Robert Victor sent us some Sky notes for the upcoming Month and the Solar Eclipse:
Sky events, March through mid-April 2024,
including the solar eclipse of Monday, April 8
Newsletter for residents and visitors in Round Rock, TX
by Robert Victor. Graphics contributed by Robert D. Miller
From the morning of March 1 until the evening of April 10, an interval spanning 41 days, we’ll follow the Moon as it moves 546 degrees eastward through the belt of zodiac constellations. The Moon will pass the Sun, seven planets of our solar system (all the ones other than Earth), and the five first magnitude stars of the zodiac, some of the 13 objects more than once, as our natural satellite makes more than one and a half trips around its orbit. Many of the Moon’s encounters with other bright objects will be quite close, and pleasing to the eye.
There are two eclipses. The first occurs nearly 2¼ hours after midnight on the night of March 24-25, when the Moon appears almost 180° from the Sun. The Moon passes through Earth’s slightly dusky outermost shadow, or penumbra, passing north or above the umbra, missing that dark shadow core. The second, very much more impressive eclipse, occurs on Monday, April 8, when the Moon completely covers the Sun in a narrow track across North America, including in Round Rock, Texas! Most of the rest of North America outside the path of totality will see only a partial eclipse. Details and required safety precautions are described farther on, below.
On the morning of March 1, an hour before sunup, we find the waning gibbous Moon (71%) in the constellation Libra, about 4° from the 3rd-magnitude star Zubenelgenubi, which marks the southern claw of the older version of the Scorpion. As the morning sky brightens, look for bright Venus very low in ESE, with faint Mars within 4° to its upper right. Each morning at the same stage of twilight, Venus gets a little lower, and Mars a little higher. Binoculars will help you see Mars. (By March 31, they’ll be nearly 18° apart.) On the morning of March 2, the Moon is just west of the Scorpion’s head, and on March 3, the Moon appears within 2° east of Antares, the red supergiant star marking the heart of the Scorpion. The Moon is now at Last Quarter phase, when it’s half full and 90° or one-quarter circle west of the Sun. You can tell where the Sun is located -- below the eastern horizon -- by noting which half of the Moon is illuminated. On the next two mornings, the waning Moon is near its southernmost position for this orbit, as a 41% crescent just west of the spout of the Teapot of Sagittarius, the Archer on March 4, and at 31% just west of the Teapot’s handle on March 5. On both mornings, the Moon climbs to a maximum of only 30° above the horizon, when it’s directly south, about 26 minutes after sunrise on the 4th, and 1½ hours after sunrise on the 5th. The Moon’s position when due south those two mornings is more than 5° lower than the lowest midday Sun of the year, on the Winter Solstice, December 21.
On March 7, about 45 minutes before sunrise, Venus appears nearly 18° lower left of the 12% crescent. Mars is within 7° upper right of Venus and 11° lower left of the Moon. On March 8, use binoculars to spot the 5% old crescent Moon just rising in ESE in twilight, 5° lower right of Venus. Find Mars 7.0° upper right of Venus and within 5.5° upper right of the Moon.New Moon occurs on Sunday, March 10, at 4 a.m. CDT, on the morning daylight saving time has begun. Just two hours earlier, the Moon passes perigee, the closest for the entire year. This makes the Moon climb quickly into the evening sky, and it’s possible, if you have an unobstructed horizon and very clear skies, to catch a very thin 1% crescent Moon just above the western horizon 2°-3° lower left of Mercury. Start looking 20-25 minutes after sunset, and look for Mercury about 5° up and 3° south of west, and 41° lower right of Jupiter. From Round Rock, Texas, the hairline crescent will be very close to 16 hours after New and only 8.6° from the Sun, perhaps the youngest Moon you’ve ever seen! Binoculars will be needed! Observers farther south or west of Texas will have an easier time spotting the crescent that evening. It happens that this young Moon marks the start of Ramadan, and people of the Islamic faith begin a month of daytime fasting the next day, Monday, March 11.
Evenings at this time of year, the zodiacal pathway makes a steep angle with the horizon, and so the waxing Moon climbs rapidly from one evening to the next. By March 13, the Moon is close to Jupiter; on the 14th, near the Pleiades cluster, and on the 15th, widely north of Aldebaran, eye of Taurus, the Bull.
