The New Moon Arrives on Wednesday, March 18. With the moon missing from our view, this is a perfect night for galaxy-gazing. There are seasons which are better for viewing galaxies outside of our solar system. During the summer months, the earth's sky faces our own Milky Way galaxy. In the winter, we're looking the opposite way, away from the galaxy's center and into the spiral arms of the Milky Way. But during the spring and fall, we are facing into deep space and towards lesser known galaxies like the Pinwheel Galaxy, located in the constellation Ursa Major (The Big Dipper), or the Whirlpool Galaxy, also near Ursa Major in the constellation Canes Venatici. To see these distant galaxies you'll need a telescope of at least six inches in length — and the darker the sky the better your chances. Head for the hills or desert to get away from city light pollution.

Ice Plant is Responsible For Many of the Carpet-like Splashes of yellow, pink, red, and purple we’re beginning to see around San Diego. Popular as a ground cover for concealing and stabilizing road cuts or any other easily eroded slope, ice plant covers the shoreline bluffs at La Jolla, road embankments in Rancho Santa Fe and Balboa Park, and front and back yards from Point Loma to El Cajon.

The Vernal Equinox on Friday, March 20 heralds the beginning of the spring season for Earth’s northern hemisphere. At the instant of vernal equinox, the sun lies in the plane of Earth’s equator. As a result, days and nights are of equal length (12 hours each) everywhere on our planet. Another consequence is that the sun rises due east along the horizon and sets due west. During the next three months, as the sun will shine more and more directly on our hemisphere, daylight hours will lengthen, and the rising and setting positions of the sun will gradually shift toward the northeast and northwest, respectively.
The New Moon Arrives on Wednesday, March 18. With the moon missing from our view, this is a perfect night for galaxy-gazing. There are seasons which are better for viewing galaxies outside of our solar system. During the summer months, the earth's sky faces our own Milky Way galaxy. In the winter, we're looking the opposite way, away from the galaxy's center and into the spiral arms of the Milky Way. But during the spring and fall, we are facing into deep space and towards lesser known galaxies like the Pinwheel Galaxy, located in the constellation Ursa Major (The Big Dipper), or the Whirlpool Galaxy, also near Ursa Major in the constellation Canes Venatici. To see these distant galaxies you'll need a telescope of at least six inches in length — and the darker the sky the better your chances. Head for the hills or desert to get away from city light pollution.

Ice Plant is Responsible For Many of the Carpet-like Splashes of yellow, pink, red, and purple we’re beginning to see around San Diego. Popular as a ground cover for concealing and stabilizing road cuts or any other easily eroded slope, ice plant covers the shoreline bluffs at La Jolla, road embankments in Rancho Santa Fe and Balboa Park, and front and back yards from Point Loma to El Cajon.

The Vernal Equinox on Friday, March 20 heralds the beginning of the spring season for Earth’s northern hemisphere. At the instant of vernal equinox, the sun lies in the plane of Earth’s equator. As a result, days and nights are of equal length (12 hours each) everywhere on our planet. Another consequence is that the sun rises due east along the horizon and sets due west. During the next three months, as the sun will shine more and more directly on our hemisphere, daylight hours will lengthen, and the rising and setting positions of the sun will gradually shift toward the northeast and northwest, respectively.
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