).
So why do we do it…????
As we discussed on the podcast last year, it was an An American politician and Scientist you may of heard of called Benjamin Franklin who first came up with the idea while in Paris in 1784.
He suggested that if people got up earlier, when it was lighter, then it would save on candles.
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In 1907, an English builder called William Willett published a leaflet called The Waste of Daylight, encouraging people to get out of bed earlier, and he often got cross because he was unable to finish his game of golf because the Sun went down. The idea of moving the clocks forwards and backwards was discussed by the government in 1908, but many people didn't like it so it wasn't made a law. In 1916 the government it finally decided to do something about it, a year after William Willett died! Here's a cool fact for you, William Willett is Coldplay singer Chris Martin's great-great-grandfather. |
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is often Referred to, as Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) , here's why.
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The Thank You letter that Ross received from his Niece and the her classmates,
for the talk he gave at the school she attends.
for the talk he gave at the school she attends.
Dunstable Downs-Family stargazing event
For more information about UK Astronomy or The Dunstable Downs, click on the icons below.