Eclipses, Conjunctions, Alignments and Celestial Phenomena

Puma

Puma

The Living Force
FOTCM Member
I think there is a need for a thread where celestial phenomena are reported or discussed. The Cs have told us in the past

Laura said:
A: We told you that there would be strange cosmic phenomena!

Q: (Pierre) They didn't say what was coming in.

(L) I guess we have to wait and see.

(Joe) It was the Kraken. Godzilla!

A: Paying close attention helped you spot this. Wait for more and observe results and effects.
Click to expand...

Laura said:
(L) Alright... Now let's go back to our intro. You said there were lots of interesting things in the last five months, and there's more to come. Last time, you said there are going to be weather issues.

A: Soon astronomical phenomena.
Click to expand...

Half an hour ago I went out to the backyard and I could appreciate the Moon-Jupiter-Moon conjunction (19:35 pm local time). I searched the Internet and there are several people who have uploaded their photos to social networks:

SUNSET SKY SHOW: Around the world, people are watching Venus, Jupiter, and the crescent Moon line up in the sunset sky. Jan Jackson took this picture last night in Ziheautanejo, Mexico:
mexico_strip2.jpg
"The planets were so bright, we could photograph them with nothing more than a cell phone," says Jackson.

There's something different to see every night. Tonight, the Moon moves up and passes close to Jupiter (Pro tip: Be alert for Earthshine.) Tomorrow, there will be a nearly-vertical Moon-Jupiter-Venus line in the sky. Sky maps: Feb. 21, 22, 23.

Best of all, Venus and Jupiter are converging. At closest approach on March 1st, Venus and Jupiter will be just 0.5 degrees apart--a beautiful pairing and one of the best astrophoto-ops of 2023

From Norman Park GA USA
https://twitter.com/x/status/1628454021848567808

#Moon with #Jupiter and #venus at lower left from Montevideo #Uruguay
https://twitter.com/x/status/1628536427175608320

From El Salvador
https://twitter.com/x/status/1628557220496408576

Very excited to have been able to capture the exact moment when Jupiter hides behind the Moon. From Uruguay
https://twitter.com/x/status/1628538442278744067
 
Another astronomical spectacle, the Moon, Jupiter with its moons and Venus, captured from Orocovis Puerto Rico. On March 1 will be the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter will not be so close to each other until November 2, 2039.
Photos By: Bolivar Torres

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SUNSET SKY SHOW: "Last night, we saw a spectacular scene in the evening sky," reports Marek Nikodem of Szubin, Poland. "The young Moon was approaching Venus and Jupiter, forming a bright triangle in the sunset sky. Even random people stopped and took pictures."
poland_strip.jpg
Hours after Nikodem photographed the Moon approaching Jupiter, the two bodies "kissed" over South America.

"Here in Santiago, Chile, we were favoured with an incredible show," says Patricio Leon, who caught Jupiter arcseconds away from the lunar limb:
chile_strip.jpg
"The pair was only 12° above the horizon so the turbulence was quite noticeable, but I managed to get a good picture," says Leon. "The last occultation of Jupiter I saw was a long time ago back in 1998, so I really enjoyed this one!"

The show continues tonight with a nearly-vertical Moon-Jupiter-Venus line in the sky. Look west at sunset.

 
A10SVYR: potential bright comet in 2024?

Little by little, things are getting interesting about the newly discovered object. There is still no official comet designation (probably ATLAS), and the orbit is more or less accurate for now. For now, we are basing this on 1.5 months of observation, and so far it looks very promising. It currently has a magnitude of 18.3 and is in the constellation Snakehead, near the Libra border.

Perihelion falls at a distance of less than 0.4 AU and everything indicates that we are dealing with a long period comet (the orbital period is thousands of years). In the near future, the comet will be observed en masse, as in the fall of next year we may have quite a show. If it is bright (it may be better than the last NEOWISE), let's wait a bit, let's not inflate the balloon, there is only :) one possibility, and comets, as you know, may be different. :) For now, let's stay on topic.
astropolis.pl

A10SVYR - potencjalna jasna kometa w 2024?

Powoli robi się ciekawie o niedawno odkrytym obiekcie. Nie ma jeszcze oficjalnego kometarnego oznaczenia (prawdopodobnie będzie to ATLAS), a orbita jest na razie z grubsza dokładna. Na razie bazujemy na 1.5 miesiącach obserwacji i na chwilę obecną wygląda to bardzo obiecująco. Obecnie ma 18.3 mag...
astropolis.pl astropolis.pl

https://twitter.com/x/status/1629624785180438529
 
seiw83 said:
Maybe coming pluto to aquarius is coming winter time.
Click to expand...

Last periods of Pluto in Aquarius: 1778 to 1798 | 2023 to 2043

Suggests transformations in technology, society, revolutionary discoveries and innovations, great leaps and advances.

