March sky

El cielo de Marzo

March Sky

We are going to open a new section on our blog: the sky of the month. Yes, I know we are a little late this month, but only a little. And we start with what is closest to us.

MOON

On March 10 we will have a new moon. And it is also a “Super-New-Moon”. Wow, a what...? Come on, let's go in parts. A new moon happens when the moon is there in front of us, but we don't see it. He is in front of us and the face he shows us is in darkness, it is his night. The funniest thing is that if we were there we would see a Full Earth. And Super is because it is closer to Earth since its orbit varies a little with respect to us. It will be the 3rd of 5 consecutive Super Moons. (Note: moonless night ideal for night observation, take note).

We have to wait until the 25th to see it full but aaaahhhh! It comes with a surprise! And that night (if the weather does not prevent it) we will see the first eclipse of the year, a penumbral eclipse. And this is a very difficult fact to see because only 3 are produced per century. It happens when the full moon crosses the twilight zone of the Earth's shadow and I advise you not to miss this event. Although you will have to get up early (or not sleep) because it starts at 5:53 in the morning. And bundle up.

SUN

We continue in maximum solar activity. Sunspots, flares, ejections of matter into space... And thank goodness we are protected by the Earth's magnetism. Have you noticed problems with your phone or that the GPS goes a little crazy? Don't blame the device for this activity. The satellites that give us this coverage are in the middle of space and are not protected. But yes, we are in the best years to see the northern lights (and not so northern lights, as one has been photographed in Cáceres, November 2023). It is an ideal time if you have the possibility of accessing a telescope, preferably solar, to see the activity of our particular star.

PLANETS          

We continue with our beloved Jupiter and its moons accompanying us in the sky (we love it, it is very cute, with its 4 moons around it). That fat, shiny dot you see up there is not a star, it's a planet. The 13th will be aligned with the moon and the Pleiades.

This month we lose Neptune and at the end we will have Mercury at nightfall. On these dates we will begin to see Mars and Saturn, at the end and shortly before dawn. Venus will be the Morning Star.

We will also have a comet. On the 14th the comments C/2021 S3 (PanSTARRS) will be at the closest point to Earth, with a magnitude of 7.1 that, if time permits, you will be able to see with binoculars or a small telescope.

And finally, remember that, even though February was so hot and winter has returned in March, spring will officially enter on the 20th at 4:06 am.

See you next month and, good heavens!

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