March 22 Moon and Leo
As the mighty constellation Leo, the lion, climbs into view in
the east this evening, it has some mighty company: the Moon.
Regulus, the bright star that represents the lion’s heart, is just
to the right of the Moon as darkness falls.
March 22 Moon and Leo
As the mighty constellation Leo, the lion, climbs into view in the east this evening, it has some mighty company: the Moon. Regulus, the bright star that represents the lion’s heart, is just to the right of the Moon as darkness falls.
March 23 Pointing North
Polaris, the north star, isn’t easy to find. But here’s a pointer: follow the Big Dipper. Connect the two stars at the outer edge of the bowl, then extend the line above the bowl. Polaris lies along this line, about five times the distance between the pointers.
March 24 Green Flash
Earth’s atmosphere bends and splits sunlight, creating rainbows and other displays, including the rarely seen “green flash.” It appears as the first burst of sunlight before sunrise or the last glimpse at sunset. The air must be clear and clean for the green flash to occur.
March 25 Moon
and Jupiter
The full Moon rolls high across the south tonight, with the planet Jupiter following it across the sky. Jupiter looks like a brilliant cream-colored star. The full Moon of March is known as the Egg Moon.
March 26 Moon and Spica
The Moon will stage a beautiful encounter tonight with one of the most prominent stars of spring: Spica, in the constellation Virgo. The star is just to the lower right of the Moon as they rise in early evening, and the Moon will pass even closer to it later on.
March 27 Moon, Spica and Jupiter
The Moon follows the constellation Virgo across the sky tonight. Look for Virgo’s brightest star, Spica, above the Moon as they rise. The brilliant planet Jupiter joins the lineup, standing about the same distance above Spica that Spica is above the Moon.
March 28 Stellar
Companions
Hercules climbs into prominence during the spring. Right now most of its stars clear the northeastern horizon by about 11pm. Look for a pattern of four moderately bright stars that looks like a shield. This pattern, the Keystone, represents Hercules’ body.
