Evening Mercury
The planet Mercury is in the evening sky the next few days. It will stand farthest from the Sun for its current evening appearance on Sunday. It looks like a bright star, quite low in the west not long after sunset.
Moon and Regulus
The Moon is sliding through the constellation Leo. Tonight, the lion’s bright heart, the star Regulus, is close to the lower right of the Moon at nightfall, and closer below the Moon as they set, in the wee hours of the morning.
Shifting Equinox
The Sun is passing through Pisces, the fishes. In fact, it’s appeared in Pisces at the spring equinox for a couple of thousand years. Before that it was in Aries, the ram. The shift is the result of an effect known as precession of the equinoxes.
March Equinox
Spring arrives in the northern hemisphere tonight, at the moment of the March equinox, as the Sun crosses the celestial equator. Day and night are about equal across the entire planet, hence the name “equinox,” which means “equal nights.”
Moon and Gemini
Pollux, the brighter twin of Gemini, is close to the left of the Moon at nightfall. The other twin, Castor, is farther to the upper left of the Moon.
Orion’s Head
When spring arrives on Tuesday night, the Sun will be passing through Pisces. Over time, the Sun’s location at the vernal equinox slips westward. About 6,500 years ago it was just above the head of Orion the hunter, which tonight is below the Moon at nightfall.
Moon and Elnath
The Moon hangs precariously near a star with a nasty-sounding name tonight: Elnath. The name comes from an Arabic phrase that means “butting” or “goring.” It indicates the star’s position at the tip of one of the horns of Taurus, the bull.
Summer Stars
The stars in view at dawn now are the same ones you’ll see as night falls in July and August. Scorpius is low in the south, with Sagittarius to its left. The Big Dipper hangs from its handle in the northwest. And the Summer Triangle stands high in the east.
Moon and Pleiades
Two beautiful objects team up this evening: the Moon and the Pleiades. The little star cluster is close above the Moon. Binoculars will help you pick out some of its brighter stars through the moonlight.
Moon and Jupiter
Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, stands quite close to the lower left of the crescent Moon at nightfall. Jupiter looks like a brilliant star; only the Moon and the planet Venus outshine it.