Whats Up in the Nights Sky March 13th 2015
You know the season is shifting. As the stars come out, the Big Dipper standing on its handle in the northeast is now as high as Cassiopeia standing on end […]
Whats Up in the Nights Sky March 12th 2015
On Friday morning the 13th, the last-quarter Moon shines to the left of Saturn and the head of Scorpius before and during dawn.
Whats Up in the Nights Sky March 11th 2015
The eclipsing variable star Algol should be at minimum brightness, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours tonight centered on midnight EDT; 9 p.m. PDT. Algol […]
Whats Up in the Nights Sky March 10th 2015
Jupiter this month forms a big, more-or-less equilateral triangle with Procyon and Pollux. Face southeast soon after dark, and Procyon is to Jupiter’s right. Pollux is high above them. Procyon […]
Whats Up in the Nights Sky March 9th 2015
Ganymede, Jupiter’s biggest moon, enters onto Jupiter’s face at 10:10 p.m. EDT and exits at 1:47 a.m. EDT. Its black shadow trails almost three hours behind, crossing Jupiter from 1:05 […]
Whats Up in the Nights Sky March 8th 2015
Now that the Moon is gone from the early-evening sky, have another look for Comet Lovejoy! It’s crossing Cassiopeia and still 6th magnitude, this means it will be visible in […]
Whats Up in the Nights Sky March 7th
Little Mars has sunk to 6° below Venus now in the west at dusk. The gap between them will continue to widen until Mars finally becomes lost in the sunset […]
Whats Up in the Nights Sky March 6th
As the stars come out at this time of year, look due south for Orion standing upright at his highest. As night deepens, dim Lepus, the Hare, emerges under his […]
Whats Up in the Nights Sky March 5th
Full Moon (exact at 1:05 p.m. Eastern Standard Time). This evening the Moon shines below the dim hind feet of Leo. And another! Io partially eclipses Ganymede with its shadow […]
Whats Up in the Nights Sky March 4th
A challenge for North Americans as twilight turns into night: Distant Uranus, magnitude +5.9, glimmers just below Venus, which is 8,000 times brighter at magnitude –3.9. Use good binoculars or […]