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An Open Invitation
For amateur radio operators and scanner enthusiasts, when in the Denver metro area, please join the Colorado Astronomy Net on the Rocky Mountain Radio League's W0WYX 146.94 MHz and 449.825 MHz repeaters. The RMRL 146.94 repeater is also linked with the WB0WDF Cripple Creek 447.400 MHz repeater and Allstar nodes 28298, 28299 and 29436. We are also linked via Echolink, links are k0jsc-r and canoncty courtesy of K0JSC and K0GUR. More information on the WB0WDF repeater links and Allstar nodes and Echolinks can be found at k0jsc.com. We are also linked with Allstar nodes in Florida as well, courtesy of KA4EPS. The net meets on Tuesday nights at 7 P.M. Mountain Time (US).
Interested in obtaining your Amateur Radio (Ham) License or your General Radio Operator's License (GROL)? Visit the South Metro VE Team website for more information. The South Metro VE Team provides test sessions on the 1st Saturday of each month at our new Eagle Street Facility, The City of Centennial, 7272 South Eagle Street, Centennial, Colorado 80112-4244 from 9am until 1pm.
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Excerpts from JPL mission updates are provided as a public service as part
of the JPL Solar System Ambassador/NASA Outreach program.
For special JPL programs and presentations in your area visit the JPL Solar System Ambassador website.
(Click on the logo to link to the JPL SSA homepage.)
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In this Newsletter...
Background screen credits: NGC5775
Imaged March 21/22, 2001
using the 16" Kitt Peak Visitors Center telescope
as part of the
Kitt Peak Advanced Observing Program.
"The MESSENGER spacecraft revealed Mercury's stunning geology in this false-color image. Even under optimal viewing conditions in March, however, the planet appears bland through amateur scopes" Astronomy Magazine, March 2018, p.36.
NASA/JHUAPL/CIW
The Month At-A-Glance
A calendar displaying the daily astronomical events.
Phases
- Full Moon occurs on the 1st.
- Last Quarter Moon occurs on the 7th.
- New Moon occurs on the 15th.
- First Quarter Moon occurs on the 23rd.
- Full Moon occurs on the 31st.
Apogee/Perigee
- The Moon is at Apogee on the 11th, 251,455 miles from Earth.
- The Moon is at Perigee on the 26th, 229,352 miles from Earth.
Moon/Planet Pairs
- The Moon passes 0.9° north of Regulus on the 1st.
- Mercury passes 1.4° north of Venus on the 5th.
- The Moon passes 4° north of Jupiter on the 7th.
- The Moon passes 4° north of Mars on the 9th.
- The Moon passes 2° north of Saturn on the 10th.
- Mercury passes 4° north of Venus on the 17th.
- The Moon passes 8° south of Mercury on the 18th.
- The Moon passes 4° south of Venus on the 18th.
- The Moon passes 5° south of Uranus on the 19th.
- The Moon passes 0.9° north of Aldebaran on the 22nd.
- The Moon passes 1.0° north of Regulus on the 28th.
- Venus passes 0.07° north of Uranus on the 28th.
For reference: The Full Moon subtends an angle of ~0.5°.
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Planetary Reports generated by "TheSky" software. These reports provide predicted data for the planets for the first of each month for the current year. The rise and set times for the Sun and the Moon for each day of the month as well as meteor shower radiants are also included in the reports. These reports have been optimized for the Denver, Colorado location, however, the times will be approximate for other locations on Earth.
(All times are local unless otherwise noted.)
