SKYWATCH: March 2021
By Phillip Virden: Lake City, Colorado Amateur Astronomer, Cooperative Observer for 30+ years for National Weather Service, Dark Sky Coordinator for Lake Fork Valley Conservancy
Greetings Skywatchers! This Skywatch will be about February weather stats, the Orion constellation, and stargazing tips for March.
February Weather Stats for Lake City
Average high temperature for Feb was 36 vs 37.8 historical average.
Highest recorded temperature was 48 on February 3.
Average low temperature for Feb was 6 vs 3.2 historical average.
Lowest recorded temperature was -6 on February 20.
Average mean temperature for Feb was 21 versus 22.5 historical.
Total precipitation for February was 1.07” vs .75” historical average.
Orion
The exquisite Orion constellation can still be viewed in the early night sky in the south during March. This region of the winter sky is remarkable for several reasons:
Greek mythology tells us Orion is the great hunter in the sky. His shield is out to the right. He carries a knife below his belt. His club is to the left; ready to strike his prey.
Orion’s “knife” is a nebula – a cloud of dust and gases. The Orion Nebula is known for being a “birthplace” to younger stars. It is categorized as a diffuse nebula because of its irregular shape. Its subtype is a reflective and emission.
Orion has several bright stars. Rigel, Betelgeuse, and Bellatrix are in the top 30 of the brightest stars seen from Earth. Nearby are also bright Sirius and Procyon which are stars in Orion’s hunting dogs – Canis Major and Canis Minor.
Rigel is a blue supergiant star. When it expires, it is predicted to end in a brilliant supernova. Rigel is 860 light years from Earth.
Betelgeuse is one of the largest stars visible to our naked eye. If it replaced our Sun, it would engulf the orbits of all the rocky planets and asteroids (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, the asteroid belt) and even possibly reaching Jupiter! It is known as a red supergiant and, like Rigel, is expected to end its life as s supernova.
Besides the Orion Nebula, Orion is home to several other deep sky objects. The Horsehead Nebula, Messier 78, and Barnard’s loop to name a few.
March Night Sky Highlights
Besides the Orion constellation, see if you can spot the “Winter Hexagon”. It is an asterism of six bright stars – Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Pollux, Procyon, and Sirius.
March 4-6 Mercury appears below Jupiter and Saturn in the southeast sky at dawn.
March 5 Last quarter Moon
March 9 Saturn appears by the Moon this morning.
March 13 New Moon
March 14 Daylight Savings Time begins at 2:00 a.m. MST.
March 20 Vernal equinox at 3:37 a.m. MST – Spring has Sprung!
March 21 First quarter Moon
March 28 That will be the star Spica near the Full Moon (known in Indian lore as the “Worm Moon”. Let’s go fishing!
If you have a question or some additional information, leave it in the comment section below. Our day and night sky are available for all of us to learn and share with others.