While Pluto is in Aquarius, the regenerative, suppressive and transformative action acts on the power to express ideas and to create in terms of social behavior and innovations. Aquarius is the power of impartial coordination of all people and all concepts. It is freedom taken to the extreme. This is exercised through greater idealism and humanitarianism by promoting creativity in relationships.

Pluto will enter Aquarius on March 23, 2023, will then be retrograde, and will return to Capricorn and then to Aquarius definitively after November 2024. The discovery of Uranus inaugurated a new stage in the history of astrological knowledge in 1781, expanding the paradigm of the existence of seven planets that had prevailed for a few thousand years.

Uranus became the ruler of Aquarius along with its traditional ruler, Saturn. The year of the discovery of Uranus is one of the important dates for the transition to the Aquarian Age.

Some events such as the French Revolution, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen in 1789, are milestones in the history of Central Europe. There was also a significant advance towards the Industrial Revolution in the accelerated development of science and technology. In the field of ideas, the incisive spirit of Pluto in Aquarius is revealed in the work of one of the greatest personalities of philosophy, Schopenhauer, born in 1788. His work changed the paradigms of humanity by proposing the vision of the world "as will and representation".

www.astrolink.com

Pluton en Acuario | Astrolink

Echa un vistazo a Astrolink y comprende lo que representa Plutón en Géminis en tu carta astral, cómo influye en tu vida y úsalo a tu favor.
www.astrolink.com www.astrolink.com
 

Venus and Jupiter to create spectacle in the sky​


The first night of meteorological spring will see Jupiter and Venus appear as if they are almost touching each other in the sky.

Wednesday's phenomenon is known as conjunction - when a planet appears close to a moon, star, or other planet.

The glare from Jupiter, the largest planet, and Venus, the brightest planet, will create a spectacular glow, according to Nasa.

Spectators will also be able to see four of Jupiter's brightest moons.

Over the past couple weeks the planets have been inching closer towards each other, but in reality they are still 400 million miles (600 million km) apart.

Conjunctions occur frequently in our solar system because "the planets orbit around the Sun in approximately the same plane - the ecliptic plane - and thus trace similar paths across our sky", according to Nasa.

So while these two planets converge often with "no profound astronomical significance", Nasa says, "they are nice to view".

www.bbc.com

Venus and Jupiter to create spectacle in the sky

People, even without a telescope, will see the astronomical phenomenon by looking west after sundown.
www.bbc.com

Conjunction #Venus #Jupiter
From #Ecuador 🇪🇨
February 28, 2023
https://twitter.com/x/status/1630745564726829057
 
The comet, which last passed close to Earth about 80,000 years ago, will begin to be visible to the naked eye around October 2024, It could be as bright or brighter than our stars, and much brighter than the recent green comet ZTF that passed Earth last month.

New comet – C/2023 A3 – could be bright in 2024​


Astronomers have found a new comet! They’ve labeled it C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). And it’s something to look forward to, as it makes its closest approach to the sun (its perihelion) more than a year from now. So, the bad news is it’s not until 2024! But the good news is that early estimates of the comet’s brightness suggest it’ll be bright!

Perihelion for this comet will come on September 28, 2024. At that point, some estimates are suggesting it might be around magnitude 0.7. That brightness rivals some of the brightest stars in the sky (though, for comets, the brightness is diffuse, not in a single point).

And of course, as with all comets, be aware that they are finicky balls of ice and dust, often not living up to expectations.

Discovery and naming

The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in South Africa discovered Comet C/2023 A3 on February 22, 2023. Additionally, observers at Purple Mountain (Zijin Shin or Tsuchinshan) Observatory in China found the comet independently on images from January 9, 2023. Therefore, the comet also has the nickname Tsuchinshan-ATLAS.

At discovery, the comet was still 7.3 astronomical units (AU) from the sun, and shining at a dim magnitude 18.

Where’s the comet now?

Preliminary analysis of its trajectory suggests comet “A3” completes an orbit around the sun every 80,660 years. As of March 2023, the celestial visitor is currently between the orbits of Saturn and Jupiter. Although some specific facts and dates might be updated, currently it appears that closest approach to Earth should occur on October 13, 2024 at 05:38 UTC.

An amazing detail of comet “A3” is its blazing speed: 180,610 miles per hour (290,664 km/h) or 80.74 km per second, relative to Earth.

The path of Comet C/2023 A3

After the comet gets closest to the sun, it will swing around near Earth. But as it does so, it passes almost directly between Earth and the sun, making it challenging to view. In early October, the comet will be in the dawn sky near the constellations Hydra and Crater.