Planetary Highlights for March
"Mercury and Venus rule the early evening sky, a pair of bright worlds seemingly tethered to each other for much of March. Uranus joins the party late in the month as it wraps up a fine evening appearance, though you'll need binoculars to see its fainter glow. Not to be outdone, the morning sky features three bright planets -- Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn -- that grow more prominent by the week." Astronomy Magazine, March 2018, p. 36. |
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Mercury
Is at greatest eastern elongation (18°) on the 15th. Mercury is stationary on the 22nd. Mercury sets at 6:44 p.m. on the 1st and about 7:24 p.m. by month's end. Mercury is visible in the evening sky this month low in the west. Mercury moves from the constellation of Aquarius into Pisces this month shining at magnitude -0.4 on the 15th. |
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Venus
Venus sets at 6:51 p.m. on the 1st and about 9:03 p.m. by month's end. Venus sets later and later as the month progresses and is easily spotted low to the west as evening descends. Of note: On the evening of the 28th, Uranus and Venus are within 0.07° of each other, but observers will need binoculars to spot Uranus next to brightly shining Venus. Both planetary object should be in the same field of view. Venus moves from the constellation of Aquarius into Aries this month shining at magnitude -3.9. |
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Earth
Daylight Saving Time begins for much of the U.S. and other parts of the world at 2:00 a.m. local time on the 11th. The Vernal Equinox occurs at 12:15 p.m. EDT on the 20th. |
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Mars
Rises at 2:00 a.m. on the 1st and about 2:18 a.m. by month's end. Mars continues to brighten as the month progresses. This is the start of what will be its best appearance in 15 years, though that won't occur until July. Keep an eye on Mars later in the month as it is in conjunction with some of the Milky Way's brightest deep-sky objects. Look to the southeast well before sunrise to spot Mars as it moves from the constellation of Ophiuchus into Sagittarius shining at magnitude 0.6. |
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Jupiter
Rises at 11:41 p.m. on the 1st and about 10:35 p.m. by month's end. Jupiter is stationary on the 9th. The best time to observe Jupiter will be an hour or two before dawn when Jupiter lies almost due south and is highest in the sky. Much less of the Earth's atmosphere will interfere with seeing the finer details of Jupiter's cloud structures. Jupiter is in the constellation of Libra shining at magnitude -2.3. |
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Saturn
Rises at 3:11 a.m. on the 1st and about 2:16 a.m. by month's end. As you follow Mars through the night sky, you'll notice it approaching Saturn by the end of the month, then these two planets lie within 1.7° of each other. Look for Saturn to the southeast in the early morning sky, just above the "teapot" asterism of Sagittarius, shining at magnitude 0.5. |
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Uranus
Sets at 9:32 p.m. on the 1st and about 8:38 p.m. by month's end. By the time the Sun sets, Uranus will be visible towards the west through a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope. On the evening of the 28th, look for Uranus and Venus in conjunction. Uranus is in the constellation of Pisces shining at magnitude 5.9. |
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Neptune
Is in conjunction with the Sun on the 4th and is not visible this month. Neptune will return to the morning sky next month. Neptune is in the constellation of Aquarius. |
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Dwarf Planets |
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Ceres
Sets at 6:20 a.m. on the 1st and about 5:09 a.m. by month's end. Once the skies darken, Ceres may be spotted to the south maybe an hour or two after sunset. Ceres can be spotted just above the apex of the constellation Cancer shining at magnitude 7.6. |
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Pluto
Rises at 4:04 a.m. on the 1st and about 3:04 a.m. by months end. Pluto is still fairly low to the eastern horizon and will be very difficult to spot this month, though visibility has improved some since last month. Pluto is in the constellation of Sagittarius shining at magnitude 14.3.
As always, good luck at spotting Neptune, Ceres and Pluto, a large telescope and dark skies will be needed. |
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Meteor Showers
There are a few minor meteor showers but none that produce rates much higher than 2-5 per hour, except the Gamma Normids that extend over the period of March 11 to 21, with the maximum occurring on March 16. The maximum rate reaches about 5-9 meteors per hour.
Meteor Shower Radiant Report
For more information about Meteor Showers, visit Gary Kronk's
Meteor Showers Online web page.
Meteor Scatter (or Meteor burst communications) - "is a radio propagation mode that exploits the ionized trails of meteors during atmospheric entry to establish brief communications paths between radio stations up to 2,250 kilometres (1,400 mi) apart." Tune your shortwave or your HF amateur radio to 54.310 MHz SSB and see if you can hear any pings. |
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Comets
Comet PANSTARRS (C/2016 R2) Comet PANSTARRS (C/2016 R2) is passing through the constellation of Perseus and into Auriga this month. Comet PANSTARRS continues to shine between 10th and 11th magnitude. Look high in the west during the early evening to spot Comet PANSTARRS. A 5-6 inch telescope (or larger) and dark skies will be required.
For information, orbital elements and ephemerides on observable comets, visit the
Observable Comets page from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
For more information about Comets, visit Gary Kronk's
Cometography.com webpage. |
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Eclipses
Solar Eclipses
No solar eclipse activity this month.
Lunar Eclipses
No lunar eclipse activity this month.
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Observational Opportunities
Enjoy Venus, Mercury and Uranus in the evening skies after sunset.
Look for Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in the morning skies before sunrise.
Try to spot Comet PANSTARRS in Perseus headed to Auriga.
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Asteroids
(From west to east)
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Ocultations
Information on various
occultations can be
found by clicking the IOTA logo. |
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I have created a web page containing images taken and submitted by subscribers to the email newsletter, check-ins to the Colorado Astronomy Net and readers of the online newsletter. Any one wishing to submit their own images to the gallery, please let me know. The images must be taken by the submitter and be astronomy related. Please include a description and your information so that I can give proper credit to your work.
