Astronomy Ireland Public Watches

The Moon, Mars and Saturn

Thursday, 25th March at 8:00 pm

Locations Nationwide 

  Download Sky Diary HERE

             


The Moon
Image Courtesy of NASA
Mars
Image Courtesy of NASA


Saturn
Image Courtesy of NASA

On Thursday, 25th of March from 8:00pm Astronomy Ireland will be hosting Moon, Mars and Saturn Telescope Watches in various locations all around the country.

March represents a great month to observe both Mars and Saturn. Both are favourably placed in the evening skies, with Mars lying close to the spectacular sight of the near full moon. Astronomy Ireland will be setting up very powerful telescopes on the night which are open for all guests to use.

What to Expect

Along with the telescopes, the main Watch in Dublin will have Ireland's most powerful hand held laser to point out various elements in the night sky. Volunteers and staff will be on hand to answer all your questions and teach guests how to find their way around the sky using these powerful lasers. This will show you how to look for double stars, star clusters, the ISS (International Space Station) and more.

The event also gives astronomers of all levels (beginners and experts) an opportunity to meet other astronomers, to share their views and knowledge of astronomy with each other and maybe make some new friends.

The event is free and open to everyone. We would advise everyone to wrap up warm when coming along to the event as the evenings can get very cool especially under clear skies which is what we always hope for.

Locations

Astronomy Ireland Public Watches are regularly held at the locations below.

Please note which locations have been confirmed so far but if you check the page over the coming days and weeks we will update with more confirmed locations and your local Branch Coordinator's contact details.

There will also be a map and directions available to help you reach your local event.

Carlow Carpark opposite Garda Station MAP
Clare St. Michael's School,
Kilmihil 		MAP
Cork JFK Park MAP
Dublin Papal Cross Car Park,
Phoenix Park		 MAP
Louth Seabank,
Castlebellingham 		MAP
Sligo Sligo IT Car Park MAP
Waterford People's Park MAP

Click HERE to download a sky map showing you where to find Mars in the night sky on the night. The map is dated for 8pm on Thursday the 25th of March, but it can still be used to easily find Mars throughout the month of March.
On Thursday 25th March, Mars will be visible just above and to the right of the Moon, in the constallation of Cancer as seen below.


Click image to see full-size

The Moon

The Moon will be located in the constellation of Cancer, waxing towards the full moon. The full moon is too bright to observe clearly through most telescopes but just beforehand we can clearly see most of the Moon's surface detail.

          
The Moon is just over a quarter the size of Earth
Image courtesy of NASA

Facts about the Moon

  • The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite
  • The Moon is a quarter the size of Earth and has roughly 1/81 the mass of our planet.
  • The Moon's average distance from Earth is roughly 384,399 km (238,854 miles)
  • It takes 27.3 days for the Moon to orbit Earth, but because Earth also orbits the Sun, it takes 29.5 days to show the same phase to Earth
  • Because the Moon always shows the same face to Earth, daylight and night both last almost two weeks on the Moon.
  • The Moon is the largest plaent in the solar system, relative to the size of the planet it orbits
  • The Moon is the only other celestial body humans have been to, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing on the Moon in July 1969.
  • In 2009 the Indian Space Research Organisation and NASA both found large quantities of water in soil on the Moon.
  • The Moon's gravitational pull causes the ocean tides on Earth.
  • The word month derives from the word Moon, as it takes almost a month for the Moon to wax and wane.
  • When the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun it can cause a solar eclipse. A lunar eclipse can occur when Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon
  • During a lunar eclipse light can be bent as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere. This can turn the Moon a deep red.

The Lunar Eclipse of March 3rd 2007

Mars

Mars is ideal for observation this month as it is well placed, high in the South East as darkness falls. Mars can be located in the constellation of Cancer, right next to the lovely beehive star cluster (M44) and to the right of Mars there will be the famous Gemini twins Castor and Pollux.

