The starry sky in March 2024
Due to the later onset of twilight, the observatory will only open one hour later on Friday evening at 8 pm, assuming a cloudless night sky. This year's changeover to summer time will take place on the last weekend of the month, Sunday, March 31. The clocks will be set forward at 2 am to 3 am. A penumbral eclipse of the moon, which is already not easy to observe, occurs on March 25. Unfortunately, it remains hidden from us as the moon is about to set at the beginning. During a penumbral eclipse, the Earth's umbra moves past the moon, so the decrease in brightness that can be observed is only marginal.
SUN AND MOON
On the 20th of the month, the sun is at the vernal equinox, the first of two equinoxes of the year. At exactly 4:06 a.m., the sun changes from the southern to the northern hemisphere, so the length of the days again predominates. On the first of the month, the length of the day in Zweibrücken is still 11h 6 min and increases further to 12 h 58 min on the last of the month.
Around midnight on March 25, the full moon is a good 41 degrees above the horizon.
Why does the full moon interfere with astronomical observations? There are two reasons for this. Firstly, its light increases the background brightness and thus makes it more difficult to see fainter objects such as nebulae, galaxies and fainter stars and reduces their contrast.
Furthermore, it is relatively uninteresting for observations as it offers hardly any details apart from the lava basins, which form the familiar face of the moon. Only the shadows cast when the moon is waxing or waning provide the necessary contrasts and shadows to be able to observe the impressive formations such as plains, mountains, craters and their central peaks.
An interesting phenomenon occurs in the days before and after the new moon, in which the unlit part of our companion, the so-called secondary light, the earthshine or also called the ashen light, is faintly visible. This is caused by the sunlight that is reflected from the earth to the earth's satellite. The effect is strongest around the new moon, as at this time when we look towards the moon we see its almost unlit side, whereas when we look from the moon towards our planet we would see an almost fully illuminated globe. This effect can be observed most easily in the evening sky in the days following the new moon.
PLANETS
Mercurythe closest rocky planet to the sun, offers the best opportunity of the whole year for evening visibility towards the middle of the month. It reaches its greatest eastern elongation (greatest angular distance from the sun) on March 24, although this is quite modest at just over 18 degrees. However, its apparent orbit is quite steep in the evening sky, which is what allows us to observe it in the first place. From the middle of the month, it is worth keeping an eye out for the nimble rocky planet low on the western horizon. The following diagram shows the position of Mercury between March 14 and April 1, approx. 30 minutes after sunset.
Venus bids farewell as the morning star. Although it rises much earlier from 6:23 a.m. at the beginning of March to 5:45 a.m. (6:45 a.m. CEST) at the end of the month, it remains invisible to the naked eye from the second third of the month.
Marswhich has been unobservable for us since August last year, continues to increase its angular distance to the sun, but is still unable to assert itself in the morning sky. This will not change until the last third of May. It will no longer reach its opposition position in 2024; we will have to be patient until mid-March 2025.
Jupiter is still a prominent object in the western evening sky, but its setting is considerably earlier from 23:47 to 22:21 (23:21 CEST). On the evening of March 13 at 10 pm, there will be a nice view of the sky when the moon visits the largest planet in the solar system. The Moon will be 3.5 degrees north.
Saturn was conjunct the Sun at the end of the previous month. It cannot yet free itself from the rays of the morning sun.
STARRY SKY
The gradual change from the winter to the spring constellations is in full swing.
In the West the magnificent constellations of winter can still be seen in the early evening. Orion is already approaching the haze layers near the horizon, while Auriga and Gemini are still a little higher up.
About us The Lion and a few fainter constellations such as the Hair of Berenice, which is the only one of today's 88 constellations to be named after a historical person, are already in the sky. It was Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer of the 16th century, who made the asterism an independent constellation.
It was named after Queen Berenice II (267/268 BC to 221 BC), wife of Ptolemy III Euergetes, King of Egypt. The queen vowed to dedicate a lock of her hair to the gods in a temple if her husband returned healthy from a campaign. After the king's return, she fulfilled her vow, but the next day the lock of hair had disappeared. The court astronomer then explained that it had been moved to the heavens by the gods, where the royal tuft of hair can now be admired under the stars.
In the East you can already see the Bear Keeper from the middle of the month. The northern crown and Hercules are still trying to assert themselves against the haze layers near the horizon.
On northern night sky is already home to the striking constellation of the Great Bear.
The following sky view is valid for March 1 at 11 pm, March 15 at 10 pm and March 30 at 9 pm.
