Beehive Cluster flies the night

Plus: Grab your eggs -- the equinox is coming

Set aside some star-gazing time. This March there's a lot to see in the nighttime sky -- you won't even need a telescope. Leo the Lion will climb higher in the east each day this month while the princess Andromeda will slowly sink in the northwest.

Walk outside tonight around 9 pm and take a look. The constellation Leo will be high in the sky. The head of Leo appears as a backwards question mark with a small triangle of stars behind the question mark-- those make up his back and tail. If you look carefully directly above you, there is a faint constellation that looks like the letter “Y”. This is cancer the crab, and just to the west of the split in the “Y” there is a faint cluster of stars called the Beehive Cluster. Because the cluster is so faint, if there are a lot of lights in your area, you will probably not be able to see the cluster.

As your journey through the stars continues, the next constellation in line is Gemini. Gemini looks like a large rectangle in the sky. Two bright stars, Castor and Pollux, mark the heads of the brothers. Slightly south of them is the planet Saturn. Saturn appears slightly brighter than Castor or Pollux.

Orion the hunter and Taurus the Bull both move lower in the western sky this month. Orion is an easy constellation to pick out -- just look for the three stars of his belt. Two stars above the belt form his shoulders and two stars below the belt form his knees. Follow the belt westward and you will see a V-shaped group of stars. These make up the head of Taurus. The two stars above the head mark the tips of the very long horns on this bull.

In the northwest sky near the horizon, princess Andromeda is ready to set. The princess appears as a very skinny “V” that is slightly bent.

Besides Saturn, three other planets will be visible in the sky at night this month: Mercury, Jupiter and Mars. Mercury is currently getting higher in the sky. By the 12th, it will reach its maximum height, then quickly become lost in the Sun’s glow by the month's end. The mighty planet Jupiter is visible just after evening twilight, low in the eastern sky. And if you wake up before sunrise, you'll find Mars high in the eastern sky.

As a side note, the vernal equinox occurs on the 20th this month. Many of you may think this means it's time to balance an egg on its top. Go ahead and try. However, remember that this also works on the other 364 days during the year. This trick has nothing to do with Earth’s position in relation to the Sun -- but it does look neat.

If you live in the south, stay tuned for an interesting event occurring in April.

Happy star-hunting.