Nan at Night by Nan Hoyt
-Thursday the 5th: Orion is high in the south at nightfall and sets after midnight. Its most prominent feature is a short line of three bright stars known as Orion’s Belt. The smudge of light below the belt, in the “scabbard” for his sword held high above his head, is the Orion Nebula, where stars are being born. This “star nursery” is about 1,400 light-years away.
-Friday the 6th: The two closest and most prominent star clusters are in good view this evening. The Hyades look like the letter “V,” with a bright orange star at one point, Aldebaran, the “eye” of Taurus the bull. The dipper-shaped Pleiades, the “shoulder” of the bull, is to the right of the Hyades. They are in the west at nightfall.
-Saturday the 7th: Spring arrives in the northern hemisphere in about two weeks. The season is associated with Aries, the ram. When the zodiac was first drawn, the Sun stood inside Aries at the time of the equinox. Today, the March equinox is still known as the “first point of Aries” – even though the Sun now appears in Pisces on the equinox.
Sunday the 8th: Tuesday the 10th: The moon sweeps past the star Regulus and the planet Saturn. They are in the east as night falls. The moon is above them on the night of the 8th, between them on the 9th (with Regulus above the moon, Saturn below,) and below them on the 10th: Saturn is at opposition on the 8th, so it lines up opposite the Sun in our sky. It rises around sunset, is visible all night, and is brightest for the year. So, get that telescope out and focus in on the magnificent “Lord of the Rings.”
Tuesday the 10th: Full moon tonight known as the Full Worm Moon. In this month the ground softens and the earthworms rise inviting the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing crow signals the end of winter, or the Full Crust Moon because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing and then freezing again at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees is another variation. While many people around the world acknowledge this moon as the Full Lenten Moon.
Wednesday the 11th: Regulus, the point at the bottom of the backward question mark asterism representing the mane of Leo, the lion, is climbing higher into the evening sky. One way to find it is to line up the two stars at the inner edge of the Big Dipper’s bowl and follow that line from right to left. Regulus is the first bright star along this line.
Thursday the 12th: Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, is a little to the lower left of the moon as they climb into view in the southeast by around 10 p.m. The moon will move closer to Spica as they scoot across the south during the night.
The full moon is one of the pleasures we experience here on Earth. The night is alive with light. The ancients worshipped this monthly event where the world did not seem so cold and dark. Nowadays, we live in brightly lit cities and head into our warm houses to see our night lit bright. Those of us with the good fortune to live far away from those city lights still can benefit from a night lit by the full moon. It rises in the east and sets in the west, just like the Sun but its light is more poignant and direct, streaming through the windows all night long with its incandescent glow. During this last full moon of winter, its radiance casts eerie shadows on the snow-covered landscape and even stings the eyes if stared at too long. The creatures of the night are out and about, some with stealth and some with glee. Most noticeable are the owls, more active than ever as their calls pierce the silence of the night. Throughout the years, people have named the full moons to reflect the events surrounding each particular Moon. Many names follow the full moon of March as reflected on above. Whichever name you choose to acknowledge, they all have the same vibe, winter is drawing to a close and the arrival of spring is imminent, rejoice!
