Welcome to the Boston Astronomy website!
This website has been created by and is supported by John Sheff, a Boston, MA - area amateur astronomer and informal astronomy educator. You can contact me at jsheff@bostonastronomy.net. My intention in creating this site is to provide a convenient resource for access to news and information about astronomy and space-related activities of interest to the community and the public.
Upcoming Astronomy-Related Events in the Boston Area
Thursday, March 14, 2024, 8:00 PM - 10 PM
Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston (ATMoB) Monthly Meeting
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
60 Garden St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
Speaker and Topic: Miranda Eiben, A Tale of Two Telescopes
TolTEC camera assembly. Image courtesy UMASS Amherst. How do you design large complex engineering projects like today's modern telescopes? With systems engineering, which provides a framework to conceptualize, categorize, and subdivide major projects systematically. Our guest speaker, Miranda Eiben, will explore these practices by comparing two instruments that she has personally worked on, which may seem similar at their surface. The first is TolTEC, a millimeter survey camera for the Large Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano. The second is the Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization (BICEP) array, a series of millimeter refractors at the South Pole. By comparing these projects we will see how the high level goals impact design choices at the smallest levels. Miranda Eiben is a 5th year PhD student in the Harvard University's Astronomy Department. She works on millimeter optics materials research and development for the BICEP Array to study the Cosmic Microwave Background at the South Pole. Editor: “ “TolTEC” is not an acronym, but the name adopted for the instrument in honor of the Toltec ancient civilization of what is now central Mexico;(sic) it is where TolTEC will be ultimately installed.”
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The sky as seen from Boston on March 16, 2024, at 8:00 PM EDT
Major Astronomical Events |
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March / April 2024 |
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Mar. 3 | Sun. | 10:24 AM EST | Last Quarter Moon |
Mar. 7 | Thur. | Juno perijove # 59 | |
Mar. 8 | Fri. | 3:00 AM EST | Moon 3.3° SE of Mars, 30° from Sun in morning sky |
Mar. 8 | Fri. | 3:00 PM EST | Moon 3° SE of Venus, 22° from Sun in morning sky |
Mar. 9 | Sat. | 2:00 PM EST | Moon 1.4° SE of Saturn, 9° from Sun in morning sky |
Mar. 10 |
Sun. |
2:00 AM EST / 3:00 AM EDT |
Daylight Saving Time begins |
Mar. 10 | Sun. | 2:57 AM EDT | Moon @ perigee (356,521 km / 221,532 mi / 55.96 Earth radii) |
Mar. 10 | Sun. | 4:02 AM EDT | New Moon |
Mar. 11 | Mon. | 12:00 AM EDT | Moon 1° SE of Mercury, 11° from Sun in evening sky |
Mar. 11 | Mon. | 2:00 PM EDT | Sun enters Pisces |
