In July of 2020, three spacecraft were launched toward Mars. Today, the first of these, named „Hope”, arrives. This is the first deep space explorer launched by the United Arab Emirates. It is tasked with a study of Martian weather.
Tomorrow, on the Wednesday the 10th, China’s Tianwen-1 arrives on the red planet. Their robotic orbiter will circle around Mars making preparations to (hopefully) land a rover on Mars in May.
Finally, on Thursday the 18th, NASA’s latest Martian robot will attempt to land on the surface carrying „Ingenuity”, an experimental helicopter tailored for the Martian atmosphere.
On and around this date, look to the southeast horizon just before sunrise. Our two brightest planets will be visible within a couple degrees of each other in the morning sky.
This is of particular interest to astrologically minded folks. See URL for more info…
In the northern hemisphere this could be the Snow Moon because the heaviest snows usually fell during this time of the year. Since hunting is difficult, this moon has also been known by some native american tribes as the Hunger Moon.
In the southern hemisphere, this is The Full Red Moon. As the Moon rises in February, it often appears reddish through the scorching haze of summer heat…
This is the date when night and day are most nearly the same length. If you live in the northern hemisphere, happy first day of spring! In the southern hemisphere, the vernal equinox corresponds to the first day of fall.