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Messier Marathon is a term describing the attempt to find as many of the Messier objects as possible in a single night. A marathon held on Saturday, March 17, 2007 promises the prospect of observing all 110 objects in one night. It's a great exercise in speed observing and fun for both experienced and novice observers. The Sun is about to set and even as shadows grow longer in the late afternoon you pack your scope, mount, accessories case, and star charts into whatever it is you're driving these days. Meanwhile, you fill a thermo-bottle with your favorite hot beverage, another with some cool, clear water, and grab a bagful of munchies to reinforce you through the night.  And what a night it’ll be...
First there will be some driving to attend to. You've already got a spot picked out well away from city lights and with a good clear view of the horizon east, west, and south. You'll need a spot like that because you're about to participate in your first - possibly first annual - Messier Marathon! This particular marathon however won't wear out your sneakers or cause your thighs to burn. But it will test your endurance and challenge your ability to navigate a very complicated course... Book-ended by near impossible sky-position early in the evening and late in the morning, you'll have to find 110 astronomical studies over the course of one very long journey into a single night. Impossible? No. Difficult? Yes! And perhaps that's one very good reason to even try... Can you run this particular marathon any time you like? Sure! But there are only a few days in the month of March each year when you're likely to have a chance of catching all 110 of those "high flying" objects in the course of a single night. And that only happens within a day of whatever new moon falls closest to the spring equinox each year. So even as the Sun glides behind the neighbor's low fence, you slide in behind the steering wheel and begin to assess your chances. On one end of the night is that large, faint low surface-brightness galaxy in Pisces – M74 - descending low to the west just above the treetops as rosy-fingered dusk releases the evening sky. On the other end is compact globular cluster M30 ascending even lower to the south-southeast - running its own race against a rising Sun. Then of course there's that sprawling, low contrast Triangulum galaxy – M33. Why, even normally easy-to-find M110 near the Great Andromeda Galaxy could elude you setting as low as it will be to the northwest well before the sky gets really dark. But you are prepared. You've spent every night possible since you bought that Orion Starblast 4.5 EQ, or 12" XT learning your way around the night sky. In fact this whole last week, the weather saw you out a couple hours each night covering Charles Messiers’ official list of deep sky galaxies, clusters, and nebulae. You know exactly what order to find them in (see table below) and how to tell them apart - especially all that galactic fluff in the Coma-Virgo group trailing Leo's hindquarters across the sky. To read the rest of this article, click here. [Top of Page] 
Most asteroids are well behaved and spend their time in the asteroid belt, located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. But some venture into our neighborhood: these are known as near Earth asteroids. 
VV2 on March 30, 2007 @ 7:00pm 2006 VV2 was discovered by LINEAR on 2006 November 11. It will pass within 0.023 astronomical units of the Earth (8.8 times the distance to the Moon) on the night of March 30/31, uncomfortably close for an asteroid roughly 1.5 km in diameter. It should be at least 10th magnitude in brightness, and so readily observable by typical amateur telescopes. 
VV2 on March 30, 2007 2006 VV2’s orbit is quite steeply inclined to that of the Earth, so that the asteroid will appear to be traveling from north to south in our sky. As it approaches Earth, its orbit is slightly farther away from the Sun than the Earth’s, and the asteroid is traveling slightly behind the Earth around the Sun. To read the rest of this article, click here. [Top of Page] 
 The 2nd Annual Celebration of Teaching & Learning
March 23-24, 2007 – New York City
We’re excited to attend and meet with over 20,000 K-12 teachers, administrators, school board members, PTA and policy makers from the New York Metro area. Stop by the Starry Night® Education booth for “Honk if Pluto’s a Planet” bumper sticker! Register for this conference:
http://www.thirteen.org/celebration/ The 55th Annual National Science Teachers Association National Conference
March 29-31, 2007 – St. Louis, MO
Booth #490 Stop by for a preview of Starry Night® Elementary and a “Honk if Pluto’s a Planet” bumper sticker. Attend any one of our 8 workshops! - March 29, 2007: 09:30-11:00
Starry Night Middle School: Pluto Demoted—Are Other Planets at Risk?
Location: America's Center, Room 131
Pluto's demotion must have shocked your students—yet it is just another step in the scientific process that shapes our understanding of the universe. Use Starry Night as a starting point to re-enact the debate that led to this decision. Starry Night automatically updates with new theories and discoveries, making it the research-proven best way to teach space science.