Mar. 13 | Wed. | 8:00 PM EDT | Moon 3.4° NNW of Jupiter, 50° from Sun in evening sky |
Mar. 14 | Thur. | 6:00 AM EDT | Moon 3.2° NNW of Uranus, 56° from Sun in evening sky |
Mar. 17 |
Sun. |
6:53 AM EDT - 6:53 PM EDT |
Equilux (day and night of equal length) |
Mar. 17 | Sun. | 12:11 AM EDT | First Quarter Moon |
Mar. 17 | Sun. | 7:13 AM EDT | Neptune @ solar conjunction |
Mar. 19 | Tue. | 8:21 PM EDT - 10:16 PM EDT | China launches Queqiao 2 lunar farside relay satellite |
Mar. 19 |
Tue. |
11:06 PM EDT |
March (Spring) Equinox |
Mar. 21 | Thur. | 8:00 PM EDT | Venus 0.32° NNW of Saturn, 19° from Sun in morning sky |
Mar. 23 | Sat. | 12:00 PM EDT | Moon @ apogee (405,833 km / 252,173 mi / 63.70 Earth radii) |
Mar. 24 | Sun. | 1:55 PM EDT | Mercury @ greatest eastern elongation (19.5° E of Sun) |
Mar. 25 | Mon. | 3:00 AM EDT | Full Moon ("Full Worm Moon") |
Mar. 25 | Mon. | 12:53 AM EDT - 5:32 AM EDT | Penumbral lunar eclipse (max. @ 3:13 AM EDT) |
Mar. 30 | Sat. | Parker Solar Probe perihelion # 19 | |
Apr. 1 | Mon | 11:15 PM EDT | Last Quarter Moon |
Apr. 5 | Fri. | 12:00 AM EDT | Moon 2° S of Mars, 35° from Sun in morning sky |
Apr. 6 | Sat. | 5:00 AM EDT | Moon, Mars, and Saturn within circle 3.04° in diameter |
Apr. 6 | Sat. | 5:00 AM EDT | Moon 1.2° S of Saturn, 33° from Sun in moring sky |
Apr. 7 | Sun. | 4:00 AM EDT | Moon 0.4° S of Neptune, 20° from Sun in morning sky |
Apr. 7 | Sun. | 12:44 PM EDT - 1:57 PM EDT | Moon occults Venus (daylight), 15° from Sun in morning sky |
Apr. 7 | Sun. | 1:51 PM EDT | Moon @ perigee (358,850 km / 222,979 mi / 56.33 Earth radii) |
Apr. 8 | Mon. | 2:16 PM EDT | Partial solar eclipse begins |
Apr. 8 | Mon. | 2:20PM EDT | New Moon |
Apr. 8 | Mon. | 3:29 PM EDT | Maximum partial solar eclipse |
Apr. 8 | Mon. | 4:39 PM EDT | Partial solar eclipse ends |
Apr. 9 | Sat. | Juno perijove # 60 | |
Apr. 10 | Wed. | 4:00 PM EDT | Moon, Jupiter, and Uranus within circle 3.84° in diameter |
Apr. 10 | Wed. | 5:00 PM EDT | Moon 4° N of Jupiter, 28° from Sun in evening sky |
Apr. 10 | Wed. | 8:00 PM EDT | Moon 4° N of Uranus, 30° from Sun in evening sky |
Apr. 10 | Wed. | 11:00 PM EDT | Mars 0.5° N of Saturn, 37° from Sun in morning sky |
Apr. 14 | Sun. | Boeing Starliner launches to ISS | |
Apr. 15 | Mon. | 3:13 PM EDT | First Quarter Moon |
Apr. 18 | Thur. | 1:00 PM EDT | Sun enters Aries |
Apr. 18 | Thur. | 7:00 PM EDT | Mercury 2° N of Venus, 12° from Sun in morning sky |
Apr. 19 | Fri. | 10:10 PM EDT | Moon @ apogee (405,624 km / 252,043 mi / 63.67 Earth radii) |
Apr. 20 | Sat. | 4:00 AM EDT | Jupiter 0.5° S of Uranus, 20° from Sun in evening sky |
Apr. 22 | Mon. | 2:55 AM EDT | Lyrid meteors peak (poor) |
Apr. 23 | Tue. | 7:49 PM EDT | Full Moon (Full Pink Moon") |
Apr. 28 | Sun. | 12:00 AM EDT | Mars 0.04° S of Neptune, 40° from Sun in morning sky |
Bold = cool or important |
* = not visible from Boston |
An Overview of Major Astronomical Events in 2024 |
