Venus will be at its “greatest eastern elongation”. This is a great time to view Venus since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the enormously bright thing in the western sky after sunset. Look at it with a telescope, and you’ll see that Venus appears to have *phases*, just like the moon!
If you live anywhere in North America, don’t you dare schedule anything else for this day (excepting weddings, reunions, and vacations.)
THIS IS IT. A total eclipse of the sun that runs smack through the middle of the USA. Plan a car trip, bus ride, or plane trip to the narrow strip of Earth stretching from Salem, OR through to Nashville, TN in which the sun will *completely disappear* for two minutes. (Not many large cities are in the path of the totality, so make your reservations early if you want to observe it from the comfort of civilization.)
If you’ve already got plans, the next total eclipse passing through the USA is on April 8, 2024…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_August_21,_2017
see http://cantonbecker.com/retrograde for details…
Our meetings on the second Sunday of the Month, The events are normally held evening at 7:00 pm in Research Hall Room 163 on the campus of George Mason University.
Our meetings web page, has directions and additional details.
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday evenings!
The Sun will beam down directly on the equator giving us just about equal amounts of day and night in most parts of the world. If you live south of the equator, this is your Spring Equinox.