Looking UP

Mid-March to Mid-April, 2023

The Evening Sky

By Greg Smith

The planets Mars, Venus, and Jupiter are visible in the western sky as sunset approaches on March 22nd, Mars is high in the sky in the constellation Taurus the Bull. Back on March 1st Venus and Jupiter were less than 1° apart, and since then Venus has risen in the evening sky letting Jupiter get closer to the horizon. Venus and Jupiter are about 20º apart now and will be spreading slightly further, but still will not be far above the western horizon. March 22nd Jupiter will be setting just a bit after 7:00pm. A very slim crescent 1 day old Moon will be right above the setting Jupiter. This is the start of the return of the moon to the evening sky. This is a binocular viewing event, as it is very difficult to see this slim sliver of a 1-day-old moon. The horizon is still light, and it will be hard to find the moon in the last remains of the day. Give it a try, just for the fun of it and bragging rights.

The Morning Sky

A cloudless eastern horizon sky required

By March 22nd, Saturn and Mercury rise just as the sun is rising too. The morning glare of the sun will wipe out any view of them. By March 31st, Saturn may be visible southeast about 6:15am just before sunrise. The sky will still be very bright. It is now after the spring equinox (March 20th).

Longview resident Greg Smith is past president of Friends of Galileo. Meet him and other club members at monthly meetings in Longview. For more info about FOG, visit friendsofgalileo.com.

Moon Phases:

3rd Quarter: Mar. 14th

New: Mar. 21st

1st Quarter: Mar. 28th

Full: April 5th

3rd Quarter: April 13th

End of twilight - when the stars start to come out:

Wed., Mar. 15th, 7:46pm

Fri., Mar. 24, 7:59pm

Fri., Mar. 31st, 8:08pm

Sat., April 8th., 8:20pm

Night Sky Spectacle M44

A cloud-free evening is a must.

A fun place to look at is M44 (the Beehive Cluster) in the constellation Cancer located between Gemini and Leo. This is a faint constellation with no bright stars, the brightest being only 3.5 Apparent Magnitude. M44 is an open cluster. This is not a tight ball of stars but rather a lightly dispersed group of stars. Your binoculars are needed to see the group. They can be faintly seen with the naked eye in a dark location. M44 is located in the middle of this dim constellation. This group of stars covers an area twice the size of the moon. If you live with a non-light polluted dark sky, try to find M44 without your binoculars. •••