The Philadelphia Experiment – What’s the Real Story?

 

What is earthshine?

New moon was yesterday. So you'll want to start looking for a very slim crescent moon - low in the sky after sunset - this evening. When you look at a crescent moon shortly after sunset or before sunrise, you can sometimes see more than the bright crescent. You can also see the rest of the moon as a dark disk. That pale glow on the unlit part of a crescent moon is light reflected from Earth. It's called earthshine. The weeks around the March equinox are an excellent time to look for earthshine - and very slim crescent moons - from the Northern Hemisphere. Read more about earthshine. Photo by Aqilla Othman at Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Thank you, Aqilla!

Submit your photo to EarthSky here!

March 3 Merging Galaxies, Meteor Guide, Moon Strike

View larger. | Andromeda galaxy actual size? Yes. This image truly depicts what the night sky would look like if the Andromeda galaxy - the galaxy next door - were brighter. Original background shot of the moon by Stephen Rahn. Andromeda galaxy image via NASA. Composite photo by Tom Buckley-Houston. This composite showed up on Reddit a few years ago. Not convinced? Here's a similar image via APOD. As the Andromeda-Milky Way merger continues, the Andromeda galaxy will appear bigger - and bigger - in our sky. Read about the Andromeda-Milky Way merger.

Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies are merging One of our most-viewed stories over the past week has been this one … about the Andromeda galaxy, the nearest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way. The galaxy isn't noticeable in our night sky, unless you look for it. But one day, in the far future, Andromeda will be bright in our sky, growing larger and larger ... as it gets closer and closer to us. And even though the 2 galaxies are still 2.5 million light-years apart, their eventual merger has already begun. Read about the Milky Way-Andromeda merger. EarthSky’s meteor shower guide for 2022 There's always a meteor drought during the first few months of every year. But meteor season is swiftly approaching. Find out all you need to know about the best meteor showers of 2022: what dates to watch, what time to watch, and how to maximize your chance of seeing something. Visit EarthSky's meteor guide for 2022. Is a rocket going to strike the moon tomorrow? In January, experts said part of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was due to crash into the moon on March 4. Then, they said, it wasn't a SpaceX rocket but instead a Chinese rocket. But the Chinese denied it was theirs. So is any human spacecraft going to strike the moon tomorrow? The answer still appears to be yes. An earthly object is headed for a collision course with the moon tomorrow. But we still don't know, and might never know, exactly where and how it originated. Read more about the moon strike.

How to Use EarthSky’s Lunar Calendar  EarthSky’s lunar calendar is a unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar that provides the phases of the moon for every day of the year. It also notes each month’s new and full moons and shows the moon waxing from new to full and waning from full to new. Click here to read some helpful tips on using our lunar calendar. Don’t have one yet? Order yours today!

Use Big Dipper to find the Hunting Dogs Tonight, or any March evening, look for the Big Dipper in the northeastern sky. This asterism, or star pattern, is one of the most noticeable from the Northern Hemisphere. It's part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. And, if you can find the Big Dipper, you can also find 2 Hunting Dogs seen by the ancient stargazers to be nipping at the Bear's heels. The Hunting Dogs are a separate constellation. Meet tiny Canes Venatici.