Lighting Advice for Borrego Springs
You can help protect Borrego's night sky from the increasing problem of light pollution.
Making small improvements to lighting can lead to huge improvements in the quality of our dark night sky.
courtesy Yorkshire Dales UK National Park Authority
Sky Calendar: February — March 2025
By Dr. Randolph Baron
| Jan 31, Fri | Conjunction of Saturn and Moon, with Saturn west of Moon and Venus just north of Moon |
| Early February | Sunrise 6:41 a.m., Sunset 5:17 p.m. The days are noticeably longer. |
| Feb 12, Wed | Full Moon rise 5:49 p.m. |
| Feb 16, Sun | Venus at its greatest brightness in the evening sky after sunset |
| Early March | Sunrise 6:13 a.m., Sunset 5:42 p.m. PST |
| March 1, Sat | Conjunction of one day old Moon and Venus visible around 5:57 p.m. Use binoculars! |
| March 6, Thurs | Conjunction of first quarter Moon and Jupiter visible around 6:00 p.m. |
| March 8, Sat | Conjunction of Moon and Mars visible around 6:12 p.m., 65 degrees above eastern horizon |
| March 9, Sun | Daylight Savings Time begins 2:00 a.m. PST, move your clocks ahead |
| March 13, Thurs | Full Moon rise 6:36 PDT p.m. Plus, total lunar eclipse. (See below) |
| March 20, Thurs | Vernal Equinox begins at 2:01 a.m. Spring begins for northern hemisphere. |
| March 29, Sat | Partial Solar Eclipse, visible only in extreme northeast US and Canada |
| March 31, Mon | Sunrise 6:34 p.m., Sunset 7:05 p.m. |
THE PLANETS IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH
Venus is a brilliant evening planet, but by mid-March it will be too close to the sun to observe.
Saturn is low in the western sky after sunset, and by late February is no longer visible as its orbit takes it behind the sun.
Mars is visible as an evening planet in both months as the bright reddish-orange star in Gemini.
Jupiter is a bright evening planet in February and March high in the western sky, getting lower in the west as March progresses, but still very visible.
TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
A total lunar eclipse will occur on Thursday, March 13. The Earth will enter the lighter part
of the Moon’s shadow at 8:57 p.m. The partial eclipse will begin at 10:09 p.m. Totality begins
at 11:26 p.m.; the maximum eclipse is at 11:58 p.m. Totality ends at 12:31 a.m., and the
eclipse ends at 3:00 a.m.
Is Your Home Dark Sky Friendly?
You can reduce light pollution by ensuring that your exterior lighting is neighbor, and dark sky friendly.
Most people will find that a few simple changes can lead to home lighting that is both beautiful and functional,
without contributing to excessive light pollution. The International Dark Sky Association has a Dark Sky
Friendly Home Certification for just that purpose!
Learn more
