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CALM SUN: After a week of dead-quiet, solar activity is slowly increasing with the emergence of several new sunspots. Even so, strong solar flares are not likely this weekend.
SUNSET MERCURY: If you would like to see the planet Mercury, this weekend is the best time of the year to do it. Go outside at sunset and face west. Mercury is that bright "star" shining through the rosy glow near the horizon.
Right: Mercury, photographed on March 9th by Vasilis Wooseas of Greece.
Pay special attention on Friday, March 11th, when Mercury appears beautifully close to the crescent moon: sky map.
DOG STAR: Got Mercury? Now turn around and face east. There's an even brighter star there: Sirius. It pops out of the twilight sky long before blue fades to black. Sirius is the nose of Orion's dog, Canis Major.
Canis Major by Robert Frost
The great Overdog
That Heavenly beast
With a star in one eye
Gives a leap in the east.
He dances upright
All the way to the west
And never once drops
On his forefeet to rest.
I'm a poor underdog,
But tonight I will bark
With the great Overdog
That romps through the dark!
Prof. Jimmy Westlake, a fan of Robert Frost, took this stunning picture of Sirius rising over the mountains around Trout Lake, Colorado:
"What a thrill to see the Great Overdog poke his nose over the horizon!" says Westlake. "When Sirius suddenly appears, it's as if a miniature sun has risen, casting faint, flickering shadows over the snow. I captured the Great Overdog giving his 'leap in the east' on Saturday evening January 15, 2005."
"This photo is a 20 minute tripod-mounted exposure," he explains. "After 20 minutes, I placed my gloved hand over the lens, waited for 1 minute, and then exposed for another 25 seconds to punctuate each star trail with a bright star dot."