- March 29, 2007: 11:30-1:00
Starry Night High School: The Changing Faces of Astronomy
Location: America's Center, Room 131
From the close-ups of Saturn's rings to the composition of distant stars, advanced technology has allowed us to see farther and better than humanly possible. As our view has expanded, so has our vision and understanding of the universe. Learn how the Starry Night curriculum is flexible enough to be correlated to current events and still meet the standards.
 March 29, 2007: 1:30-3:00
Starry Night Elementary Preview
Location: America's Center, Room 131
The pulse of the tides, the dance of the Moon, and the swing of the seasons captivate even the youngest child. The realistic visualizations in Starry Night engage children's natural fascination and guide them to understand the world on a scientific basis. With lesson plans and activities correlated to standards, Starry Night Elementary is the research-proven best way to teach space science.
- March 29, 2007: 3:30-5:00
Starry Night Middle School: What's Your Sign? Astrology vs. Astronomy
Location: America's Center, Room 131
The "signs of the Zodiac" are no longer aligned with today's constellations—in fact, there's a 13th constellation of the Zodiac. Use Starry Night to accurately simulate the night sky from 2,000 years ago and take your students through precession. Dispel misconceptions of astrology as science. Learn why Starry Night is the research-proven best way to teach space science.
- March 30, 2007: 2:00-3:30
Starry Night High School: Man vs. Machine in Space
Location: America's Center, Room 131
For the first time, we can be on Earth and orbit Saturn simultaneously—thanks to space probes. Their sensors are our senses, and our understanding of the universe has exploded. With Starry Night, your students will design their own space probes and plan the mission objectives. Learn why Starry Night is the research-proven best way to teach space science.
- March 30, 2007: 4:00-5:30
Starry Night Elementary Preview
Location: America's Center, Room 131
The pulse of the tides, the dance of the Moon, and the swing of the seasons captivate even the youngest child. The realistic visualizations in Starry Night engage children's natural fascination and guide them to understand the world on a scientific basis. With lesson plans and activities correlated to standards, Starry Night Elementary is the research-proven best way to teach space science.
- March 31, 2007: 08:00-09:30
Starry Night Middle School: The Research-proven Best Way to Teach Space Science
Location: America's Center, Room 131
Award-winning Starry Night software simulates moon phases, motions of the Sun and planets, eclipses, and much more. Accurate visualizations hook students' interest and are key to student understanding. Learn how Starry Night's comprehensive curriculum correlated to state and national standards is the only effective way to teach space science.
- March 31, 2007: 2:00-3:30
Starry Night High School: Diving into Black Holes
Location: America's Center, Room 132
Is death by black hole in Earth's future? The life cycle of stars is a constant fascination for students. Use Starry Night to replicate the gravitational pull of black holes and to mathematically calculate the fate of our Sun. Starry Night combines science and math to effectively teach complex astronomy concepts.
Register for this conference:
http://www.nsta.org/conferencedetail&Meeting_Code=2007STL Linda Fung
Marketing Director, Imaginova® [Top of Page] 
Pluto is a small, mysterious world, deep in the cold, dark recesses of the distant outer solar system. It was named a planet when it was discovered in 1930, but that designation has been in dispute for some years now. The issue was settled in August of 2006, when the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet. The reclassification is a result of new and better information that, in turn, came from improved technology and observing methods. It’s a beautiful example of the scientific process in action. Science is not a static body of facts, but an active process subject to constant revision. Theories are tried and tested. If they fail they are discarded. Old information sometimes turns out to be inadequate. New information can change our understanding of the world (and universe) around us. It helps to remember the history of astronomy is a history of changing worldviews as a result of new and better data. And we want the science process to continue. Refining the classification of solar system objects does not change the nature of Pluto. It is still a small, rock and ice body far away from the Sun. We don’t know a lot about Pluto. We want to lessen the mystery and learn more about this distant world. In the process we’ll learn more about the rest of the solar system and our history in it. 
