Episode 404 – Observer’s Calendar for March 2024 Show Notes

• March 2nd – Last quarter Moon
• March 3rd – Asteroid Juno at opposition magnitude 8.7

Juno (minor-planet designation: 3 Juno) is a large asteroid in the asteroid belt. Juno was the third asteroid discovered, in 1804, by German astronomer Karl Harding. It is one of the twenty largest asteroids and one of the two largest stony (S-type) asteroids, along with 15 Eunomia. It is estimated to contain 1% of the total mass of the asteroid belt.

• March 4th – Gegenschein visible from a very dark site high overhead at midnight till

For ~2 weeks.

The Gegenschein is sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust. The dust orbits the Sun near the plane of the ecliptic, with a possible concentration of particles centred at the L2 point of the Earth–Sun system. Isn’t that where the James Webb Telescope is stationed?

• March 9th – New Moon
• March 10 -daylight savings time
• March 11 – Mercury Moon and Jupiter Line up in evening sky

• March 12th – Asteroid 23 Thalia at opposition magnitude 9.5

Thalia (minor planet designation: 23 Thalia) is a large main-belt asteroid. An S-Type Asteroid discovered by J. R. Hind on December 15, 1852, at the private observatory of W. Bishop which was located in Hyde Park, London, England. Bishop named it after Thalia, the Muse of comedy and pastoral poetry in Greek mythology. Made up of  Iron and magnesium silicates.

March 13th – Moon pairs with Jupiter – 3-degrees

• Large tides this week
• March 14th –  Moon with pleiades  this evening

• March 16th – First Quarter Moon
• March 17th – St Patrick’s day
• March 18th – Lunar Straight Wall Visible
• March 19th – Spring Equinox
• March 24th – Full Moon & Mercury at Greatest Elongation (19-degrees) this evening

• Follow Vega with your unaided eye into daylight this week
• Spot Sirius with the unaided eye before sunset this week