Over the past couple weeks, haze and inclement weather have often obscured our ability to see the conjunction of Venus and Mars in the morning sky. Astro Bob (Bob King) was able to get a good photograph of the two planets this past weekend, though, on a trip to Black Mesa, Oklahoma. Black Mesa is located on the very western edge of that state, literally a few hundred feet from the New Mexico border, and he noticed his phone kept alternating between the Western and Central time zones.
Astro Bob and Chris Harwood talk about time zones, and also daylight saving time, how its use was first discussed and implemented over a century ago, and the effects that changing our clocks have on our daily activities. For instance, we can still observe Venus and Mars in the days to come but the best time to see them will change this weekend when we set our clocks ahead one hour. Prior to Sunday, the best time to see them will be between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. From Sunday forward, though, that will move one hour later – between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m.
(Later in the month, Venus and Mars will be in close conjunction with the Moon and Saturn, too. Listen to Astro Bob's Backyard Astronomy on The North 1033 at 8:20 a.m. on Tuesday, March 22 for more about that!)
