Here’s a brief look at what’s going on in the Mile High City this week.
March 16:
- The Moon reaches perihelion: The moon’s closest point to the Sun in its orbit around earth at a distance of 0.9810 AU:. 2:07 AM
March 17 (St Patrick’s Day):
- Look for a tiny sliver of a waning crescent Snow Moon next to Mercury to the east in the morning sky in the constellation Aquarius just before sunrise: 6:40 AM
March 18:
- Boulder OSMP Dark Skies & Deep Space: Spring Prelude, Venus & The Crescent Moon: Free in-person stargazing at Beech Shelter (registration required): 7:00 PM
- SCStI The Solar System Cookbook: What Is Webb Revealing about How Solar Systems Like Ours Come To Be?: Free virtual program via Youtube: 5:00 PM
- DAS Astrophotography Special Interest Group (ASIG) – Advanced Image Processing: Free Members-only online meeting via Zoom (details in membership email and Slack): 7:00 PM
- New Pink Moon: 7:23 PM
March 19:
- Standley Lake Stargazing Weekly Livestream: Free Online program via Zoom: 6:00PM
- The Universe in A Grain of Sand with Mark Levinson: Ticketed in-person program at DMNS: 7:00 PM
March 20:
- Look for the waxing crescent Pink Moon above Venus just after sunset in the western sky in the constellation Pisces: 7:50 PM
- March Equinox: the point in earth’s orbit around the sun that marks the first day of spring in Denver: 8:48 AM
March 21:
- DAS Open House: Uranus! Jupiter! Free stargazing event at Chamberlin Observatory: 7:00 PM
- Astronomy on Tap – Boulder: Free in-person event at Rosetta Hall: 8:00 PM
- Mercury reaches Superior Conjunction, when it passes on the far side of the Sun from Earth, placing the planet nearly in line with the Sun and making it hidden in the Sun’s glare: 9:00 AM
- The waxing crescent Pink Moon reaches Ascending Node as it crosses the ecliptic—the Sun’s apparent path across the sky—moving from south of that line to north of it: 5:03 PM
- Asteroid 20 Massalia reaches opposition, the point when the Earth is between the asteroid and the sun making it appear brighter: 10:46 AM
March 22:
- The waxing crescent Pink Moon reaches perigee, it’s closest distance to Earth at 366,857km: 4:43 AM
- Neptune is at conjunction with the Sun, as it passes behind our star and into the morning sky: 4:00 AM
- Venus reaches Aphelion, its farthest point from the Sun in its orbit: 1:00 PM
This Week’s Meteoric Activity:
You can keep track of the activity of meteor showers as well as those beyond the limits of visual observing by visiting the NASA Meteor Shower Portal.
- Anthelion (ANT): 1:00 AM in eastern Leo: About 2 per hour
- ξ Herculids (XHE): Last hour before dawn in northwestern Hercules: Less than 1 per hour
Check Out These Helpful Guides from DAS:
- Where to Explore the 2026 Denver Night Skies
- When to Explore the 2026 Denver Night Skies
- What to Explore in the 2026 Denver Night Skies
Sky Map
- A pdf map of the night sky can be found at https://www.skymaps.com/skymaps
