2019 Week 12: (March 17-March 23)

This week we will experience the first day of Spring and the weather looks to be above average in Calgary.  This will allow us to clear out some snow and setup our telescopes for a good long look at the sky that we may have missed during the prolonged February cold spell.

Date	Event
March 17	Moon 0.5°S of Beehive Cluster (M44)
March 20	Equinox
March 20	Full Moon
March 21	Zodiacal Light visible in West

The Moon is a growing gibbous and will be in conjunction with the Beehive Cluster the morning of Sunday March 17.  When the Sun sets it will be approximately 8° to the west of the Moon.  This will be a great opportunity to grab a pair of binoculars and see this bright open cluster.

The Sun moves across the celestial equator at 3:58pm MST and cultures who define seasons by astronomical means may call it Spring.  We are looking at a potential 20°C this upcoming Thursday.  This will be a perfect time to get out to the University for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's premiere Calgary Event.  We will be hosting Fraser Cain and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in an amazing night discussing the Golden Age of Astronomy.

Peter Sim Memorial Lecture -- March 21, 2019 (7:30pm)

This should be marked on your calendar as a definite go to event.  It is completely free and open to EVERYONE.  Check out the details below.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2211662482419661/

Less than four hours after the equinox the Moon will be Full and light up the first night of Spring.  It will still be a fairly large Full Moon as it will be a little over 48 hours after perigee.

Once again the Zodiacal Light may be visible in the western sky after evening twilight.  This phenomenon can be best seen in dark sites away from the light pollution of highly settled areas.

There is a single rocket launch scheduled for this week.  A Vega rocket will be launching a satellite for the Italian space agency to support environmental and security monitoring.  This can be watched live at the following webpage: https://spaceflightnow.com/

Date	Event
March 21	Vega - PRISMA (18:50)

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