Monday 21st to Sunday 27th March 2022
On the evening of Wednesday 23rd, just after sunset, you could have a go at looking west to try and see a phenomenon known as the Zodiacal Light. It is a faint white glow caused by dust in the Solar System scattering the light from the Sun that will have just set below the horizon. You will need a reasonably dark sky with no light pollution and obviously, clear weather. To help you identify it, I have included an image courtesy of Wikipedia.
Much of the research into Zodiacal Light was carried out by the guitarist Brian May and he completed a thesis on it in 2007, having abandoned the project thirty six years earlier to concentrate on his musical career with Queen!
There are a couple of excellent opportunities to spot the International Space Station on the evenings of Monday 21st at 7.45pm and Wednesday 23rd at 7.46pm. On both days, the ISS appears in the south west and spends five to six minutes passing overhead before disappearing to the east. On the Wednesday it will actually travel directly overhead, which is unusual.
Finally, a reminder that the clocks move forward an hour on Sunday 27th and this marks the start of British Summer Time. Although everyone welcomes the lighter evenings, it's not so popular with astronomers who want the opposite! It also marks the disappearance of the constellation Orion from the night sky, as it is a winter constellation, so if you want to observe things like the Great Orion Nebula M42, you'd better do it soon! Next week would be a good chance, while there is no light pollution from the Moon!
Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2022
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