Spaceweather.com

Oopsies, I was supposed to post this two nights ago.

Alas, I got caught up listening to old records with an old friend and forgot to do it.

Anyway, not much has changed, Mars hasn't moved much.

Go out and look.

From spaceweather.com

Mars is at its closest to Earth for 2012. The Red Planet is only 101 million km away and shines about six times brighter than a 1st magnitude star. Look for it in the eastern sky at sunset. The burnt-orange color of Mars is very distinctive, especially when seen from rural areas with clear skies.

Photo by Luis Argerich, taken March 3, 2012 in Veronica, Bueonos Aires, Argentina

On the night of March the 3rd Mars reached opposition. At even this unfavorable opposition Mars was really bright and high in the sky shining with a crimson red hue. I took this image at the town of Veronica, Argentina. A star filter was used, straight from the camera without processing.

In the interest of full disclosure; despite our profound interest in "The Sky", the Sun, Moon, the planets, stars, astronomy, astrology and the like, you can take the entirety of our acquired knowledge regarding these items, put it in a thimble and still have room for an average sized thumb.

Having said that, lots of times when we don't feel like doing what we're supposed to be doing ... at least according to that insufferable nag Terry D. ... we go hang out at Spaceweather.com.

We like the pretty pictures.

Anyway, and evidently, Sunspot activity is picking up again quite nicely, which of course results in the following as described at Spaceweather.com.

AURORA WATCH: A slow-moving coronal mass ejection (CME) launched from the sun on March 3rd should reach Earth later today, possibly sparking polar geomagnetic storms. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

SUNSET SKY SHOW: When the sun sets tonight, go outside and look west. Jupiter and the 5% crescent Moon will be side-by-side, shining together through the twilight. It's an exquisite conjunction. [sky map]

All the photo's below link up to the page where we found them, there are tons more ... enjoy.

On March 5th, Peter Rosén caught the Moon, pre-conjunction, smiling over the tree tops of Stockholm, Sweden: 

"The Moon was only 20h40m past 'new' when I took the picture," says Rosén. "It should look even better on Sunday night when it glides past Jupiter."

 When they tell you to be on the lookout for auroras in the northern latitudes, they're talking about this.

Finally, the little Wiffer was standing here while I was going through this post and announced that experiencing the "Northern Lights" was at or near the top of her bucket list.

About 30 seconds of research later, I found these guys.

Click the photo.

At least this time it'll be her fault we're freezing our asses off on vacation.