Celestial Events for March

Good afternoon! I bet you thought I wasn't going to post today. Well, I am. I had a sick kid this weekend, and I wasn't feeling the greatest myself, so I just slept and relaxed a lot this weekend. This was great for the sick part of me, but not so great for the busy part of me. I digress however, as it's Monday, the start of a new week, and I don't have time to worry. *wink* 

Anyway, I've been thinking about some sky-watching here lately, so I figured it was time for a post about it. Here, then, is a list of sky events for the next few months.

1. Wednesday, February 11th: Comet 45P/HMP. This comet will reach close proximity to Earth on this day, before heading back to the outer solar system. You will be treated to a view of a small, bright, fuzzy ball in the wee hours of the morning. Look for it around dawn.

2.  Tuesday/Wednesday, February 10th/11th: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. Although this is easily mistaken for a regular Full Moon, this will be visible as a slight darkening of the Moon.

3. Thursday, February 26th: New Moon. The Moon will be on the same side of the Earth as the Sun during this time period. What does this mean for sky viewing? Well, without the Moon's light interfering, one can see objects in the sky that are typically unable to be seen, such as galaxies and star clusters. 

4. Sunday, March 12th: Full Moon. Tonight, the face of the Moon will be completely illuminated. The weather should be warming up a little as well, so wear a few layers and get outside to check out this impressive sight.

5. Monday, March 20th: Vernal Equinox. Today, on the first day of Spring, the Sun will shine right on the Equator. This means that there will be equal parts day and night all over the world. 

6. Saturday, March 28th: New Moon. If you missed the other new moon, here's your chance to see it again, or shall we say the lack of it? Without the moonlight interfering with sky vision, it's much easier to see faint celestial objects.

So there you have it! Some celestial events happening over the next couple of months. Of course, this year is the big solar eclipse. This will happen in August, and I'll dedicate a whole post to it. For now, this should tide you all over! Have a great week.