A three-planet conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn continues in the early morning southeastern sky; Mars passes very close to Saturn on March 31st, and by the start of next week will be well beyond Saturn. Venus is high in the western sky well after sunset; each evening, Venus will move a bit upwards towards the Pleiades star cluster, until it appears to be part of the cluster itself on the evening of April 6th!   The Moon is a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening. The first-quarter Moon occurs on April 1st, it will be visible high in the southern sky in early evening. After April 1st the Moon will be a waxing gibbous, visible to the southeast in early evening, and up for most of the night. Apollo 8 and 13 – Jim Lovell at 92 Happy Birthday Captain James Lovell 92 today! A former NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Naval captain who made historic … Continue reading →