Hello ...
Here's your Cosmic Pursuits newsletter for March 2024!
First, two quick reminders...
A total solar eclipse will pass in a narrow band across North America next month on April 8. If you want to get yourself a pair of eclipse glasses or solar viewing cards to view the partial phases of the eclipse, then order them soon from your preferred
astronomy retailer. This is the last total solar eclipse visible from all but the most northerly part of North America until 2044!
And... there are just a few days left to register for our annual 'Fundamentals of Stargazing' course. It closes to new students on
March 3. I will send one more reminder email - these are the only advertisements I send out all year, and your support helps keeps this website going. Thank you for your forbearance!
And now, to the night sky.
1. A partial lunar eclipse
arrives, Mars and Venus linger low in the morning sky, and the thick band of the Milky Way wheels into view in the southeast before dawn. Here's what to see in the Night Sky This Month...
2. One of the most attractive
nebula in the night sky isn't a stellar nursery, like the Orion Nebula, but a rarefied gas cloud set aglow by a runaway star that's been catapulted across several constellations by a chance gravitational encounter. Take a look of the Flaming Star Nebula and its environs in the latest sky tour at Cosmic Pursuits.
3. Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks is on its way to the inner solar system and may brighten to naked-eye visibility in April and May. Bob King reviews this comet and other promising comets in 2024 at this link. And check the position and distance from Earth of Comet Pons-Brooks at TheSkyLive.com.
4. The astonishing Radcliffe Wave, an immense structure in the local Milky Way, was discovered just a few years ago. And it turns out the wave really is oscillating,
moving up and down and through the galaxy, according to the scientists who discovered it.
5. Also in the annals of new discovery - astronomers found a white dwarf star that cannibalized part of its
planetary system, with much of the material held by a magnetic field in a small patch of the star's atmosphere. There's even a short video showing how it works. (Ed. Note - One of the authors of this work is one of my advisors from graduate school from a long time ago - still going strong in his 80s!)
And the astronomy quote of the month...
“The treasures hidden in the heavens are so rich that the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh nourishment."
- Johannes Kepler
Please share this email with anyone who may be interested. If you're not already a subscriber to Cosmic Pursuits, you can sign up here.
Wishing you clear skies!
Brian Ventrudo
Publisher
CosmicPursuits.com
