THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103
43.6667° N 70.2667° W
Altitude: 10 feet below sea level
Founded January 1970
2021-2022: LXXXVI
"I paint flowers so they will not die."
-Frida Kahlo
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
March 2022 Night Sky Calendar Part II
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2: MERCURY 0.7 DEGREES SE OF SATURN
We'll begin the month with an early morning planetary appulse. See the first and sixth worlds "close together" in the eastern pre-dawn sky. Of course, Saturn is about 900 million miles farther away from us than Mercury. At magnitude 0.0, Mercury will be about twice as bright as Saturn. Both bodies will rise by 4:45 a.m.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2: NEW MOON
Don't bother seeking out the moon today as it will be in conjunction, or the new moon phase.
This new moon begins lunation cycle 1227.
SATURDAY, MARCH 5: JUPITER IN CONJUNCTION
Throughout most of the autumn and winter, Jupiter served as our evening sky beacon. Now that we're moving toward winter's end, Jupiter has vanished into the dusk and today will move to the Sun's far side (from our perspective). Such a conjunction is termed superior,as opposed to inferior, which occurs when the planet moves between the Sun and Earth. Although every other planet can move into superior solar conjunction, only the inferior planets Mercury and Venus can ever be in inferior conjunction.
TUESDAY, MARCH 8: MOON NEAR PLEIADES
One will see the waxing crescent moon (33% illuminated) near the Pleiades Star Cluster tonight. We often see the moon appear to "glide by" the Pleiades because this famous star cluster just happens to be located close to the ecliptic, the Sun's apparent path through the sky. Because it appears to travel along a band centered on the ecliptic, the moon will also seem to approach celestial bodies aligned close to it. Note: the Pleiades and its host constellation Taurus are drawing ever closer to the Sun and will dissolve into the dusk by late April. Consequently, during its next passage, the moon will be even "younger."
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9: MOON NEAR ALDEBARAN
Oh, but, of course...if the moon passes close to the Pleiades one day, it will be destined to appear close to Aldebaran. the brightest star in Taurus the Bull, the next day. We can see the waxing crescent moon (42% illuminated) moving north of Aldebaran tonight in the western early evening sky.
THURSDAY, MARCH 10: FIRST QUARTER MOON
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16: VENUS 3.9 DEGREES NORTH OF MARS (BRONZE EVENT!)
A perfect excuse to venture outside in the early morning. One will see the two closest planets to Earth less than four degrees apart in the pre-dawn eastern sky. One should experience NO difficulty distinguishing between them as Venus (magnitude -4.2) will be 158 times brighter than Mars (magnitude 1.2). Both worlds will rise by 3:10 a.m.
Part III tomorrow!
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