On March 16th, the Moon appears close to 1.7-mag. Elnath, the Bull’s northern horn. On the 17th, this month’s northernmost Moon is near the feet of Gemini, a few degrees farther north than the Sun ever gets. Notice how high the Moon is in the sky during evening twilight. From Round Rock, 43 minutes after sunset on the 17th, the Moon passes only 2° south of overhead!
On March 18th, the Moon passes unusually close to Pollux, one of the Twin stars of Gemini. On March 19 at 10:06 p.m. CDT, spring begins as the Sun, crossing northward, passes directly above Earth’s equator.
DETOUR to the morning sky, for an update on the planets: In bright morning twilight on March 21, Venus now rises 10° south of east and 13° lower left of Mars. It will be challenging, even with binoculars, to spot Saturn just emerging, 0.6° lower left of Venus. Each morning at the same stage of twilight, Venus appears even lower, while Mars and Saturn appear higher. On the next morning, March 22, Saturn appears 0.7° upper right of Venus. By March 29, Saturn will be about midway between Venus and Mars, 8° from each. Soon, we may just have to let go of Venus, and just enjoy Mars and Saturn in the earlier, darker morning twilight. Watch Mars and Saturn draw closer to each other until April 10, when they’ll appear just 0.5° apart.
Returning our attention to the evening sky, on March 21st, we see the Moon passing north of Regulus, heart of Leo.
In the early evening on March 24, Mercury reaches its highest position in evening twilight for this entire year. Look 23° lower right of Jupiter. The innermost planet of our solar system will linger 21° to Jupiter’s lower right from March 27 through April 2, but fade to invisibility as it transitions into a backlighted crescent.
Full Moon occurs on the night of March 24-25, with deepest penumbral lunar eclipse at 2:13 a.m. CDT on the 25th. Can you notice the slight shading on one edge of the Moon then?
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SIDEBAR: On the evening of Sept. 17, 2024, at 9:44 p.m. CDT, the northern 9 percent of the Moon’s diameter will be within the Earth’s dark umbral shadow, giving us a slightly more impressive umbral lunar eclipse than the penumbral eclipse on the morning of March 25.
Lunar eclipses are seen much more frequently than solar, because the eclipsed Moon is visible simultaneously from the entire hemisphere of Earth facing the Moon at the time. In the remainder of this decade, total lunar eclipses will be visible from Texas on March 14, 2025 (very early morning); March 3, 2026 (in western sky at dawn); and June 25, 2029 (Moon embedded in Sagittarius Milky Way in late evening). There’ll also be a deep partial lunar eclipse (93 percent of Moon’s diameter in shadow) in late evening on August 27, 2026.
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Returning our attention to the events of March 2024, by the 27th, the Moon rises well after nightfall, and without the Moon’s presence, the sky is quite dark for a short while in the early evening. On the 27th, 1¼ hours after sunset, bright Jupiter is almost down to just 20° above the western horizon. Note 2nd-mag. Hamal, brightest star of Aries, just 14° lower right of Jupiter. That evening, using binoculars, look for a fuzzy spot, perhaps of 5th magnitude, in the same field, 4°-5° to the lower right of Hamal. It’s Comet Pons-Brooks, in its return to the inner solar system after nearly 71 years. Comet P-B is shifting position by 1.2° each day in relation to the starry background. On March 30 and 31, the Comet will appear within one degree of Hamal, and thereafter, to the star’s upper left, in the same binocular field for perhaps three more evenings.
Also near Jupiter and in the same binocular field is the 5.8-magnitude planet Uranus. Look above and slightly left of Jupiter, by 4° on March 28. On April 3, Uranus will be 3° directly above Jupiter. On April 9, Uranus will be only 2° above and slightly right of Jupiter, and on April 15, just 1° to Jupiter’s upper right. Uranus will appear only 0.5° north (upper right) of Jupiter on April 20, but by then, the pair will be less than 2° above the horizon at the end of evening twilight.
Shifting our viewing time back to mornings, about an hour before sunrise, we catch the Moon near Spica on March 26 (99% full) and March 27 (96%); a gibbous Moon, 77% full near Antares on March 30; and 57% full near the spout of the Teapot of Sagittarius on April 1. That morning, as seen from Round Rock, the southernmost Moon will pass directly south 9 minutes before sunrise while only 30° above the horizon.
