Spring Will Light Up the Night Sky with Dazzling 1st-Magnitude Stars

[Judi Lynn]

By Joe Rao, Space.com Skywatching Columnist | March 20, 2018 11:21am ET

With the arrival of spring, we can step out during the late evening hours (around 11 p.m. local daylight time) and count up to 11 "first magnitude" stars – the brightest in the sky. At no other time of the year can we see this many bright stars at one time. But while this initially might sound impressive, the truth is that seven of these bright twinklers belong not to stars associated with spring, but with the departing stars of winter. Indeed, Orion the Hunter and its bright retinue are slowly departing the scene, dropping progressively lower each evening in the western sky.

Two of the remaining four bright stars actually adorn the warm nights of summer: Vega in the constellation of Lyra, the Lyre that is low in the northeast, and Deneb, marking the tail feathers of Cygnus, the Swan, just coming up above the northeast horizon. [Vernal Equinox 2018! See the 1st Day of Spring from Space]

The final two stars are the lone bright stars of the spring season: Spica in the constellation of Virgo the Virgin, is over toward the southeast part of the sky, and Regulus, which marks the heart of Leo the Lion. The rest of the firmament contains stars that are generally medium to dim in overall brightness. There are, of course, a few conspicuous star patterns, such as the famous Big Dipper that appears upside-down high in the north, and the backward question-mark grouping of stars that outlines the head and mane of Leo, popularly known as the Sickle. 

When I give sky shows at New York's Hayden Planetarium, I often tell my audiences that they can always find Leo by first locating the Big Dipper and then imagining that the bowl is filled with water. "Now pretend," I would tell my audience, "that you've drilled a hole in the bottom of the Dipper and you allow all that water to spurt out through that hole. Who would get wet?

More:
https://www.space.com/40031-spring-will-light-up-the-night-sky-with-dazzling-1st-magnitude-stars.html

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Three days ago I walked outside just after sunset,

and to the west I saw the crescent moon lined up with Venus.

So I walked across the street to make sure my neighbor saw it. We walked into her back yard, and she then said, what's that faint star I see above Venus to the right? Turned out it was Mercury, which is very hard to see. What a delightful treat.

[pscot]

2. Cygna is my favorite summer constellation

We've had clear skies and excellent seeing here on Puget Sound the last week or so.