Figure 1. The inclination of Pluto’s orbit is one factor
that sets it apart from the eight major planets. But it’s not easy to get there. Distance alone is not the whole problem. Pluto’s orbit lies at a 17-degree tilt (figure 1) from that of the eight major planets, making the trip more of a challenge. But just over a year ago, in January 2006, the New Horizons mission to Pluto was launched. And right about now, the largest of the Jovian planets is playing a key role in the flight of New Horizons. To read the rest of this article, click here. [Top of Page] 
Larry Krumenaker, a Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia and a former high school physics and astronomy teacher, is writing a dissertation that looks at the current status and makeup of high school courses dedicated to astronomy; how teachers express why the course should exist; and how No Child Left Behind has affected astronomy teaching. The field has not been surveyed since the early 1990’s, since before NCLB and even before the full effect of national standards in science or standardized testing in general. When every high school is sweating to the reading and math testing of No Child Left Behind, how does an astronomy class manage to exist? And what does the class look like compared to those of previous decades? The findings could help schools that want to have astronomy courses in the future, or maintain them in the present. He is looking for teachers who have taught, or do teach now, a bona fide course in astronomy at the high school level to participate in this survey. It doesn’t matter if you are a regular classroom teacher or a planetarium educator. Your name and school identification information will be removed from the dissertation and future published articles so you can be assured of confidentiality. If you are in a school that has had astronomy but dropped it, or a science supervisor or administrator in a school that has never had one or had to drop it, he would like to contact you as well. If you agree, your participation consists of completing a survey, which may take 30-45 minutes at most. A few teachers will be interviewed. Your voluntary participation in this project will take place at one of two times, March or September 2007. If you are interested in helping assess the national view of astronomy at the high school level, please contact Larry Krumenaker by email at lkrumena@uga.edu. A more formal invitation to participate will be emailed to you. You may also mail an inquiry to Larry Krumenaker, Dept of Math and Science Education, 212 Aderhold Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Linda Fung
Marketing Director, Imaginova® [Top of Page] |  |  | | | |  | |
 A guided video tour of celestial events visible in March 2007. Highlights include a Total Lunar Eclipse. • Click Here to Download | |  | | | |  | |
Making Movies Select Make Movie from the File menu. In Starry Night® Pro and Pro Plus you can change the size of the movie box (height or width) by choosing Preferences from the File menu (Windows) or the Starry Night® menu (Macintosh). and selecting QuickTime from the dropbox on the upper left of the Preferences dialog box. Pedro Braganca
Content Director,
Starry Night®
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Starry Night®
& Windows Vista Starry Night® is currently not officially supported on Windows Vista, but we are testing all our releases on Vista. We anticipate releasing a fully-supported Vista version in the next few months.
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Moon Phases  Full Moon:
Saturday Mar. 3 at 6:17 p.m. EST
 Last Quarter:
Sunday Mar. 11 at 11:54 p.m. EDT
 New Moon:
Sunday Mar. 18 at 10:43 p.m. EDT
 First Quarter:
Sunday Mar. 25 at 2:16 p.m. EDT
Observing Highlights An eclipse of the Moon: Visible in Europe and Africa, and partially in the Americas and Asia. This will occur at moonrise over most of North America just after sunset on March 3. The Zodiacal Light: Observe the faint glow of millions of tiny solar system bodies in the evening sky during the middle two weeks of the month. A close encounter with an asteroid: The tiny asteroid 2006 VV2 passes within 4 million kilometers of the Earth on March 31, and can be seen with a small telescope. Planets Mercury is at greatest elongation west on March 21. It will be visible in the eastern sky just before sunrise for a few days on either side of this date. This is an unfavorable apparition of Mercury for observers in the northern hemisphere, but an excellent one for southern observers. It begins the month in Capricornus and moves into Aquarius on March 14. Venus is now a brilliant “evening star” just after sunset in the western sky. Because it is still on the far side of the Sun, it is small in size and appears 85% full in a telescope. It starts the month in Pisces, but on March 16 moves into Aries. Mars is on the far side of the Sun, presenting a very tiny disk in a telescope. It spends the whole month of March in Capricornus. It is visible low in the southeast just before sunrise. It will be too small to show much detail in a telescope until summer. Jupiter is now prominent in the morning sky. It will be in the constellation of Ophiuchus for most of the year. Ophiuchus is sometimes called the 13th constellation of the zodiac: a large part of the ecliptic now crosses this constellation between Scorpius and Sagittarius. Look in a telescope for the two main dark cloud belts on its disk, and watch its four bright moons change position from hour to hour, and night to night. Saturn is now a month past opposition and is visible most of the night in the western part of Leo. For naked eye observers, it forms a striking diamond-shaped asterism with Regulus, Algieba, and Epsilon Leonis. In any telescope, it is perhaps the finest sight in the sky with its beautiful rings. While viewing Saturn in a telescope, scan the sky nearby for its collection of moons. Titan is always visible, while its fainter cousins reveal themselves in larger amateur telescopes. Uranus and Neptune are too close to the Sun to be readily observed. Dates Sat./Sun., Mar. 3/4
Total eclipse of the Moon Moonrise to 9:24 p.m. EST, March 3
This lunar eclipse on the night of March 3/4 will be visible for a large part of the world’s population. Observers in Europe and Africa will see the full eclipse, from 20:18 to 01:24 UT. For observers in the Americas, the eclipse will be in progress at moonrise, and for observers in Asia and Australia the eclipse will end after moonset. Greatest eclipse will be at 6:21 p.m. EST and the darkest part of the eclipse will end at 8:11 p.m. EST.
