March 2009 astronomy

The month starts with a classic Venus-Moon conjunction at sunset. A look through a telescope will show Venus to be a thin crescent, just like the moon. Venus will be in conjunction on the 25th, so the next Venus-Moon conjunction won't be visible. As Venus drops in the west, watch for Saturn in the east. The ring show is one to keep watching as Saturn orbits toward an edge-on view later this year. This is a great month to watch Saturn. It's up all night. Opposition occurs on the 8th. Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter are clustered in the morning sky as March begins. This is harder to pull out of the twilight if you're in the northern hemisphere. The messenger is 0.6 degrees south of the red planet on the first. By the end of the month, Jupiter will rise before the others. You may still be able to find Mars in the twilight at month's end, but Mercury will be heading toward conjunction. The moon will zip by Jupiter on the 22nd and Mars on the 24th.

Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus are in direct motion all month. That means, compared to the starry backdrop, they are heading eastward. Venus begins retrograde motion on the 5th. Saturn is in retrograde motion all month.

For what it's worth, Neptune is near the above mentioned cluster with Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter. Neptune and Mars are in conjunction on the 8th.

At sunset this month, Sirius in Canis Major is near the meridian with Orion a little northwest of it and the V of the Hyades a little further west. Gemini is high in the west and Leo is rising. These are excellent constellations for beginning stargazers to learn because the stars in them are bright and their patterns easily distinguished.

The moon is full on the 11th, the same day it's at descending node. That means it's over the equator and heading southward-a lunar equinox you could say. The moon will rise due east and set due west. Just nine days later, you'll be able to compare it to a solar equinox. The sun is heading northward though.

Those interested in lunar occultations should see the occultation page for visibility of the events involving Alcyone on the 3rd and 30th, Al Niyat and Antares on the 17th, and Kaus Borealis on the 19th.

Peanuts comic strip fans should make note of a 40th anniversary on March 14th. It was on that day in 1969 that Snoopy marveled at being the first beagle on the moon. His thought balloons read, "I beat the Russians. I beat everybody. I even beat that stupid cat who lives next door." That was more than three months before the real first human landing on the moon. Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz was also inspired by the moon mission after it happened. One of his later comic strip books was called The Beagle Has Landed.