March SkyGazing and TheSpacewriter Rambles

March has finally arrived, and with it — for those of us in the northern hemisphere — the promise of spring stargazing. Not that the winter nights have been bad — just a wee bit cold sometimes. But, with March, we get to see the last of the winter/summer constellations (depending on where you live), and a sneak preview of some spring/autumn sky sights.  For example, Orion is making its slow westward trek, and in another month or so will be gone from our view for a few months.   On the other hand, Leo the Lion and Cancer the Crab are beckoning, as well as the sight of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds for southern skygazers.  The weather’s getting more

temperate (I won’t say “warm” yet, since there are still snow showers coming for some of us, while the southern folk are still enjoying the last bits of summer).  But, we know change is coming! Here’s a sky chart for you to use to do a little stargazing this month!

Over at Astrocast.TV, I’ve been putting up a monthly program called “Our Night Sky” for the past few months, with some quickie pointers of sky highlights for the month for both northern and southern hemisphere skygazers. These are short “vodcasts” — only three or four minutes long, so I can’t get into the WHOLE sky. It’s more like a “taste” of the sky with some nice images, star charts, and lovely music for you to enjoy. Check out the March edition here:

I also do a short subject over there called “The Astronomer’s Universe.” This month we’re reprising a segment I did earlier about the bright object Eta Carinae in the southern hemisphere skies.  If I lived south of the equator, I think this would be among my favorite sights to check out.

In other news, this humble blog has been picked up as a sometimes contributor to the Christian Science Monitor Cool Astronomy online section and most recently has become a “featured blog” on the new Spacetimes News from the Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group. These are two of the many online “places” that feature some of my work from time to time. I’m amazed and pleased to be included among other well-known writers from such places as Universe Today.  I  welcome all the readers who come my way for a little “ramble through the cosmos.” It’s an amazing universe we ramble through and I’m happy to share the science and my thoughts about it!