• YouTube Clip
• NASA Eclipse Info Tue., Mar. 6 to Tue. Mar. 20
The Zodiacal Light will be visible in the western sky after dusk for observers in the Northern Hemisphere
If you have access to a very dark observing site during the middle two weeks of March, you have a chance this month to observe the Zodiacal Light, a ghostly cone of illumination centered on the ecliptic caused by the reflection of the Sun’s light from millions of tiny particles in the plane of the planets’ orbits. It is visible just after the end of astronomical twilight, a vast faint triangular glow rising from Venus upward into the constellation of Aries. Be sure your eyes are fully dark adapted in order to see this rare sight. Sun., Mar. 11
Daylight Saving Time begins
Daylight Saving Time begins on Mar. 11, three weeks earlier than usual this year as a result of legislation in the United States, followed by most jurisdictions in Canada. This is an unpopular decision among astronomers because it means that it gets dark an hour later, limiting evening observing. Remember to set your clocks forward by one hour. Many devices which are programmed to automatically switch between Daylight and Standard Time may not change on the correct date. Sun., Mar. 11
Asteroid 1348 Michel occults star TYC1852-00471-1 9:27 to 9:30 p.m. EDT
From 9:27 to 9:30 p.m. EDT on the evening of Mar. 11, the 16th magnitude asteroid 1348 Michel, 17 km in diameter, will block the light from the 8th magnitude star TYC1852-00471-1 for about one second along a path passing through Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Location is everything in observing events like this, so make sure you’re in the right place by using the maps below.
• MAP 1
• MAP 2 Fri., Mar. 16
Asteroid 1806 Derice occults star HIP36921 1:56 to 2:06 a.m. EDT
From 1:56 to 2:06 a.m. EDT in the morning of Mar. 16, watch as the 15th magnitude asteroid 1806 Derice, 13 km in diameter, occults the 8th magnitude star HIP36921 for up to 2 seconds along a path spanning the southern United States from west to east: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. As with a solar eclipse, you must be in the right place, so consult the maps below.
• MAP 1
• MAP 2 Sun., Mar. 18
Pluto occults a 15th magnitude star 3:57 a.m. PDT
In an exceedingly rare event, Pluto will occult the 15th magnitude star UCAC 25823784 just before dawn on Mar. 18 in the western United States and Mexico. Although probably impossible to detect visually, amateurs with telescopes of at least 10 inches aperture equipped with CCD cameras should be able to record this event. There is particular interest in what effects Pluto’s atmosphere may have on the star’s brightness.
• Call for Observation
• Occultation 18 Mar. '07 Mon., Mar. 19
Partial eclipse of the Sun Maximum at 2:32 UT
A partial eclipse of the Sun will be visible over most of Asia on the morning of Mar. 19. Tue., Mar. 20
Vernal equinox 8:07 pm EDT
The Sun crosses the equator moving northward on Mar. 20, marking the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of fall in the Southern Hemisphere. Wed., Mar. 21
Mercury at greatest elongation west at dawn
Mercury is at greatest elongation west on Mar. 21 and will be visible in the eastern sky just before sunrise for a few days on either side of this date. This is a most favorable morning apparition of Mercury for observers in the southern hemisphere, but a poor one for northern observers. Thur., Mar. 22
Double shadow transit on Jupiter 7:03 to 7:15 am PDT
Early risers on the west coast of North America on the morning of Mar. 22 will have the chance to see the shadows of two of Jupiter’s moons moving across the face of the planet simultaneously. The shadow of Ganymede moves onto the disk at 5:12 a.m. PDT, and is joined by the shadow of Europa at 7:03 a.m. Ganymede’s shadow moves off the disk at 7:15 a.m. Europa’s shadow moves off at 9:34 a.m., but by then the planet will be next to impossible to see in daylight. Although very small, the shadows of the moons should be visible in telescopes 90mm aperture and larger at a magnification of about 200x. Sat., Mar. 31
Close approach by asteroid 2006 VV2
On the nights of Mar. 30/31 and Mar. 31/April1, the 2 km diameter asteroid 2006 VV2 will pass 0.027 astronomical units from the Earth, one of the closest asteroid passes in recent times. Appearing around 10th magnitude, the asteroid will be visible in most amateur telescopes, and can be watched as it makes its way rapidly south through the constellation Leo.
