Almost Mid Spring Sky

The planetarium program that I normally use to write this column is still broken. Here is an updated article from five years ago.

We are almost to the middle of spring! The sun sets after 8:09 p.m. and rises before 6:37 a.m. Wait until after 9:30 p.m. when the sky is dark enough to see faint objects.

The western sky at sunset contains the winter constellations. You may be able to spot Orion low on the horizon. The three belt stars point down and right.

Gemini with the two stars Pollux and Castor are higher in the west. Almost overhead are faint objects and no distinct star patterns. Locate Pollux after 9 p.m. With binoculars, sweep back overhead. You should find the open cluster called the

Beehive or M-44 in Cancer the Crab.

The bright star almost overhead is Regulus in Leo the Lion. Leo appears to make a head first dive toward the western horizon. The bright star Regulus marks the dot of a backward facing question mark. The question mark lies on its right side. Look for this familiar pattern.

Now face east. The bright orange star is Arcturus in the constellation Bootes (boOAT-eez). From Arcturus, move up and left to find the Big Dipper in the northeast. The dipper is standing on its handle with the bowl high in the air. Find the two stars at the end of the bowl and follow them to the left to the not very bright North Star or Polaris.

Continue facing east. Return to Arcturus and and now look low to the right. Find a bright blue-white star low near the southeast horizon. This is the blue supergiant star Spica in Virgo. Compare the blue tint to the orange cast of Arcturus. Spica is much hotter than our

Sun and hotter yet than Arcturus. The color we see is the result of these temperatures.

Alas, there are no planets visible in the evening sky this month. It will be August before Saturn returns to the eastern horizon.

Enjoy the late spring sky tonight.

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