Featured Image
August 21, 2017 - Total Solar Eclipse - "Bailey's Beads" and the "Diamond Ring"
Taken by: Burness Ansell, Location: Guernsey, WY - More to come. I will be creating a special Solar Eclipse page to showcase subscriber contributions.
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This is a new section where I will post meteor, fireball, etc sightings that have been published on the American Meteor Society's web site. I want to make this an active section of the web pages and newsletter and would like to publish the links to member sightings. If you have any published sightings, please provide me with the links and I will post them here for all to enjoy.
Event ID |
Date/Time |
Location |
Observer |
Link |
3587-2015 |
2015-11-22 17:38 MST |
CO |
Kevin S |
3587aw |
3829-2015 |
2015-12-05 18:06 MST |
Highlands Ranch, CO |
Burness A |
3829a |
3871-2015 |
2015-11-13 01:55 MST |
CO |
Charles N |
3871a |
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(Excerpts from recent JPL mission updates)
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Mars website mobile version is here!
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(If you have a link you would like to recommend to our readers, please feel free to submit it.)
- Brighton Astronomy Group - Astronomy in Brighton, Colorado (under construction).
- Cloudbait Observatory, Guffey Colorado - Submit your fireball reports here. Interesting, knowledgeable site.
- Colorado Amateur Satellite Net - On our net, we discuss anything that has to do with amateur satellites, ham radio with the space station, and more. *** Off the air until further notice. ***
- Colorado Springs Astronomical Society - The Colorado Springs Astronomical Society (CSAS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the enjoyment of the nighttime sky.
- Denver Astronomical Society - Promotes the enjoyment and understanding of astronomical phenomena, history and lore by providing educational and observing opportunities for our members, general public, and outreach activities at the University of Denver's historic Chamberlin Observatory, schools, and nature centers.
- Gateway2Space - More information about the Star Light -- Star Bright Observatory.
- Little Thompson Observatory - The Little Thompson Observatory (LTO) offers no-charge public access to the wonders of the night sky, either on one of our regularly scheduled public nights, or as a private group affair. When the weather co-operates, each session includes a guided tour of the sky using our large (18") telescope.
- Mike Coletta's SatWatch - Orbiting object and satellite watching. ORBITING OBJECT TRACKING … It's the thrill of the chase. Promoting and supporting the hobby of amateur radio, Mike - KG0UFO, along with many other radio hobbyists around the globe use the reflected signals of the AF Space Fence to detect orbiting objects as they make their way over the US. - The AF Space Fence was shut down in Sept. 2013. These are recordings of Mike's many observations.
- National Space Science & Technology Institute - NSSTI runs the Star Light--Star Bright Observatory in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
- Northern Colorado Astronomical Society - The purpose of our organization is to encourage the understanding & interest in the science & hobby of astronomy.
- Rocky Mountain Star Stare - The Premier Star Party in The Rocky Mountains
- Sangre Stargazers - New astronomy club in the Wet Mountain Valley of Custer County (about 45 miles due west of Pueblo, CO.)
- Southern Colorado Astronomical Society - The Southern Colorado Astronomical Society, CSU-P and the Pueblo Nature and Raptor Center welcomes everyone to participate in the discovery of our night sky.
- Star Cruiser Bill's Astrophotography - Great astrophotography from Aurora Colorado.
- HighQ Software Group - Blog of Ralph Boyd, Software engineer, amateur radio operator, radio astronomer.
- Radio Astronomy News - Radio Astronomy news and information.
- Radio Astronomy Research Posts - Radio Astronomy Research news posts and observations.
- Radio Astronomy Supplies - Radio Astronomy Supplies, the International leader in research radio telescopes for universities, observatories and individual.
- Radio JOVE Project - Radio JOVE students and amateur scientists observe and analyze natural radio emissions of Jupiter, the Sun, and our galaxy.
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Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers - The Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) is an international society of dedicated enthusiasts who teach, learn, trade technical information, and do their own observations of the radio sky.
- A Guide to the Galaxy Right from our Bedroom Window - An interesting site suggested by the students from Lexington Middle School Science Club in Nebraska. Lots of good basic astronomy information.
- A Kid's Guide to Astronomy - A great site with other links to learn about stars and astronomy for kids of all ages.
- "TheSky" - Astronomy Software by Software Bisque.
- A Sea of Stars - Voyages of a Merchant Mariner & Amateur Astronomer - I'm a retired Navy veteran, currently sailing with the US Navy's Military Sealift Command as an Operations Chief. My dominant interests are science (esp. astronomy), history and photography, and I enjoy naval and military wargaming WHEN I can find the time.
