Backyard Stargazer: March 2017
By Francis Parnell
It’s March and Spring will soon be here, so let’s see what’s in the sky this month.
On the 1st look for a much dimmer Red Mars, 5-degrees to the right of the waxing crescent Moon. You can’t miss brilliant Venus about 15-degrees to the lower right of the pair!
The waxing gibbous Moon is 2-degrees below “Regulus”, the brightest star in Leo, the Lion, at sunset on the 10th.
On the night of the 14th, look for yellow Jupiter, “Spica”, the brightest star in Virgo, and the waxing gibbous Moon forming a neat triangle after rising in the east around 9:30 or 10 p.m.
Just before dawn on the 20th, spot yellow Saturn 3-degrees below the last-quarter Moon.
Also, at 6:29 a.m. on the 20th, the Sun is at the March Equinox marking the start of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
On the 29th at dusk, the waxing lunar crescent hangs about 10-degrees below Mars and to the upper left of Mercury.
Look for the crescent Moon 8-degrees to the upper left of Mars on the 30th.
On the 31st and April 1st, Mercury reaches Greatest Elongation East of the Sun at 19-degrees above the western horizon. Mercury zips around the Sun so quickly; this is the best chance to see this elusive planet this year! Look for yellowish Mercury at, or just above, the twilight line at dusk.
Add this to your “Not-To-Be-Missed List!” On August 21st an extremely rare event happens in SC – a Total Solar Eclipse! The last one occurred in March of 1970, with Darlington in the path of totality. I recall watching the solar eclipse in 1970 at Branham’s Airport. At totality everything was so quiet, the birds took to the trees to go to sleep for the night; even the insects were inactive. But at the first sight of the light returning, the roosters at a nearby house starting crowing as if it were dawn! Surreal! If you’ve never experienced a total solar eclipse, it’s hard to describe how one feels in the Moon’s shadow. Spiritual is one description. You have to experience it for yourself!
A friend from ScienceSouth told me that, weather permitting, they will have telescopes set up in Greeleyville for safe solar viewing of this event. More information on that later.
And remember – even through all of the unnecessary and wasteful (but easily reversed!) light pollution – “Keep looking up!”
Francis Parnell of Darlington has been an amateur astronomer for over 46 years, and was on the staff and helped out at the Francis Marion University Observatory from 1982 until 2006 by showing visitors “what’s out there.” With the help of a friend, Mr. Ernest Lowry, he built his own telescope in 1986. And, because of light pollution, for the last 31 years he has been advocating for the advantages of using fully-shielded lighting at night.