Weather permitting, this weekend it will be hard not to notice the moon almost directly above us and shining bright since it will be almost full but it won’t be full until Monday. It will even be visible before the sunsets. It will rise just before 4 p.m. Saturday and will rise about 75 minutes later each day. The sun will set at 5:44 p.m. Saturday and, since we change our clocks this weekend, it will set an hour later on Sunday.
The moon always looks largest when it’s near the horizon, this is known as moon illusion. However, the moon will look especially large on Monday when it rises because this full moon will be a supermoon. A supermoon is when the moon is at its closest point to the Earth in its orbit. This will be the first of four supermoons of the year. April’s full moon will be the closest of them all.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, March’s full moon is called the Full Worm Moon. It’s named this because it’s when the ground is soft enough for worms to start poking out and to start drawing out birds, particularly the robin. Another name for the full moon in March is the Full Sap Moon since it’s the time of year when the sap of sugar maples starts to flow.
After the sunsets, Venus continues to hover in the western sky and if we’re able to see through the clouds, we will see the moon near Orion’s belt. As noted last week, the Orion constellation is great for both novice and experienced stargazers. For the novice stargazer, it is a great starting point since it is almost visible anywhere in the world. For the experienced stargazer, there is a nebula in the sword. Actually it is the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex and is made up of several nebulae, the most popular of them all is the Orion Nebula. It is best seen with a telescope although binoculars can also be used in a dark setting. It appears as a glowing cloud. There is another nebula very close to it called the Horsehead Nebula. This one requires a telescope to see but is difficult to locate. According to Space.com, the Horsehead Nebula is a prime target for many amateur astronomers. Glare from one of the nearby stars makes it difficult to spot, in addition to its small size. Despite these challenges, the Horsehead Nebula makes for an enjoyable find for the amateur astronomer.
Next week we will learn the names of the stars that make up the Orion constellation.
Look Up appears in the weekend edition. If you have any astrological questions or facts you’d like to share email news@smdailyjournal.com with the subject line “Look Up.”
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.