          
Mars is roughly half the size of Earth
Image courtesy of NASA

Facts about Mars

  • Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the seventh largest planet in the Solar System.
  • Mars is half the size of Earth and has only one-tenth the mass of our planet.
  • Mars' average distance from the Sun is roughly 230 million km (1.5 AU)
  • It takes 687 earth days for the Mars to come around the Sun.
  • One day on Mars is 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35.244 seconds. One year on Mars is equal to 1 year, 320 days and 18.2 hours.
  • Mars is named after the ancient Roman God of Wars. The Romans and Greeks associated the planet with war because fo its blood-red colour.
  • It is commonly referred to as the Red Planet due to its reddish appearance from Earth. It owes its colour to iron-rich minerals in its soil.
  • Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped. Their names are the two characters in Greek mythology who accompanied their father, the God of War, into battle.
  • Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth.
  • The name of the month March derives from the word Mars.

Phobos (left) and Deimos (right) are the two moons of Mars
Image courtesy of NASA

Saturn

Saturn is visible reasonably high in the south throughout the month providing a good opportunity to study the ringed planet in some detail. In fact it keeps good company all month with the wonderful Virgo clusters nearby. Observing Saturn provides lots of opportunities to see its wonderful moons make passes across the disk of the planet and even see the shadows of these moons cast upon the upper atmosphere of Saturn.

        
Comparison of the size of Saturn to Earth
Image courtesy of NASA
Facts about Saturn

  • Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in our solar system.
  • The size of Saturn is 10 times larger than our earth.
  • One day on Saturn is 10 hours, 32 minutes and 35 seconds. One year on Saturn is equal to 29.5 earth years, 10759 days.
  • The average distance between Saturn and the Sun is over 1 400 000 000 km (9 AU)
  • Saturn was named after the Roman god of the harvest.
  • Sixty-two known moons orbit the planet, not counting hundreds of "moonlets" within the rings. Its largest moon, Titan is the only moon in our Solar System to possess an atmosphere.
  • Saturn has such a low density that, if there was an ocean big enough, Saturn would float on it. In comparison, Earth and Mercury would sink to the bottom quickest.
  • Saturn's rings are made almost entirely of water ice, with some contamination from dust and other chemicals.
  • The dense main rings extend from 7,000 km to 80,000 km above Saturn's equator, with an estimated local thickness of only 10 meters.
  • Saturn is extremely hot and sends off more energy than it receives from the Sun.

Montage of Saturn and several of it's moons
Image courtesy of NASA
Saturn's heat emissions
Image courtesy of NASA

Reviews and Photos from Previous Watches

Mars Watch January 2010

Seabank, Dundalk, Co. Louth

"As I left the house to go to the Watch at Seabank, a snow shower covered the car and roads in a light blanket of snow. The sky was cloudy and I wondered if the Watch would go ahead at all. Was this to be the first "White" Louth Watch in seven years??

On arrival I set up my scope and soon after the first people started to arrive. Although the seeing was poor and intermittent cloud cover made viewing difficult, gaps did occur and allowed observers the chance to see the polar cap on Mars. Despite the fact that the moon was full, views of the mountains and rugged shape of its edge against the black sky brought gasps of amazement.

Approximately 50 attended the event over the course of the night. Numbers would have been higher if it were not for the cloud and icy road conditions. Everyone had a good night and as always special thanks go to those who brought telescopes on the night - Pat Bellew, Maurice Kiely, Thomas Manning and Caeilte Reid.

As dew and frost was forming on the telescopes and to protect from frostbite, at 10.30pm we "called it a night" and headed for home!"

- Derek Watters, Astronomy Louth Branch Coordinator

All images courtesy Derek Watters (Click to enlarge)

 

Mars image taken from Naas, Co. Kildare by Astronomy Ireland member Frank Butler using a Celestron 11-inch telescope on January 22nd. Solis Lacus are visible on the right. See magazine for guide to viewing detail on Mars or call our Shop for the inexpensive book we recommend.

 

Here is a rotating image of Mars taken with Celestron telescopes like those we sell in our Shop and that will be used at our Mars Watches nationwide (courtesy Pete Lawrence, UK)


Click HERE to see a list of other exciting Astronomy Ireland Events coming soon.

 


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