Today:
Today marks the second anniversary of the stunning, Total Solar Eclipse that swept across the US and southeast Canada, right over northern VT and NH, last year in 2024. The weather cooperated surprisingly well, considering clouds dominate the skies on 4 out of 5 days in early April. The next total eclipse, favoring southern VT, takes place in May of 2079.
Thursday:
The northwestern skies in the evenings are home to Capella, the Goat Star. In mythology this is the nurse goat for the great Jupiter, and was rewarded with a place in the heavens. It is half way up from the horizon in the west-northwest at 9:00 PM, well below and to the right of the Twin Stars in Gemini.
Friday:
Rising in the east-southeast as twilight yields to darkness between 8:15 and 8:30, a steely-blue star rises in the east-southeast, the brightest star in Virgo, the Virgin, Spica. One way to find it is to follow the “arc” of the Big Dipper’s handle, high in the northeast, down and right to the bright, pale orange star “Arc”-turus. Then continue to the lower right, and “spike” to Spica.