Hello ...
The prominent constellations Orion, Taurus, and Canis Major all hang around in the southwestern evening sky, and their proximity to the horizon makes for promising compositions for nightscape images. Observers with big scopes are cleaning their eyepieces and getting ready for galaxy season! And all five bright planets
emerge in the eastern sky before sunrise.
(NOTE: There are just 5 days left to register for our annual offering of Fundamentals of Stargazing. This online resource gives you a crash course in all aspects of stargazing from equipment selection to
deep-sky and solar system observing to the science behind what you see in the night sky. Learn more about the course at this link.)
And now, here's your Night Sky Newsletter for March 2022.
1. What to see in the
Night Sky This Month.
2. This month's observing article examines the Pleiades, the most beautiful and famous of star clusters, one known to cultures around the world for as long as there have been stargazers. Read 'The Many Names of the Pleiades'.
3. Like many of us, I haven't been anywhere for more than two years. But the urge to go to travel to dark skies grows stronger. Maybe this is the place to go...
4. From BBC's 'In Our Time' podcast: a look at William and Caroline Herschel, two of the most astute visual observers of all time.
5. This fascinating piece examines whether the Earth's biosphere exhibits a degree of intelligence, or at least self-organization, that works to perpetuate
the existence of life.
6. Dr. Brian Cox breaks down the science behind the movie 'Don't Look Up'.
And finally, an inspirational astronomy quote for these difficult times:
"Were I to write out one prescription designed to help alleviate at least some of the self-made miseries and mankind, it would be this: One gentle dose of starlight to be taken each clear night just before retiring." - Leslie Peltier
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Wishing you clear skies!
Brian Ventrudo
Publisher
CosmicPursuits.com