Hey there! Tomorrow’s full moon is known as the Worm Moon, but I like to call it the Lenten Moon since it falls during Lent this year. Exciting news—there’s a total lunar eclipse coming on Friday! While it will be mainly visible in North and South America, unfortunately, folks in Guam and parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa will miss out.
Next Thursday marks the start of spring, also known as the vernal equinox. “Equinox” is Latin for “equal night,” which refers to the two days each year when day and night are supposed to be of equal length. This happens when the tilt of the Earth is just right, neither facing towards nor away from the sun. However, Guam does things a bit differently. On the 20th, the sun will rise at 6:25 a.m. and set at 6:32 p.m., so the lengths of day and night won’t be equal.
This week, we had a mini equinox on Tuesday and Wednesday, with sunrise at 6:31 a.m. and sunset at 6:31 p.m.
If you’re looking up this week, keep an eye out for Venus shining brightly in the evening sky. Mercury will be nearby, too. Don’t miss the beautiful sunsets to catch them near the western horizon—although next week they’ll be hidden by the sun’s glare.
Gaze high into the western sky, and you’ll spot Jupiter, the brightest point up there. Slightly above and to the left of Jupiter is Orion the Hunter, a striking constellation filled with bright stars. The upper shoulder of Orion is Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star. Just above and to the right of Betelgeuse is Mars, which is also quite prominent right now.
If you’re tired of straining your neck, try facing south and look two fist widths up to find Canopus. This is the second brightest star and isn’t visible from northern parts of the U.S. Canopus is part of the constellation Carina the Keel, which adds to the larger asterism called the Great Ship Argo Navis. I’ll share more about this fascinating group later this month when it appears fully in our skies.
Three fist-widths above Canopus lies Sirius, the brightest star in our sky. It shines at a magnitude of -1.4, making it really easy to spot. Sirius is just 8.6 light-years away from Earth, while Canopus is much farther at 309 light-years—it’s currently in a phase where it’s burning helium in its core, having exhausted its hydrogen already.
Take a moment this week to enjoy the beauty of the full moon. Don’t forget to say goodbye to Venus and Mercury and search for those dazzling stars!
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