TRAC Action Plan: March 2024

Planets

Mercury

On Sunday, 24 March, Mercury will reach its point of greatest elongation – that's when it'll be the furthest from the Sun from our perspective on Earth. A day or two before or after this date will be the best time in the whole of 2024 to see Mercury because it's when the planet will be highest in the sky after the sun sets.

Observing Mercury is our number one goal for March. The tiny planet will be visible low in the western sky as soon as it gets dark enough at twilight. And we will be ready for it!

Minor Planet Juno

Asteroid 3 Juno will come to opposition on Mar 03 at a magnitude of +8.7 and a distance of 1.68 AU.

It will be positioned below the prominent spring constellation Leo, nestled between Virgo and Sextans, at an altitude of about 40 degrees.

Locating Juno won't be easy! Spotting this dim asteroid will require a very clear sky. The best chance to locate it will come after 22:00 in the first week of March.

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks

Periodic comet "12P/Pons–Brooks" will soon be making its closest approach to Earth. It's one of the brightest known periodic comets, and it will gradullay brighten from mag. 7.3 to mag. 5.1 during March.

There's a good chance we'll be able to observe it from the park. We might get time to track it down on the same nights we're out looking for Mercury.

Comet 12P orbits the Sun once every 71 years – so add the date to your diary if you want to see it again in 2095!

International Space Station (ISS)

The ISS will once again be visible from Rainham in the coming weeks. There should be a few opportunities to see it pass overhead an hour or so after sunset. Maybe we can capture a timelapse photo from the park?

Lunar Observations

Here's how the lunar calendar looks for March 2024:

• Last Quarter Sun 03
• New Moon Sun 10
• First Quarter Sun 17
• Full Moon Mon 25

March 15-16: The moon will be at first quarter over the weekend. This is the best time to see the craters and take some photos with your phone.

March 22-23: This weekend will be close to March's full moon, which occurs on March 25. The full moon is always a beautiful sight to see!

We'll see the Moon rise in the east on Mar 24, while we're in the park looking for Mercury in the west.

The Astronomy Club now has a small specialised astro camera in its arsenal. The Moon is the recommended target to use for testing the new camera due to its large size in the sky compared to the planets.

Weather Outlook

Last month was officially one of the wettest Februarys on record for southern England. Frustratingly, the gloomy weather is expected to persist.

The British weather remains the archenemy of the Astronomy Club.

Please pray for clear skies and low wind speeds!

Website Update

Club members will be pleased to hear that the Internet domain name "astronomyclub.co.uk" was successfully acquired on the afternoon of Mar 10. This marks our first step towards building a TRAC website.

Summary

A planet and a comet are on display in the night sky during the second half of March. As always, the weather conditions play a large part in determining what we'll be able to see. We need the weather to improve!

Our main mission for 2024 is to view all seven planets in the Solar System. It'd be great if we're able to see Mercury this month because it'll be very difficult to see it at any other time in 2024. Let's hope for some better weather!

James M
TRAC Team Leader
02 Mar 2024 – Rainham, Kent