The space station is visible in the night sky this month. Would you like to see it? Sign up for Spaceweather PHONE.
SOLAR WIND: Earth is inside a high-speed solar wind stream that could spark a geomagnetic storm. Sky watchers in Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia should be alert for auroras tonight.
LUNAR ECLIPSE: When the full moon rises on Monday evening, March 14th, you might notice something odd--a pale shadow darkening the moon's southern hemisphere. That is the shadow of Earth, and if you can see it, you've spotted a penumbral lunar eclipse.
Above: A penumbral lunar eclipse, photographed April 24, 2005, by Matt Wastell of Brisbane, Australia.
Penumbral lunar eclipses are not as dramatic as total lunar eclipses. During a total eclipse, the moon penetrates the dark-red core of Earth's shadow; during a penumbral eclipse, the moon is merely in the outskirts. Even so, penumbral eclipses are fun to observe. Galleries: penumbral, total.
Maximum eclipse on March 14th occurs between 6:18 p.m. and 8:18 p.m. EST. Observers in Europe, Africa and eastern parts of North America are favored; the eclipse will not be visible from California and other western US states: details.
BLUE SUN: For the second time this year, a blue sun has appeared over Egypt. "A powerful khamaseen dust storm swept through Alexandria on March 7th," reports astronomer Aymen Ibrahem of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. "The sun shining through the dust turned blue."
The Egyptian sun on March 7th. Photo credit: Aymen Ibrahem.
Blue suns occur when the air fills with particles just a little larger than the wavelength of light. This makes the air behave like a filter, scattering red while allowing blue to pass. For maximum blue, the particles should all be very close to the same size--about a millionth of a meter across. Khamaseen storms are notorious for such fine dust. The spring dusty season is just beginning in Egypt. Sky watchers there should be alert for more blue suns--and blue moons, too.