• NASA Orbit Simulation As always, there's more to explore on NightSky. All times shown are U.S. Eastern Time.
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Visible towards the southern horizon from winter through spring in the northern hemisphere, Orion is one of the most easily recognizable and beloved constellations. By far, the most popular celestial gem in the constellation of Orion is M42, The Great Orion Nebula. Although it is 1500 light-years away, M42 is a great target to view in small telescopes. This is due not only to its brightness, but also to its wonderful cloud structure, which in telescopes takes on a clearly three-dimensional shape. Observers new and old come back to M42 time and time again because of the wealth of detail visible: pinpoint stars hang among uncanny, ghostly tendrils of glowing hydrogen that stream across space for trillions of miles. Astronomers call M42 a stellar nursery; when you look at this giant gas cloud you are seeing what our own solar system might have looked like billions of years ago. The nebula's reddish coloration (visible only in photographs) betrays the ionized hydrogen that predominates the composition of the cloud, but carbon monoxide and other complex molecules have also been detected. When viewed through a large telescope, the cloud takes on a wonderful greenish hue. T he energy that keeps the nebula glowing so bright comes from the very hot, young stars in the brightest part of the cloud. Known as the Trapezium, this formation of four stars (from west to east: A, B, C, and D) is visible in most backyard telescopes. A fun challenge for amateur astronomers is to "bag" the two 11th magnitude E and F stars, shown here in green. Their proximity to far brighter stars makes them difficult to separate on nights of so-so seeing. On great nights, discerning the E and F stars is a good test of your telescope's optics. More Targets The Horsehead Nebula was made famous from its beautiful photographs – it really does resemble what its name implies! The Horsehead can be found just below Alnitak (the leftmost/easternmost star in Orion's belt). The Horsehead is an extremely difficult target for medium aperture telescopes, and requires steady and dark skies to be seen even in a larger telescope. A far easier nebular target in the same area can be found above Alnitak: Located above Orion's belt, M78 belongs to the same large cloud of gas and dust as the main Orion nebula (M42). It has 2 companion nebulae (NGC 2067 & 2071). All 3 are reflection nebulae, and M78 is in fact the brightest reflection nebula. It is visible in binoculars but best seen through a telescope. NGC 2022 is a bright planetary nebula: a dying sun peeling off its outer shell. Because planetary nebulae are best viewed at high magnification, you should start out low (40x) to find the object, and then try 100x and 200x. The name "planetary" is misleading, as these objects are not planets at all but stars at the end of their life cycle. However, they do look something like cloudy planets, and this fact confused earlier observers whose incorrect naming convention has stayed with us to this day. NCG 2174 is a bright but diffuse emission nebula, a cloud of hydrogen gas very close to a young hot star (or multiple stars). In such clouds, energy from the stars heats up the hydrogen to 10,000°K until it glows with the distinctive red color one can see in long-exposure photographs. Betelgeuse is the only red star in Orion. Not only does this make it easy to identify, it also tells us we are looking at a giant star. Betelgeuse (pronounced beetle juice by most astronomers) derives its name from an Arabic phrase meaning "the armpit of the central one." The star marks the eastern shoulder of mighty Orion, the Hunter. Another name for Betelgeuse is Alpha Orionis, indicating it is the brightest star in the winter constellation of Orion. However, Rigel (Beta Orionis) is actually brighter. The misclassification happened because Betelgeuse is a variable star (a star that changes brightness over time) and it might have been brighter than Rigel when Johannes Bayer originally categorized it. Betelgeuse is an M1 red supergiant, 650 times the diameter and about 15 times the mass of the Sun. If Betelgeuse were to replace the Sun, planets out to the orbit of Mars would be engulfed!
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