Tonight, right after sunset, on the western horizon, we have an opportunity to see five planets align near the moon: Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, and Mars. The near alignment will stretch from the horizon to about halfway up the night sky, but it should be noted that Mercury and Jupiter will fairly quickly dip below the horizon and out of sight. Local sunset here in Northern Virginia near the Potomac River will be 7:29 pm (7:45 pm in Tampa).
Venus will be the brightest with Mars and its reddish glow located near the moon. Mercury and Uranus will be harder to spot depending on your local night sky and “city glow.” Binoculars might help. Uranus casts a bit of a green glow and will be just above Venus.
Here in the shadow of national Pi Day, it is a week in which to explore the world of numbers! What is your favorite number? What numbers are fascinating? What numbers are boring? You can’t tell me that the graphic above isn’t just as interesting as can be. Not only is it fascinating, I am equally intrigued by the person who spotted the sequence. 
Today, March 14th, is the annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 (3/14 in the month/day format) since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant digits of π. And it is not just because some mathematicians got together and said so, on March 12, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution (111 H. Res. 224), recognizing March 14th as National Pi Day. So, its official… in a non-binding kind of way. 
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