The night sky for March

Sun

Autumn is well under way in March. The 20th marks the Equinox, or equal day and night, meaning that the Sun has crossed the equator and is heading back into the northern sky.

Moon

First Quarter is on March 3 and Full Moon falls on March 10. Last Quarter occurs on the 16, followed by New Moon on the 24th. On the 28th, the crescent Moon and Venus are within

7 degrees of each other in the early evening sky. On the mornings of the

18th and 19th, the waning Moon will be near Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Planets

Mercury is in the morning sky and well positioned for observation during the second half of the month when it rises two hours before the Sun. Look due east, around 6am, for a yellowish star 15 degrees above the horizon.

On March 21, the crescent Moon will be just above Mercury.

Venus is an unmistakable object in the western twilight evening sky and sets an hour and a half after the Sun. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn all appear near each other in the morning sky. At the beginning of March, Mars rises first just before 2am, followed by Jupiter 50 minutes later and then Saturn at 3.20am.

By March 31, all three planets rise within rapid succession, with Jupiter being the first, at 1am, and Saturn and

Mars appearing above the horizon around 1.30am.

Mars and Jupiter are less than a degree apart on the 21st and the red planet and Saturn are also within one degree of each other on the 31st.

Stars, constellations

Orion has now moved into the western sky.

Betelgeuse, Orion’s second brightest star, has a natural cycle of variation in brightness.

The constellations of Eridanus and Cetus are the only other noticeable constellations in the west.

The northwestern sky is somewhat richer. Close to setting are the Pleiades. Slightly above them can be found the V-shaped constellation of Taurus.

Almost directly north is Gemini, with its two bright stars, Castor and Pollux.

Further east is Leo, with its main star, Regulus.

Overhead are a number of the summer constellations, including Canis Major, Puppis and Carina. Two brilliant stars stand out—Sirius and Canopus.

The southern quadrant contains the Southern Cross, the Pointers, both Magellanic Clouds, and, towards the southwest, the star Achernar.

Our eastern sky has little visible other than the very long, but rather faint, Hydra.

Later in the evening, Spica will rise almost due east.

The Milky Way runs overhead from northwest to southeast.

– Prepared for the Taranaki Daily News by Tom Whelan, Cape Egmont Observatory