This year, on March 9th, there will be a Total Solar Eclipse, visible over Indonesia and the Pacific Ocean. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon completely blocks the Sun, revealing the its beautiful outer atmosphere known as the corona. An eclipse thereby totally or partly obscures the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. The view you see here will be the view of the sky visible in parts of central Indonesia and the Pacific Ocean.
March 8 will bring us what is called “Jupiter at Opposition.” This means the giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. Jupiter will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. It will be seen on the eastern horizon after sunset under the constellation Leo, the lion.
Hello everyone: people of Baton Rouge and around the world. This is just an update for what is going to happen periodically through 2016 on this blog. Here at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum and the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium, we will be producing a series of astronomical updates that will be appearing both on our big planetarium dome and on this blog. Most of the significant astronomical events will be discussed here in detail and accompanied by an original video production.
These videos will, for the most part, display what you will see in your Baton Rouge sky and where you can find what is being discussed.
Sometimes there will be astronomical events outside the US. We’ll cover those, too. For example, the total solar eclipse coming up on March 9th will be discussed this coming Monday. Look forward to a video detailing what the eclipse will look like from Indonesia and what it will look like from space.
So, for all upcoming blogs labeled “The Sky Tonight Update” you can find not only information on what is coming up in your sky, but a video production of that very event as well.
Come back soon, we’ll be having many of these updates–as well as other blogs about interesting astronomical events–throughout the coming year.
~ Jay Lamm, Planetarium Producer
Louisiana Art & Science Museum
Irene W. Pennington Planetarium 