Now, how will March go out?

OK, what is it going to be? Will March come in like a lion or a lamb? Better yet, how will it leave?

Weather folklore has it that if March comes in Like a lion, bad or cold, it will exit in just the opposite manner, warm and sunny.

Well, really, the whole thing is not so much about weather as it is about astronomy.

As we have discussed before, Leo, the Lion is the champion constellation of the spring season just as Orion is the champion of winter.

During the first few days of March go outside about an hour after sunset and look east, you will see the noble beast just above the horizon.

You can't miss Leo. The backwards question mark indicating the head and mane and a triangle of stars to the lower left for his hindquarters. It looks kind of like he is jumping up over the horizon ready to take his place in the sky.

The bright star representing the dot below the backward question mark is brilliant Regulus.

The word Regulus is from Latin meaning "Little King." It also can be translated from Arabic as "Heart of the Lion." or Cor Leonis if you must have the Latin.

It is a multiple star, having four components, one of which is too small to be seen but is inferred from spectroscopic examination. It is about 78 light-years distant and glows as a blue-white first magnitude star.

Regulus is located almost on the ecliptic which means it is visited by the moon at least once a month. The next visit is by the almost-full moon on March 17.

Now, how about this lamb thing? Well there is a sheep constellation in the sky, Aries, the Ram.

Just as Leo rises in the east on March 1, Aries is setting in the west on March 31.

Don't get too excited about looking for Aries in the west because the whole constellation consists of five stars in a straight line with a slight dog-leg to the left at the bottom. The brightest star is Hamal (pronounced Ha-MAL), a second magnitude star about 66 light-years from Earth.

From the years 2,000 to 100 B.C. Aries was near the point of the vernal equinox, or the beginning of spring. Today that point has moved one constellation east into Pisces due to a process called Precession of the Planets produced by Earth wobbling on its axis.

If you do have a wild hair about finding Aeries look above the western horizon about an hour after sunset toward the end of March. Look in the area between Cetus on the left, Triangulum on the right and Pisces below.

SKY WATCH: New moon, Saturday, March 4. Exquisite two-day old moon just right of bright Jupiter in the west after sunset on Sunday, March 6. On Wednesday, March 9, tiny Mercury pays a visit to its bigger brother Uranus. Look west about a half-hour after sunset. Both planets will be in the glare of the setting sun and very difficult to locate, binoculars will be a big help. Next week on Sunday, March 13, Mercury begins a wonderful week-long dance with its even bigger brother, Jupiter. Again in the west at least a half-hour after sunset, this time the pair will be higher in the sky and easier to locate. Plus bright Jupiter will be a good locator point.

NEXT WEEK: More astronomical blathering.