With spring officially on the way, there will be plenty of reasons to get outside, even after the sun goes down.

Throughout the next few months there will be several opportunities to for celestial sightings, providing Mother Nature plays nice and we don't have cloud cover...

According to meteorologists, some dates and events of interest include:

  • March 20 — Equinox
  • March 20 — Mercury, Jupiter & Saturn, eastern horizon pre-dawn
  • March 28-29 — Worm Moon
  • March 30 — Zodiacal Light after evening twilight, western sky for two weeks
  • April 21-23 — Lyrid meteor shower peak
  • April 26-27 — Super Pink Moon
  • May 5-6 — eta Aquariid meteor shower peak
  • May 15 — Mars & Moon conjunction, western horizon after sunset
  • May 26 — Super Blood Flower Moon total lunar eclipse
  • May 28 — Mercury & Venus conjunction, western horizon after sunset
  • June 10 — Annular Solar Eclipse across the Arctic
  • June 12 — Venus, Moon & Mars, western horizon after sunset
  • June 21 — Solstice

March 20th will kick off the night sky watching with Mercury, Mars and Venus, which should be visible to the naked eye on the eastern horizon before dawn.

Following that, watch out for the zodiacal light in the western sky starting at the end of March and lasting through until mid-April. Zodiacal light is also called 'false dawn' and is a white glow that can be seen in the night sky and is actually sunlight that is scattered by interplanetary dust.

After the super pink moon and a meteor shower mid-May, we are in for a total lunar eclipse on May 26th. You will have approximately five hours to view the eclipse on May 26th, pre dawn - some though won't be able to see it at all. Meteorologists state that it will be best viewed in Western Canada, with BC getting the best view, however, us here in Saskatchewan should still get a pretty good sighting of it as well.

And if you missed seeing some planets in the night sky earlier in the spring, there will be more opportunities towards the end of May and into June where Mercury,  Venus and Mars make themselves visible once again.