*On Thursday night, March 25, many people may look up at the sky and ask the question, *
*"What's that bright star next to the moon?"* *The answer for Thursday night is Mars, but that answer changes night by night as the moon * *travels along the ecliptic<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/lastchancetogetagoodlookatmarsuntil2012/35584776/SIG=11u2bf5dn/*http://www.space.com/spacewatch/gaherty-ecliptic-100224.html>, the path the sun, moon and planets follow across the sky. If you ask * *the question again on Monday night, March 29, the answer will be the ringed planet Saturn.* *Such conjunctions of the moon and planets are regular reminders of how rapidly the moon * *moves across the sky.* *Mars was in opposition to the Sun on Jan. 29, when it appeared 14 arcseconds in diameter, * *1/120 of the diameter of the moon. Two months later, it is much farther away, and has shrunk * *to only 10 arcseconds in diameter. * *This will be your last chance to get a good look at Mars<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/lastchancetogetagoodlookatmarsuntil2012/35584776/SIG=11q87tivh/*http://www.space.com/spacewatch/gaherty-mars-100324.html>until it approaches the Earth again in * *2012 [see more Mars photos<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/lastchancetogetagoodlookatmarsuntil2012/35584776/SIG=12i0n9pia/*http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=1769&gid=147> ].* *The sky these spring evenings presents a striking contrast between its western half, filled with the * *bright stars and constellations of winter, and its eastern half, with Regulus the only bright star. * *Mars sits in solitary splendor in Cancer, one of the most insignificant zodiac constellations, just * *above the plane of the Milky Way.* *But there is much lurking beyond the dim stars of spring, for we are entering the realm of the * *galaxies. The constellation Leo alone contains five of the brightest galaxies in Charles Messier's* * famous 18th century catalog of deep sky objects<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/lastchancetogetagoodlookatmarsuntil2012/35584776/SIG=12grdqdeh/*http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=362&gid=27>. * *When we look towards Leo, we are looking above the plane of our Milky Way galaxy at the depths * *of intergalactic space, unhindered by the clouds of dust and gas which fill our galaxy.* * * * * *-- ~~~Whatever mountains stands in your path, Whatever obstacle blocks your way, Whatever difficulty immobilized you, The prayer full of faith can remove it~~~. ~~~Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.~~~ * ~~~fairlady.sha...@gmail.com~~~ ~~~fairlady.sha...@yahoo.com~~~ *fairlady.sha...@gmail.com*
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