Tonight - Mar. 28: What is that bright 'star' by the Moon?

Good day.

On Wed. night, 28-29 Mar. the Moon and Saturn will again come in close proximity as they did on 01 Mar. In NA they will be separated by less than 1° and in the northeast they will be separated by less than 0.5°. This is *very* close. There will be an actual occultation of Saturn at this time but only visible in the far North-Atlantic.

If you happen to be outside Wednesday night/Thursday morning, 28/29 March, and see the Moon with a bright planet very close-by this is what you are seeing. Those who are interested can see the two throughout the night with the closest separation approximately at the local times listed below:

Closest -
EDT (UT - 4)
Boston: ~1:55 AM Thursday, 29 Mar.
NYC: ~2:00 AM Thursday, 29 Mar.
Miami: ~2:20 AM Thursday, 29 Mar.

CDT (UT - 5)
Chicago: ~12:45 AM Thursday, 29 Mar.
Houston: ~01:10 AM Thursday, 29 Mar.

MDT (UT - 6)
Edmonton: ~11:00 PM Wednesday, 28 Mar.
Denver: ~11:30 PM Wednesday, 28 Mar.

PDT (UT - 7)
LA: ~10:30 PM Wednesday, 28 Mar.
Seattle: ~09:50 PM Wednesday, 28 Mar.

And especially for Nancy and her Moon Moving Mental Munchkins:
North Freedom, Wi.: ~12:42 AM Thursday, 29 Mar., 2007. Moon-Saturn separation ~0.5°
Moon Azim. @ 245° (that's WSW since we know the Zetas aren't capable of measuring things in degrees, almost as if they were a crazed little old lady.)
Moon Elev. @ 47° (nicely high for good Zeta-viewing)

I'm sure the rest of you lowly humans can find the Moon on your own.

Clear skies and have fun.


R.