THE SKY THIS MONTH: ORION, LEO AND THE EQUINOX

Editors note: "The Sky This Month" column will be printed on the first Sunday of each month.

Greetings and welcome to the inaugural addition of The Sky This Month. This column will try to keep you informed about celestial activities, which are visible in the night sky and furnish other facts that may be of interest to you.

Accompanying this column is a star chart showing the brighter stars and constellations that are visible this month. The chart is designed to be held over head with the horizon markers rotated around as needed. When facing a particular direction the corresponding horizon marker should be at the bottom. The chart is accurate at 10:00 p.m. near the beginning of the month and around 8:00 p.m. near the end of the month.

Future column features will include reviews of good web sites and free astronomical software you can download yourself. If you want to be involved with others who share your interest in astronomy check out the Southeast Stargazers astronomy club which meets the third Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. in room 121 Rhodes Hall at Southeast Missouri State University and is open to the public.

Two of the most prominent constellations this month are Orion the great hunter and Leo the lion.

Orion can be seen high in the Southwest and consists of four bright stars making up the shoulders and knees of the warrior with three bright stars lined up to make his belt.

The constellation contains two noteworthy visible eye objects. The bright star, Betelgeuse, in the upper left corner is red in appearance implying that the star is much cooler than the other blue-white stars in the neighborhood. The other object can be found below the three stars that make up the belt and can be seen as a fuzzy patch in good dark nights. This fuzzy patch is actually a very large star formation region where new stars are being born. Through a small telescope or binoculars you can see four hot stars, which were newly created, forming a trapezium.

Leo, the lion, is high in the eastern sky and can be identified by the sickle shaped formation of stars which represents the head and forequarters of the lion.

One of the brightest stars in the sky, Sirius, trailing Orion is lower in the South and is part of the constellation Canius Major which was the hunting dog that accompanied Orion. Another object of interest is viewed early in the morning before sunrise. The planet Venus is currently the brightest object in the sky and is a morning star for this month.

On the night of March 12-13 the moon will undergo a faint partial eclipse which shouldn't be very spectacular. The month of March also contains a day were everyone one the planet can have equal shares of daylight and night.

The "equinox" occurs on March 20 and is the time of the year when the sun appears to be directly above the equator and everyone receives 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. In the beginning of the month the Earth is 92,119,205 miles from the Sun but by the end of the month the Earth increased that distance to 92,862,851 miles.

Contrary to popular belief, the Earth is actually farther away from the Sun in the summer and nearer the Sun in the winter. It makes little difference though, as the distance from the Sun has no noticeable effect on the Earth's climate or seasons.

If you have other questions or comments, please send inquires to the Southeast Missourian or email me at cobb(@physics.semo.edu.)

Dr. Michael Cobb is chairman of the physics department at Southeast Missouri State University.