She’s already here! Astronomical spring has begun. What does it mean?

Astronomical spring started this year on Wednesday, March 20 at 4:06 am. Then the Sun passed through the point of the spring equinox, the so-called Aries point. The definition of the beginning of astronomical spring is related to the passage of the Sun through the intersection point. Spring has started in the Northern Hemisphere, while autumn is starting in the Southern Hemisphere.

First day of spring. March 20 or 21? How does astronomical spring differ from calendar spring?

When the Sun is at the point of Aries, the equinox occurs. From then on, the nights are shorter than the days. The time when we can admire objects in the night sky will shorten as the days of spring pass. While at the beginning of March it was about 12 hours (excluding twilight), at the end of April it will be less than 8 hours.

And it is the issue of the length of the day and night that distinguishes the astronomical spring from the calendar one. The first day of astronomical spring is movable, and the first calendar day of spring is arbitrarily set on March 21. In our time zone, astronomical spring will fall on March 20 until 2048. After this date, it will be moved to March 19 or 20. AND

Astronomical spring has arrived. What can you observe in the sky?

Despite the increasingly shorter nights, various interesting astronomical objects will appear in the sky. On the western side of the sky, we can, for example, see brightly shining Jupiter, and relatively shortly after sunset, we can try to spot Mercury: low above the horizon. Jupiter will help us locate where to look (look to the right down on Jupiter, close to the horizon).

Uranus is visible near Jupiter, but above it. To see the planet, you will need a telescope. We can look for Uranus near the line between Jupiter and a group of stars called the Pleiades.

Jupiter will also be useful as a landmark to help us search for comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. It is visible in the evening to the right of Jupiter. Every day it will get closer to him in the sky. Its observed brightness is currently estimated at around magnitude 5.3, so it is within the range of binoculars. It is expected to be at its brightest in early April. In the evening, the Orion constellation is still quite visible (look to the left of Jupiter). It consists of bright stars resembling a schematic silhouette of a human being. Specifically, in the center you can see three bright stars in a line close together, this is Orion’s Belt. Even further to the left we will see the brightest star in the night sky – Sirius. Around 10 p.m. both Orion and Sirius will be setting.

What can you see in the morning sky? In the eastern part of the sky you can see the so-called Summer Triangle. Its peaks are formed by the bright stars Vega, Deneb and Altair. The name refers to summer, because then it can be clearly seen in the evening and all night long. This spring, the only planets we can observe are Jupiter, Mercury and Uranus in the first part of this season. Only in the second half of spring, in the morning, Mars, Saturn and Neptune will become more and more visible. Venus will be magnificent only when summer comes.

On April 8, there will be a total solar eclipse visible in the United States and Mexico. On March 25, there will be a penumbral lunar eclipse, which will also not be visible in Poland.

Among the meteor showers, the Lyrids are active with a maximum on the night of April 22-23. We can see up to 18 meteors per hour. Another shower radiating in May is the Eta Aquarids with a maximum on May 6, potentially with up to 60 meteors per hour.

Spring full moons will occur on March 25, April 24, and May 23, and new moons will occur on April 8, May 8, and June 6.

April 12 is the anniversary of the first human flight into space (Yuri Gagarin in 1961), March 22 will be International Earth Day, and May 16 will be International Day of Light.

Soon, on the night from March 30 to 31, there will be a change from winter to summer time.

(cza/ zan/)