March, 2004

Monday, March 29th, 2004

Venus and The Pleiades

The planet Venus is heading for a close encounter with Messier #45... also known as The Pleiades Star Cluster. Over the next several days, the distance between the two will shrink dramatically. This shot was taken Monday evening by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

Sunday, March 28th, 2004

Giant Sunspot Coming Into View

Massive sunspot #582 has just come into view over the Sun's eastern horizon. Spanning several Earth-diameters, this giant could (hopefully) bring us some northern lights.

Friday, March 26th, 2004

The Moon and the Planets

Here's a wide angle shot of Venus, Mars, The Pleiades, The Moon, and Saturn. Even part of Orion is visible in the shot. Click for an annotated version, then checkout our Conjunctions Page for more pics.

Wednesday, March 24th, 2004

Venus and the Crescent Moon

The second rock, Venus posed alongside the Crescent Moon this evening shortly after sunset. The two were only about 2.5° apart. Groupings like this are referred to as conjunctions and are often quite beautiful. If you'd like to see more such events, checkout our Conjunctions Page.

Sunday, March 21st, 2004

The First Rock

Making a brief appearance in the western sky is the innermost planet, Mercury. You can spot Mercury shortly after sunset if you have a good view of the western horizon. But hurry, Mercury will be gone as quick as it arrived... in about a week.

Saturday, March 20th, 2004

5 Planets Align

Now and for the next week or so you can see the 5 naked eye planets known since antiquity. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. Just step outside shortly after sunset and look towards the west. That's where the lineup begins. The crescent moon will join the bunch by about Monday evening 3/22. 

Friday, March 19th, 2004

Messier Marathon

This weekend kicks off the annual Messier Marathon. How many will you find? Checkout our Special Messier Marathon Report and On-Line Messier Charts for more information.

Thursday, March 18th, 2004

Martian Sand Dune

NASA's Spirit Rover is set to begin studying a Martian Sand Dune located just outside a large crater. Checkout CNN.com/SPACE for more details.

Monday, March 15th, 2004

Astronomers Discover 10th Planet

Scientists announced the discovery of what may be our solar systems 10th planet orbiting some 3 billion kilometers beyond the orbit of Pluto. Temporarily named Sedna after the Inuit goddess of the sea, the planet is described as an an icy, rocky world with a diameter of roughly 2000km. This is just a tiny bit smaller than 9th planet, Pluto. Sedna's small size is sure to rekindle the debate over exactly what the classification of a planet should be. NASA officials held a news conference to discuss the finding. Checkout Science@NASA for more details on this discovery.

Friday, March 12th, 2004

Spirit Looks Back At Bonneville Crater

NASA's Spirit Rover took this parting shot... looking back into Bonneville Crater from the rim. Read the full story on the Mars Rover Website.

Thursday, March 11th, 2004

The Long and Winding Road

NASA's Spirit Rover used it's rear navigation camera to take this shot documenting its travels. To date, the rover has traveled some 240 meters through Gusev Crater. Checkout The Mars Rover Website for the latest details. 

Wednesday, March 10th, 2004

Martian Eclipses

Yet another first for the Opportunity Rover... a pair of Martian eclipses. The first involves Mars' tiny moon Deimos, the second Phobos. Checkout The Opportunity Rover Site for more details. 

Tuesday, March 9th, 2004

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field

As if The Hubble Space Telescope ever needed to prove it's worth, Astronomers recently releases this image, The Hubble Ultra Deep Field. Made from 1,000,000 seconds of exposure time, this image is the deepest visible light image ever taken. Checkout The Hubble Site for more details. 

Monday, March 8th, 2004

Astronomers Image Most Distant Object Ever

Astronomers using the European Space Agency's VLT (Very Large Telescope) have imaged the most distant object ever. With a Red Shift of 10.0, this object existed when the universe was only 460 million years old... a small fraction of its current age. Checkout Sky & Telescope for more information. 

Sunday, March 7th, 2004

Giant Sunspot #570

Sunspot #570, just coming into view over our stars eastern limb, is already several times larger than our planet Earth. Could this giant bring us some northern lights? Could be. Stay tuned for more details! 

Friday, March 5th, 2004

How Much Water on Mars?

Now that Opportunity has confirmed the past existence of water on the Martian surface, scientists move on to try and determine just how much water once existed. Checkout the NASA Press Release for more details! 

Thursday, March 4th, 2004

Jupiter Reigns

The 5th planet, Jupiter reached opposition this morning. Opposition occurs when Jupiter and the Sun are on opposite sides of the sky. Jupiter is now rising at sunset and setting at sunrise, making it visible all night long. Jupiter is also at its peak of apparent diameter and brightness. Look for Jupiter in the eastern sky shortly after sunset. Jupiter sits at the foot of the constellation Leo the Lion. 

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2004

Rosetta Begins 10 Year Journey

The European Space Agency yesterday launched its Rosetta cometary probe. The craft's 10 year journey will take it around the Sun 3 times before rendezvousing with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. For more information, checkout the ESA Press Release. 

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2004

Mars Was Once Soaking Wet!

NASA Scientists have found what they were looking for. Proof that Mars was once had a very wet environment. Checkout Science@NASA for more on this historic discovery.