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Jan. 2 | Tue. | 7:38 PM EST | Earth @ perihelion (0.9833 AU / 147,093,163 km / 91,399,454 mi) |
Jan. 3 | Tue. | 7:13:46 AM EST | Latest sunrise of the year (7:13:46 AM EST) |
Jan. 4 | Thur. | 5:00 AM EST | Quadrantid meteors peak (fair) |
Jan. 8 | Mon. | 2:18 AM EST | Astrobotic Peregrine launched to Moon on ULA Vulcan |
Jan. 8 | Mon. | Autumn begins in Northern Hemisphere of Mars | |
Jan. 8 | Mon. | 9:46 AM EST - AM 10:55 EST | Moon occults Antares (daylight) |
Jan. 12 | Fri. | 2:18 PM EST | Mercury @ greatest western elongation (25° W of Sun) |
Jan. 19 | Fri. | 5:20 AM EDT | Japanese SLIM mission lands near Shioli crater |
Feb. 3 | Sat. | Juno perijove # 58; Io flyby (1,500 km / 930 mi) | |
Feb. 15 | Thur. | Intuitive Machiine's NOVA--C launched to Maalpert A | |
Feb. 28 | Wed. | 4:16 PM EST | Saturn @ solar conjunction |
Mar. 7 | Thur. | Juno perijove # 59 | |
Mar. 10 |
Sun. |
2:00 AM EST / 3:00 AM EDT |
Daylight Saving Time begins |
Mar. 17 |
Thur. |
6:53 AM EDT - 6:53 PM EDT |
Equilux (day and night of equal length) |
Mar. 17 | Sun. | 7:13 AM EDT | Neptune @ solar conjunction |
Mar. 19 | Tue. | 8:21 PM EDT - 10:16 PM EDT | China launches Queqiao 2 lunar farside relay satellite |
Mar. 19 |
Tue. |
11:01 PM EDT |
March (Spring) Equinox |
Mar. 24 | Sun. | 1:55 PM EDT | Mercury @ greatest eastern elongation (19.5° E of Sun) |
Mar. 25 | Mon. | 12:53 AM EDT - 5:32 AM EDT | Penumbral lunar eclipse (max. @ 3:13 AM EDT) |
Mar. 30 | Sat. | Parker Solar Probe perihelion # 19 | |
Apr. 7 | Sun. | 12:44 PM EDT - 1:57 PM EDT | Moon occults Venus (daylight) |
Apr. 8 | Mon. | Total solar eclipse | |
Apr. 9 | Sat. | Juno perijove # 60 | |
Apr. 14 | Sun. | Boeing Starliner launches to ISS | |
Apr. 22 | Mon. | 2:55 AM EDT | Lyrid meteors peak (poor) |
May 9 | Thur. | 3:44 AM EDT | Mercury @ greatest western elongation (26° W of Sun) |
May 12 | Sun. | Juno perijove # 61 | |
May 13 | Mon. | 5:04 AM EDT | Uranus @ solar conjunction |
May 18 | Sat. | 2:343 PM EDT | Jupiter @ solar conjunction |
Jun. 4 | Tue. | 12:03 PM EDT | Venus @ superior conjunction |
Jun. 7 | Fri. | Winter solstice in Northern Hemisphere of Mars | |
Jun. 14 | Fri. | 5:07 AM EDT | Earliest sunrise of year (5:07:00 AM EDT) |
Jun. 20 | Thur. | 4:49 PM EDT | June (Summer) Solstice |
Jun. 22 | Sat. | Juno perijove # 62 | |
Jun. 27 | Thur. | 8:25 PM EDT | Latest sunset of year (8:25:23 PM) |
Jun. 30 | Sun. | Parker Solar Probe perihelion # 20 | |
Jul. 5 |
Fri. | 1:06 AM EDT | Earth @ aphelion (1.017 AU / 152.1 milion km / 94,510,886 miles) |
Jul. 13 | Sat./Sun. | 11:22 PM EDT - 12:11 PM EDT | Moon occults Spica |
Jul. 17 | Wed. | 4:06 AM EDT | Juno perijove # 63 |
Jul. 21 | Sun. | 11:37 PM EDT | Mercury @ greatest eastern elongation (26° E of Sun) |
Aug. 6 | ESCAPADE Smallsats launched on New Glenn to orbit Mars | ||
Aug. 12 | Mon. | 10:00 AM EDT | Perseid meteors peak (fair) |
Aug. 18 | Sun. | Juno perijove # 6 | |
