THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

Enjoy five planets in the morning sky and get to know the double stars in Carina, the Keel

When to use this chart

1 Mar at 00:00 AEDT (13:00 UT) 15 Mar at 23:00 AEDT (12:00 UT) 31 Mar at 22:00 AEST (12:00 UT)

The chart accurately matches the sky on the dates and times shown for Sydney, Australia. The sky is different at other times as the stars crossing it set four minutes earlier each night.

MARCH HIGHLIGHTS

March finds all five naked-eye planets in the morning sky! Such a gathering evokes some impressive conjunctions. On 1 March, the eastern dawn sky finds Mercury and Saturn (along with a crescent Moon) fitting in a 5˚ circle. Two days later these two planets are only 0.6˚ apart.

Later in the month, Saturn has gained altitude to greet Mars and Venus. By the 29th Saturn has joined Venus, separated by 2˚, along with a crescent Moon.

THE PLANETS

Uranus is the sole planet in the evening sky, but only visible low in the twilight sky. Mars and Venus continue to travel together in the morning, being visible from around 03:00. Saturn is rising before dawn, passing Mercury as March

STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS

From down under we are fortunate to have the two brightest stars well placed to observe in the western evening sky in March. They are Sirius (Alpha (α) Canis Majoris) and Canopus (Alpha (α) Carinae). During March 1843, Canopus, briefly lost its ‘number two’ status in Canis Major, the Greater Dog, to another star in the same constellation – Eta (η) Carinae. This star’s novae-like outburst made its brilliance rival that of Alpha (α) Centauri for the next 10 years, before it faded. opens, going on to join Mars and Venus. Mercury concludes its morning apparition this month, being near Mercury and then Jupiter (on the 21st). Jupiter emerges from the Sun’s glare mid-month, rising around the start of dawn by the month’s end.

DEEP-SKY OBJECTS

This month a trip to Carina, the Keel, more precisely to a region south of the False Cross asterism. Upsilon (υ) Carinae (RA 09hr 47.1m, dec -65° 04’) is a 3rd magnitude naked-eye double star. Its components, of mag. +3.0 and mag. +6.0, are a snug 5 arcseconds apart, but ideal for small telescopes using reasonable power (100x magnification). As a bonus, can you see another double star while looking at Upsilon Carinae (0.1° to the southeast)? It consists of a pair of 9th magnitude stars, 12 arcseconds apart.

Move 3.7° due west and discover the eye-catching star cluster NGC 2808 (RA 09hr 12.0m, dec. -64° 52’). This 6th magnitude globular has a compact, bright core, surrounded by a busy halo (with a diamater of 3 arcminutes) that drops off quickly at the edge. Mostly nebulous, only a few stars can be individually resolved.