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Upcoming Astronomical Events

"We must never lose our sense of awe at the magnificence of our planet" - Anonymous

The night sky is amazing. Here I have made a short calendar of nearby astronomical events. What I have included in the calendar are things that can easily be seen with the naked eye and even a person who can't find the Big Dipper can enjoy. If you can find the moon, you shouldn't have any problems finding these. I live at about 38 degrees latitude and the events listed in this calendar can be seen at anywhere around that latitude. I doubt that anyone I don't know will find this, but just incase some person in another country stumbles onto thise page, the calendar won't be accurate. People in Canada or some place that is much farther north and south of 38 degrees will have to use another resource.

March 20-Vernal Equinox. Laymans terms, first day of Spring. Basically the sun is crossing the celestrial equator from south to north.

March 24-Moon Occults Venus. Venus the "morning star" will be passed over by the moon. This is the first of three occulations of a planet this month. It is best viewed with binoculars or a telescope. Occulations are a common, but beautiful occurance especially if the moon is not full. It is very impressive to see a planet disappear behind what seems to be blackness.

March 26-Moon Occults Jupiter. Another of the occulations this month. I highly recommend viewing this with binoculars so that you can see four of Jupiter's moons disappear along with the planet.

March 29-Moon Occults Saturn. As is looking at the ringed planet isn't wonderful enough. This is one I will not miss.

April 5-Daylight Savings Time Begins Just a reminder. Set your clock an hour ahead.

April 20-Lyrids Meteor Shower Peak. Lyra is a small constellation but is easily found by looking for its bright star Vega. Meteors will originate from the area around Lyra which will rise in the North East about 10 o'clock. I promise, none of these will hit the earth causing mass disaster.

April 27-May 3-Astronomy Week. Go outside and look! Stuff to SeeThe weather is starting to warm up making observing a little more comfortable. Venus is up in the morning with Saturn visible at night. Even a small pair of binoculars will make these look amazing. Galileo's telescope was only as powerful as a 10x pair of binoculars and look what all he saw. Anyone, regardless of astronomical knowledge, can enjoy these spectacular occurances. God's creation is on display.

A view back in time from the Hubble Space Telescope as it focused on some of the most distant objects. Every smudge is a forming galaxy.

Links to other sites on the Web

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A more detailed calendar
Star Date Online

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