Aug. 23 | Fri. | JUICE Mission Moon (750 km / 466 mi)-Earth (6,800 km / 4,225 mi) flyby | |
Sept. 4 | Wed. | 10:24 PM EDT | Mercury @ greatest western elongation (18° W of Sun) |
Sept. 5 | Thur. | Bepi-Comobo Mercury flyby # 4 | |
Sept. 6 | Fri. | 11:31 AM EDT - 12:44 PM EDT | Moon occults Spica (daytime) |
Sept. 8 | Sun. | 12:27 AM EDT | Saturn @ opposition |
Sept. 17 | Tue. | 8:41 PM EDT - 12:47 AM EDT | Partial lunar eclipse |
Sept. 18 | Wed. | 4:10 AM EDT - 4:35 AM EDT | Moon occults Neptune |
Sept. 20 | Fri. | Juno perijove # 65 | |
Sept. 20 | Fri. | 8:08 PM EDT | Neptune @ opposition |
Sept. 22 | Sun. | 8:43 AM EDT | September (Fall) Equinox |
Sept. 27 | Fri. | Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) @ perihelion | |
Sept. 30 | Mon. | Parker Solar Probe perihelion # 21 | |
Oct. 2 | Wed. | 11:44 PM EDT - 5:46 PM EDT | Annular solar eclipse (E. Pacific, Patagonia, S. Atlantic) |
Oct. 8 | Tue. | 9:08 AM EDT | Draconid meteors peak (fair) |
Oct. 10 | Thur. | Europa Clipper launch to Jupiter | |
Oct. 12 | Sat. | Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) @ closest approach | |
Oct. 23 | Wed. | Juno perijove # 66 | |
Oct. 21 | Sat. | 8:00 PM EDT | Orionid meteors peak (excellent) |
Oct. 28 |
Sat. |
5:40 PM EDT |
Partial lunar eclipse |
Nov. 3 |
Sun. |
1:00 AM EST / 2:00 AM EDT |
Daylight Saving Time ends |
Nov. 6 | Wed. | Parker Solar Probe Venus flyby # 7 | |
Nov. 11 | Mon. | 9:19 PM EDT - 10:28 PM EDT | Moon occults Neptune |
Nov. 12 | Tue. | Spring begins in Northern Hemisphere of Mars | |
Nov. 16 | Sat. | 4:18 AM EST | Mercury @ greatest eastern elongation (22° E of Sun) |
Nov. 16 | Sat. | 9:37 PM EST | Uranus @ opposition |
Nov. 17 |
Sun. |
7:00 PM EST |
Leonid meteors peak. (poor) |
Nov. 25 | Mon. | Juno perijove # 67 | |
Nov. 27 | Wed. | 5:39 AM EST - 6:55 AM EST | Moon occults Spica |
Dec. 2 | Mon. | BepiColombo Mercury flyby # 5 | |
Dec. 7 | Sat. | 3:51 PM EST | Jupiter @ opposition |
Dec. 8 |
Sun. |
4:11 PM EST |
Earliest sunset of year (4:11:40 PM EST) |
Dec. 13 | Fri. | Lucy Earth flyby # 2 | |
Dec. 14 |
Thur. |
2:00 PM EST |
Geminid meteors peak. (poor) |
Dec. 21 |
Sat. |
4:20 AM EST |
December (Winter) Solstice |
Dec. 22 |
Thur. | 5:00 AM EST | Ursid meteors peak (fair) |
Dec. 24 | Tue. | Parker Solar Probe perihelion # 22 (6.1 million km / 3.8 million mi / .04 AU | |
Dec. 25 | Wed. | 2:10 AM EST | Mercury @ greatest western elongation (22° W of Sun) |
Dec. 28 | Sat. | Juno perijove # 68 | |
Dec. 30 | Mon. | Rocket Labs Venus Life Finder launch | |
Dates to be announced: |
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Apr. | Sierra Space's Dream Chaser launched to ISS | ||
May | Chang'e 6 launched for farside sample return | ||
Oct. | ESA Hera mission launched to asteroid Didymos/Dimorphos | ||
Nov. | NASA VIPER lunar rover launches to Moon's South Pole | ||
3Q - 4Q | Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander launched to Mare Crisium | ||
Bold = cool or important |
* = not visible from Boston |