By the next morning, April 2, the Moon is already several hours past its Last Quarter phase, when it’s half full and 90° (a quarter-circle) west of the Sun; an hour before sunrise that morning, the Moon, east of the Teapot, is instead a fat crescent, 46% full and within 86° west of Sun. Less than a week to go until the Moon’s rendezvous with the Sun at New Moon and solar eclipse! Also on April 2 an hour before sunrise, two planets are visible to unaided eye, very low, between east and east-southeast: Mars, with Saturn 5.6° to its lower left. Binoculars will enhance their difference in color; Mars has a distinctly reddish tint, owing to oxidation (rusting!) of its iron-containing surface material. Look each clear morning to follow the waning crescent closing in on Mars and Saturn, while the gap between the planets themselves also narrows.
On April 5, an hour before sunrise, the 16% crescent is 9° up in ESE, with Mars about 10° to its lower left. Saturn is another 3.6° to lower left of Mars.
On April 6, just 45 minutes before sunrise, an 8% crescent Moon, just 5° up and 13°-14° south of east, forms a compact gathering with Saturn and Mars. Saturn is 2.3° almost directly above the Moon, and Mars is 3.0° to Saturn’s upper right. From lower left to upper right that morning, the gathering of Moon, Saturn, and Mars will fit within a 5.2° field.
On the morning of April 7, just 20 minutes before sunrise, Venus will appear just 2° left of the 2-percent crescent Moon, both only three degrees above the horizon, about 2°-4° south of east. You’ll need binoculars, very transparent skies, and an unobstructed horizon. Even more difficult to observe will be the daytime occultation of Venus by the Moon. From Round Rock, Venus’ disappearance behind the leading illuminated edge of the Moon will occur shortly after 11:07 a.m. CDT, and reappearance from behind the invisible dark side shortly before 11:45 a.m. The event occurs only 15° west (upper right) of the Sun, so take care to set up your telescope in the shade of a building. Since the thin crescent Moon’s surface brightness will be very low, and mag. –3.8 cloud-covered Venus has all its light concentrated into a disk only 10” (arcseconds) across, when sweeping for Moon and Venus, you’re likely to notice Venus first.
The Moon’s encounters with Mars, Saturn, and Venus all occur on the last two mornings before its rendezvous with the Sun – the solar eclipse on April 8.
The major solar eclipse on Monday, April 8 will be seen as total from within a track crossing Mexico, the United States from Texas to Maine, and eastern Canada. The event will be seen only as a partial solar eclipse from nearly all of the rest of North America.
To avoid serious and possibly permanent harm to eyesight, anyone who wishes to do direct viewing of the partial phases of the eclipse must use a viewing device that meets safety standards to greatly reduce the Sun’s brightness in visible light as well as invisible infrared and ultraviolet radiation. For descriptions of the standards, the viewing devices, and a list of reliable vendors, see the second web link below. We’re putting this information out early, so you’ll have enough time to order your solar glasses or sun viewers designed for use without telescopes or binoculars. Without such an item, you can still observe the eclipse indirectly, by projecting images using a colander or pinholes, or standing under a tree looking at projected images on the ground or the side of a building. These options are also described, on the websites below.
From Round Rock, Texas, first contact of the Moon’s disk with the Sun’s occurs at 12:17.8 p.m. CDT, as the Moon begins to cover the right side of the Sun. If the solar disk is imagined as the face of a clock, and viewed through a safe solar filter, then by 12:18 p.m. a tiny part of the Moon’s silhouette will first be seen just below the 3 o’clock (right edge) position. The coverage increases until the eclipse becomes total, at second contact, shortly after 1:36 p.m. Moments before totality, Baily’s beads and the Diamond Ring will be noted, with the last point of sunlight, the “diamond”, disappearing near the 9 o’clock position (left edge) of the Moon’s disk. From our chosen location in Round Rock southeast of the centerline, the center of the Moon’s disk will appear slightly displaced toward upper right, and around maximum eclipse at 1:37:34 p.m., at the lower left edge (at 7:30 on the clockface), we’ll see more of the inner corona and perhaps see some of the intensely red chromosphere and prominences. We’ll get 2 minutes 50 seconds of totality, ending at third contact, just before 1:39 p.m. Another “diamond”, appearing just left of the 6 o’clock (bottom) edge of the lunar disk, marks totality’s end. Next, in the concluding partial phases, the fraction of the Sun hidden by the Moon decreases until last contact, just after 2:58 p.m. That’s when the last tiny bit of the Moon completely departs from the Sun’s disk, slightly left of the top (12 o’clock) edge of the imagined solar clock face.