Then in late October, as it appears on the other side of the sun, it will move into the evening sky, passing through Serpens Caput and into Ophiuchus.
Comet-C-2023-A3-Catalina-Sky-Survey-Univ-of-AZ-e1677685883623-768x452.jpg
earthsky.org

| EarthSky

earthsky.org earthsky.org
 
THE WORM MOON IN TWO HEMISPHERES: According to folklore, last night's full Moon was the Worm Moon, heralding the arrival of northern spring and the stirring of earthworms in thawing soil. Amateur astronomers Lucy Yunxi Hu and Soumyadeep Mukherjee photographed it from both hemispheres:
twohemispheres.jpg

We've been working on this project for 6 months," says Mukherjee, "and we were finally able to make it happen after overcoming a lot of challenges."

Operating their cameras thousands of miles apart, Mukherjee and Hu photographed the moonrise on March 7, 2023, from Dhanbad, India (top) and Canberra, Australia (bottom). The Worm Moon ascended the sky in different directions because Earth's eastern horizon at these two locations has a different angle relative to Earth's spin axis. "Nevertheless," says Mukherjee, "it's only one Moon
OLIVIER-ROGER-STAIGER-full-worm--moon-setting_1678166399_lg.png
Full Worm Moon setting
Taken by OLIVIER ROGER STAIGER on March 7, 2023
Spaceweather.com Time Machine

By the way, speaking of earthworms, worms and caterpillars, this year I noticed something strange. I have fruit trees and especially on the tree of the fruit known as Mexican black cherry (below) and around March, some caterpillars arrive and make their cocoons on the branches. During the years that I have observed them, they have not harmed the tree, well, this year they did not arrive.

image-asset.jpeg

Maybe it has to do with changes in the weather.
 

The Celestial show in March​

You'll Be Able to See Planets in the Sky Almost Every Week in March — What to Know​


March 14: A planet parade​

Catch not one, but four planets in the night sky come nightfall on March 14. According to the Adler Planetarium, Mars, Uranus, Venus, and Jupiter will appear in a vertical line in the western sky, near the Taurus and Orion constellations. Look for Mars at the top of the line and Jupiter close to the horizon at the base.

March 20: March equinox​

It may not follow the month’s planet theme, but the long-awaited March equinox will officially hit at 5:24 p.m. EDT on March 20, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. This marks spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere. The equinox supports Punxsutawney Phil’s 2023 prediction for North America: a long winter that extends until mid-March.

March 24: Saturn appears​

The month of planet fun continues on March 24 as Saturn dazzles stargazers in the early morning hours, roughly 40 minutes before sunrise, in the east-southeast sky. The ringed planet will hover near the horizon, so find an open spot with clear views to the southeast, according to the Adler Planetarium.

March 27: See Mercury near Jupiter​

Mercury is known as the elusive planet; it’s tricky to see given its proximity to the sun. According to Sky at Night magazine, that will change come late March. On March 27, Mercury will hang near Jupiter in the night sky. It will appear as a bright star near the western horizon after sunset, according to Space.com. You can continue admiring the elusive planet from late March into April.

March 28: The moon meets Mars​

The month ends with yet another interstellar hangout, this time between the moon and Mars. According to Space Tourism Guide, the duo will appear just two degrees apart from each other in the morning sky. The first-quarter moon will make it easier to admire the red planet’s copper hue.
www.travelandleisure.com

You'll Be Able to See Planets in the Sky Almost Every Week in March — What to Know

In March, stargazers will see a Venus-Jupiter conjunction, a planet parade, a Saturn showing, and even a visit from one of the trickiest planets to spot: Mercury.
www.travelandleisure.com www.travelandleisure.com

Mercury in March

https://twitter.com/x/status/1634020085345001472

Saturn in February

https://twitter.com/x/status/1626938487285874688
 
There are 5 conjunctions in march,
Source in french :

"Conjunctions in March

March 16: Mercury-Neptune conjunction

On March 16, at 5:28 p.m. GMT, Mercury will meet Neptune at a distance of 22'. Neptune (magnitude 7.9) will be located in the constellation of Pisces, and Mercury (magnitude -1.7) in the neighboring constellation, that of Aquarius. The Mercury - Neptune conjunction will occur between the solar conjunction of Neptune on March 15 and the solar conjunction of Mercury on March 17, so the planets will be invisible due to the strong sunlight. However, you can track their journey using the Sky Tonight stargazing app.

March 28: Mercury-Jupiter conjunction

On March 28, at 4:53 GMT, Mercury will pass within 1°16' of Jupiter, as the two planets meet in the constellation Pisces. Mercury, at magnitude -1.5, will shine brightly alongside Jupiter (magnitude -2.0). Both planets will be visible to the naked eye just after sunset.

March 30: Venus-Uranus conjunction

On March 30, at 9:09 p.m. GMT, Venus and Uranus will pass 1°13' apart. They will meet in the constellation of Aries. Venus will shine at magnitude -4.1, and will be visible to the naked eye, and Uranus, at magnitude 5.8, will require binoculars to view. There is no need to bring a telescope to see the conjunction, as objects cannot be seen in its field of view."
 
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