The end of February and beginning of March may seem relatively quiet in the astronomy world, but even without the expected appearance of any world-ending comets or cosmic anomalies, the night sky still has so much to offer.
The normal cycles of March will continue to offer different viewing conditions. The new moon on March 2nd will offer a dark sky to glimpse the constellations of Orion and the Pleiades, soon to become less visible in the spring and summer. The full moon on March 18th may outshine some other formations, but it will offer an amazing look at the detailed surface of our closest astronomical body. Arriving close to the spring equinox, this moon has been called the Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Sap Moon, and the Lenten Moon.
There may not be a plethora of extraordinary events in the coming weeks, but every day something never before seen can happen in the night sky. The cosmos is composed of trillions of moving pieces, and each time we look at the night sky, something has changed. If you do not have the resources or telescopes to witness some of these amazing occurrences first hand, there are many resources in Colorado and Colorado Springs.
Mr. DuBois, the astronomy teacher at Coronado, provided some insight into opportunities and current events in astronomy right now. “The biggest thing going on right now is the James Webb Telescope, but we won’t see any images from it until the summer. [NASA] did their own live feed where they taught people about the telescope. They become events, and people even watch them with their families. You get multiple views and a lot of information that you normally wouldn’t have gotten.” Mr. DuBois also added that “if someone is interested in actually stargazing, I would recommend they keep an eye on the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society. Students can go and talk to someone who knows what they are doing and learn about astronomy.”
The Colorado Springs Astronomical Society (CSAS) hosts star parties – stargazing events for the public – around once a month at the Florissant Fossil Beds, a dark sky area. In the next month CSAS will be hosting events from 7pm to 10pm on March 4th and April 1st. Additionally, there is a night hike to observe the moon in Cheyenne State Park on March 20th from 7pm to 9pm.