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By Mike Vergara, (951) 461-2889 March is coming in like a lion! Did you know that this phrase has an astronomical reference? Look at the star chart for March and find the constellation "Leo." Leo is represented as a lion, and in Greek mythology represents the Nemean lion that was slain by Hercules as one of his famous twelve labors. Other ancient cultures also recognized this group of stars as representing a lion, and some references have been dated as far back as 6,000 years. In early March just after sunset, Leo is just starting to rise, giving us the notion that March is rising with the lion. High overhead at about the same time is an asterism known as the Winter Triangle. The Winter Triangle is composed of stars from three different constellations: Betelgeuse (Orion - the Hunter), Sirius (Canis Major - the Big Dog), and Procyon (Canis Minor - the Little Dog). These three stars are among the brightest stars that can be seen in the sky. In fact, Sirius is the brightest star in the sky aside from our own sun. Unlike its cousin the Summer Triangle, the Winter Triangle does not have a long history. It has mainly been used by stargazers as a place to start when looking for other objects in the nearby sky. This technique is known as "starhopping", where an observer starts with one star, and "hops" to another (and another, etc). March also heralds the coming of spring. The first day of spring is March 20, which is also the date of the Vernal Equinox. For the next three months the days will get longer and longer, with more daylight than darkness until next fall. On the day of the equinox, the sun will rise and set exactly due east and west, respectively. The full moon for March is known as the Full Worm Moon, which refers to the fact that earthworms, grubs and other larvae tend to emerge from their winter dormancy around this time of year, and these were signs to Native Americans that spring had arrived. It is also known as the Full Sap Moon because it is around this time that the sap in the sugar maple trees begins to flow. Mmmm... Maple Syrup! Visit http://skymaps.com/index.html to print your own map of the sky for the month. For information about satellites, go to https://heavens-above.com. Clear skies! COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD 20 | THE COLONY NEWS | MARCH 2021 | march Sky march Sky