Thursday was the spring equinox for those of us in the northern hemisphere. (It was the fall equinox for those in the southern hemisphere.) That makes Friday the first day of spring. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, on the March equinox, the sun crosses directly overhead on its way north. While the sun passes overhead, the tilt of the Earth is zero relative to the sun, which means that Earth’s axis points neither toward nor away from the sun. (Even though the Earth always orbits tilted on its axis.) After the spring equinox, the northern hemisphere tilts toward the sun, which is why we start to get longer, sunnier days. Equinoxes are the only two times a year that the sun rises due east and sets due west for all of us on Earth.
Also according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the equinox happening on the March 19, makes it the earliest spring we have had seen since 1896. That was 124 years ago. For much of the last century, the spring equinox has occurred on March 20 or 21. It has slowly become earlier and earlier over the years but is especially early this year because it’s a leap year. So from now on, each leap year will be a brand new “record earliest” start to spring.
As mentioned last week, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible before dawn for most of the month. Just face east and look for what will like three extra bright stars high above the horizon. Sunday will be the last day to see Mars pass beneath Jupiter before continuing on its way.
Tuesday is a big astronomical day with planets visible before dawn and after sunset. According to seasky.org, Mercury will be visible before sunrise low in the eastern sky.
Then after sunset, Venus will reach its highest point above the horizon so it will be the best time to view it. In fact, for the more advance astronomer, it’s a good night to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there will be a new moon. That is when the alignment of the sun, moon and Earth, leaves the side of the moon that faces earth in complete darkness.
Since spring has officially started, it seemed a good time to share that Orion is actually known as the winter constellation. On a different note, the next time you look at Orion pay special attention to Betelgeuse. It has reportedly been dimming. According to space.com, the dramatic fading has prompted scientists to suggest that the star might be entering a presupernova phase, meaning it could die in a fiery supernova explosion. While it’s possible that the star could explode anytime between now and 100,000 years from now, this dimming might not actually be a sign that it’s about to blow, said an astronomy professor and graduate student who study Betelgeuse.
Look Up appears in the weekend edition. If you have any astronomical 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.
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