By: Katherine Miller
NGC2244-Star-cluster
Orion-Nebula (1)
The-Running-Man-Nebula
Hello fellow stargazers, I'm Katherine Miller aka astrogirl.au on social media. My name may be familiar to you. I have been helping John with this column for the past year by contributing my astrophotography. John and his family have decided to move away from the region. As John will no longer be a local resident he has asked if I would like to write this column. I thought my first contribution should start with a brief paragraph about me and how I got started.
My love and curiosity of the night sky began when I was a child with a school field trip to the Mt Coo-tha Planetarium. The dome presentation was my favourite part. I watched as the ceiling transformed into a magical ride through the cosmos. It was captivating. I learned about the universe and our solar system. This experience sparked my fascination with space. I invested in my first telescope and tracking mount in 2020 beginning my journey into astrophotography. Though I am new to astrophotography, I hope to be very informative on all things night sky related. And on that note, let's get into the month ahead. Meteorologists predict the current phase of La Nina to end late summerearly autumn. This means March could bring more cloud-free nights than what we have been experiencing. If this is not cause for celebration then I don't know what is! The actual beginning of autumn will occur on the 20th of March with the March equinox. An equinox occurs when the sun crosses the celestial equator. There will be approximately equal parts day and equal parts night. A new moon will occur on the 2nd and the full moon will be on the 8th. Early settlers called this full moon the worm moon because it was the time of year that earthworms would begin to re-emerge from the ground. The well-known Orion constellation is now overhead at sunset, setting around midnight. The Orion constellation contains some of the galaxies most beautiful nebulae. The Running Man Nebula (pictured) and the Orion Nebula (pictured), are home to around 180 ionized protoplanetary disks (Proplyds). Proplyds are photoevaporating disks that occur around young stars. Proplyds can be shaped by stellar winds and are photoevaporated by ultraviolet light. This region is the only known section to have such a large number of known Proplyd occurrences. March is a great month for star clusters. The Rosette Nebula contains one of my favourites, NGC2244 (pictured). After midnight, rises the constellation Ophiuchus. Ophiuchus contains several fantastic
star clusters such as The Summer
Beehive cluster and the Tweedledum Cluster, both can be enjoyed by visual astronomers and astrophotographers. This month is also great for planetary viewings. The galactic core of our Milky Way galaxy returns, gracing the predawn night sky, accompanied by Venus, Mars, Mercury and Saturn. Before sunrise on the 3rd of March, low on the eastern horizon, Mercury and Saturn will be 0.7 degrees apart. The month wraps up with Mars, Venus, Saturn and a crescent moon forming a triangle in the morning sky on the 28th a sure treat for early risers and nightscape photographers, so make sure to set your alarm. If you have any astrophotography images you would like me to use in this column please send them through to my email, all work will be credited. I am also happy to answer any questions. My email is astrogirl.au@mail.com. Clear Skies! Kat M.