- A Short Guide to Celestial Navigation - Celestial navigation is the art and science of finding one's geographic position by means of astronomical observations, particularly by measuring altitudes of celestial objects — sun, moon, planets, or stars.
- The ARRL - Amateur Radio Relay League - Information about amateur radio and how to become an amateur radio operator.
- American Meteor Society - Provides amateur observers a place to learn about and report meteor, fireball and related sightings.
- Astrogirl Homepage - Family-friendly educational astronomy website.
- Astronomia - Online web applications that use catalogues of astronomical objects. Applications and their description are also prepared in English.
- Astronomy Picture of the Day - A different picture of the cosmos every day.
- Astronomy 2009
- This site has some good links a young, interested student wishes to share.
- Be an Astronomer right from your Window - At-home astronomy techniques.
- Black Hole Encyclopedia - Excellent site from StarDate - University of Texas McDonald Observatory
- Caelum Observatory - The LARGEST dedicated public telescope in the Southwest at the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter!
- Celestial Bodies and Astronomy.
- Celestron Telescopes - Celestron telescopes.
- Clear Skies Observing Guides - CSOG, short for Clear Skies Observing Guides is a new concept in visual amateur astronomy. It is a digital publication that will enable observers to target all deepsky objects and carbon stars within reach of their equipment.
- The Constellations and Their Stars - Good site for finding out more about the 88 constellations and their associated stars.
- CosmoQuest - The place where you map other worlds, explore out universe and contribute to science.
- Distant Suns - Desktop Astronomy package for PCs.
- EarthSky - Astronomy news.
- Groovy Adventures - Unique adventures and vacations including astronomy related vacations.
- Heavens-Above - As the name implies - What's up in the heavens, particularly satellite passes.
- The International Dark-Sky Association - To preserve and protect the nighttime environment and our heritage of dark skies.
- informED: 10 Teaching Tools for Educators - informED - Teacher Resources.
- iTelescope.net - iTelescope.Net is the world's premier network of Internet connected telescopes, allowing members to take astronomical images of the night sky for the purposes of education, scientific research and astrophotography.
- JPL Solar System Ambassador Program - "Volunteers Bringing the Solar System to the Public"
- JPL Solar System - Jet Propulsion Laboratory information on our solar system.
- K8JTK.ORG - Welcome to the home page of Jeffrey Kopcak. You will find pages and posts I wrote about my hobbies, interests, projects, and things I’m involved in.
- Kids Space Center - Telescopes and Astronomy - Another site suggested by a young student - Great info about telescopes.
- Mars Exploration, Mars Rovers Information, Facts, News, Photos - National Geographic - Mars Exploration - Investigating the Red Planet.
- Meade Advanced Products Users Group - Mapug-Astronomy Topical Archive & information resource, containing a massive 335 page archive of discussions about Meade equipment, and much more: observatories, observing lists, permanent piers, equatorial wedges, remote operations, software, eyepieces, etc.
- My Stars Live - Interactive Star Chart
- NASA - Lunar and Planetary Science - General information, Missions to Comets, Data, Press Releases, Meteors and Meteorites, Other topics of Interest.
- NASA Science News - NASA missions, updates, astronomy news, excellent resource.
- National Archives info on space exploration - Archives Library Information Center (ALIC) - Space Exploration - Information about the United States' space flight programs, including NASA missions and the astronauts who participate in the efforts to explore space.
- Predictions for Solar and Lunar Eclipses - A website dedicated to predictions and information on eclipses of the Sun and Moon.
- Skymaps.com - Free sky maps each month.
- Skywatch Sightings from NASA - This site gives you the best times to watch the ISS pass over or near your location.
- Space.com - Interesting space and astronomy articles.
- Spaceflight Now - Launches and satellite news.
- SpaceLinks/Space Careers - SPACELINKS is a specialist staffing consultancy sourcing and supplying high caliber professionals for a wide range of world class organizations in the Space and Defense industry.
- "SpaceRef.com" - SpaceRef's 21 news and reference web sites are designed to allow both the novice and specialist alike to explore outer space and Earth observation.
- Space Weather - Check out what the sun is doing as seen from space.
- Stellarium - Free, downloadable planetarium/astronomy software.
- UniverseToday - Short, interesting articles about space and related topics.
- Wikisky - WIKISKY is a non-commercial project. The main purpose of WIKISKY is to consolidate astronomical, astrophysical and other information about different space objects and astrophysical facts.
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Definitions of astronomical terms.
Many of the astronomical terms used in this newsletter are defined here.
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The author will accept any suggestions, constructive criticisms, and corrections. Please feel free to send me any new links or articles to share as well. I will try to accommodate any reasonable requests. Please feel free to send questions, comments, criticisms, or donations to the email address listed below. Enjoy!