This Week’s Sky at a Glance, March 8 – 16


"... Saturday, March 9. By the time it's fully dark, the Big Dipper is high in the northeast and beginning to tip left. Look well to its left for Polaris and the dim Little Dipper. Other than Polaris, all you may see of the Little Dipper through moonlight or light pollution are the two stars forming the outer edge of its bowl. These are Kochab (similar to Polaris in brightness) and below it, fainter Pherkad. Find these two 'Guardians of the Pole' to Polaris's lower right by about a fist and a half at arm's length. Now is the time of year when the Guardians line up exactly vertically at the end of twilight. Daylight-saving time begins for most of the US and Canada at 2 a.m. tonight. Clocks 'spring ahead' an hour. Sunday, March 10. On the traditional divide between the winter and spring sky is the dim constellation Cancer. It's between Gemini to its west and Leo to its east. Cancer holds something unique: the Beehive Star Cluster, M44, in its middle. The Beehive shows dimly to the naked eye if you have little or no light pollution. With binoculars it's easy, even under worse conditions. Look for it a little less than halfway from Pollux in Gemini to Regulus in Leo. ..."
Sky & Telescope

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