For details, including important information on how to observe the event safely without risk of damage to eyesight; and, for total eclipse chasers, maps and weather prospects along the path of totality, visit:
and especially https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety
For other ways to observe the eclipse, try measuring and recording the temperature every 10 to 15 minutes – but consider carefully where to place the thermometer(s). Observe the behavior of animals, and listen for the sounds of insects, frogs, birds, and other wildlife. Will the eclipse cause noticeable changes? Make similar observations on adjacent days to get a baseline for comparison.
Although there’ll be a total solar eclipse somewhere on Earth in each year 2026-2028, the next total solar eclipses which parts of U.S. will host will occur in March 2033 (northwest Alaska); August 2044 (North Dakota and Montana at sunset); and August 2045 (within a path from northern California to Florida). The 2045 eclipse will appear as total in part of the Panhandle of Texas and as a significant partial eclipse in the rest of the state, and the March 2033 event will appear as a slight partial in Round Rock. Preceding the 2045 coast-to-coast total solar eclipse, Texas will also see partial solar eclipses on Jan. 14, 2029, Nov. 14, 2031, and Nov. 4, 2040.
At sunset on the evening on April 8, eclipse day, the Moon will still be within 3° of the Sun and not visible. At mid-twilight on the next evening, Tuesday, April 9, about 40 minutes after sunset, the Moon’s age will be an easy 31 hours, well-placed 17 degrees from the Sun. Look for the beautiful three-percent crescent that evening, 12° lower right of Jupiter. It announces the beginning of the month of Shawwal in the Islamic calendar, and the end of the daytime fasting of Ramadan.
Comet Pons-Brooks, perhaps near mag. 4.5, appears through binoculars within 6° upper left of the Moon on April 9. As dusk deepens on April 10, the 8-percent Moon appears within 5° upper right of Jupiter and 8° below the Pleiades star cluster. Later that night, the Comet passes the descending node of its orbit, crossing southward through Earth’s orbital plane. On the evening of the 13th, look for the Comet just 3° below Jupiter. On the evening of Apr. 20, Pons-Brooks passes perihelion 72.6 million miles from Sun.
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The Abrams Planetarium Sky Calendar is available by subscription from www.abramsplanetarium.org/skycalendar/ Each monthly issue consists of a calendar page illustrating events such as mentioned in this article, and an evening sky map. For $12 per year, subscribers receive quarterly mailings, each containing three monthly issues.
Robert C. Victor originated the Abrams Planetarium monthly Sky Calendar in October 1968 and still helps to produce an occasional issue. He enjoys being outdoors sharing the beauty of the night sky and other wonders of nature.
Robert D. Miller, who provided the evening and morning twilight charts, did graduate work in Planetarium Science, and later astronomy and computer science at Michigan State University, and remains active in research and public outreach in astronomy.
About the monthly evening and morning twilight sky charts: The only objects plotted on the charts are the five naked-eye planets, and the 16 stars of first magnitude or brighter visible from latitude 34° N, plus 1.6-magnitude Castor, to help quickly identify its brighter, 1.1-magnitude twin, Pollux, 4.5° away. The positions of planets and stars are represented for each day of the month, at the moment when the Sun is 9° below the horizon, which we are calling mid-twilight. The time interval ahead of sunrise or after sunset when this occurs depends on the observer’s latitude and time of year, and is mentioned in a table below the map. Planets are plotted as a separate dot for each day, with a larger, labeled dot at one-week intervals, for dates 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29. Star positions are represented by continuous curves, showing each star’s drift across the sky from east to west in the course of the month. The east-to-west drift of the stars and the outer planets is caused by the revolution of Earth around the Sun.