Friday 1 March 2024

March Skies

A brief overview of what to see in the sky with the unaided eye during March evenings:

Stars and Constellations

Some prominent constellations visible in the evening sky are Leo and Ursa Major (containing the Big Dipper star group)
● Leo, rising higher in the southeastern sky, is dominated by the bright star Regulus
● The Big Dipper and Ursa Major are rising high in the northeastern sky
● The winter Milky Way and bright constellations of Gemini, Auriga and Orion are in the western sky
● East of Orion are the bright stars Sirius and Procyon with the constellations of Canis Major and Canis Minor, low in the southwestern sky

Planets

●   Mercury appears in the evening sky by mid-March, well up in the western sky, and passes greatest eastern elongation March 24
●   Venus continues to shine brightly low in the southeastern sky before sunrise
●   Mars appears low in southeastern sky before sunrise, not far from Venus, but significantly fainter
●   Jupiter shines brightly high in the western sky following sunset in the Aries constellation
●   Saturn rises in the southeastern sky shortly before sunrise and will be difficult to spot until late March

Moon Phases

●    Last Quarter Moon March 3, 10:23 EST
●    New Moon March 10, 05:00 EDT
●    First Quarter Moon March 17, 00:11 EDT
●    Full Moon March 25, 03:00 EDT
 

Noteworthy Sky Events

●    March 19: Spring equinox, 23:06 EDT
●    March 21: Venus and Saturn appear very close together low in the southeastern sky before sunrise, with Mars a little to the west (upper right)

Sky Resources Online

Some website resources for sky charts, weekly sky events, and more information:
●    astrogeo.ca/skylights
●    www.heavens-above.com
●    In-the-sky.org
●    www.skyandtelescope.org
●    www.skymaps.com 

Star Chart for mid-March, mid-evening (courtesy of www.heavens-above.com):