Astronomical Observing News (3/14 to 3/20)

This week, there's a lot going on in the skies above, with at least one event per day! There's also an equinox, which only occurs about twice a year!

• March 14: NASA will be launching five rockets to study the jet stream on the east coast- if you live there be sure to look for them around midnight EDT! Also, the moon is at its most southern declination; third quarter moon at 9:25 PM EDT
• March 15: Ganymede transit
• March 16: Europa occultation
• March 17: Io transit
• March 18: Europa transit
• March 19: Vernal Equinox; 10:14 PM PDT
• March 20: Vernal Equinox; 1:14 AM EDT

Below, I have defined some of the events I will be notifying you about over the course of this repeating feature.

• Transit—When an astronomical object passes in front of another, like one of Jupiter's moons passing in front of Jupiter.
• Occultation—When one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer.
• Moon Phases—It can be fun observing different phases of the moon. These are what fraction of the moon is dark. It is also fun observing the dark side.
• Conjunctions—Two (or more) bright objects in one field of view! This is when two or more astronomical objects are relatively close. Sometimes it is cool to see planets or bright stars pass by or behind the moon.
• Apogee or Perigee—This is when the moon is closest or furthest away from Earth. Not really for observing, but it can be interesting to view the moon when it is large and small.
• Meteor Showers—Easily observed by the naked eye or by binoculars.
• Comets—Not very often do these come around, but are amazing to watch.
• Lunar and Solar Eclipses—Mainly these are lunar eclipses, but if you get to see a solar eclipse you are very lucky!  This is when an astronomical object passes into a shadow of another.  This could be Jupiter's moons passing into its shadow, or vice versa.
• Solstices—This is when the Earth wobbles, or from Earth this is how the northernmost or southernmost point the sun is at. There are two each year. This is mainly for information.
• Equinoxes—This is when the earth is in the middle of its southernmost and northernmost position and it is equal. Again, this is mainly for knowledge.
• Declination of Moon—This is when the moon's path around the Earth is slightly tilted up or down. The declination is the furthest up or down it will go.
• Elongations—  Elongation is the angle of a planet and the Sun.

There may be more to come. When these are included, I will explain what they are.

Image by astrowow