Saturday, March 1 – Earthshine moon with Mercury and Venus (after sunset)
The western sky after sunset on Saturday, March 1, will provide us with a spectacular sight and a lovely photo opportunity. The sliver of a crescent moon will shine below Venus and above Mercury. Venus and the moon will linger for about an hour longer after Mercury sinks below the rooftops around 6:30 p.m. local time. Keep an eye out for Earthshine on the moon. Sometimes called the Ashen Glow or the Old Moon in the New Moon’s Arms, the phenomenon is visible within a day or two of new moon, when sunlight reflected off Earth and back toward the moon slightly brightens the unlit portion of the moon’s Earth-facing hemisphere. A backyard telescope will reveal that Venus also has a crescent phase, while Mercury will show a gibbous shape.
Monday, March 3 – Mare Crisium (evening)
On Monday evening, March 3, the pretty crescent of the young moon will host the dark oval of Mare Crisium. This 345-mile (556-kilometer) diameter basin is easy to see using your unaided eyes, binoculars, and any telescope. It is located near the eastern edge of the moon, just north of the moon’s equator (the up-down red curve). The wobble of the moon, known as lunar libration, shifts Mare Crisium higher and lower, and closer and farther from the moon’s edge at various times.
Wednesday, March 5 – Half-Moon with Jupiter and the Pleiades (evening)
On Wednesday evening, March 5, after dusk, the nearly half-illuminated moon will shine to the lower right (or celestial northwest) of the brilliant planet Jupiter. The bright little Pleiades Star Cluster, which is best viewed in binoculars (orange circle), will be positioned about a palm’s width below the moon. Those viewing the trio later, or in more westerly time zones, will see the moon shifted closer to Jupiter and farther from the cluster. Look early, as they will set in the west around midnight local time.
Thursday, March 6 – First Quarter Moon meets Elnath
The moon will complete the first quarter of its orbit around Earth, measuring from the previous new moon, on Thursday, March 6, at 11:32 a.m. EST or 8:32 a.m. PST or 16:32 GMT. At first quarter, the 90-degree angle formed by the Earth, sun, and moon will cause us to see our natural satellite as a half-moon with its eastern hemisphere illuminated. At this part of the lunar cycle, the moon always rises around noon and sets around midnight, allowing it to be seen in the afternoon daytime sky, too. The evenings surrounding first quarter are the best ones for viewing the lunar terrain when it is dramatically lit by low-angled sunlight. After dusk on Thursday evening, the bright star Elnath, which marks the northern horn tip of Taurus, the Bull, will shine just to the moon’s upper left.
Saturday, March 8 – Mercury at greatest eastern elongation near Venus (after sunset)
After sunset on the evenings surrounding Saturday, March 8, Mercury (orbit shown in red) stretches to its widest separation of 18.1 degrees east of the sun and also its maximum visibility for its current apparition. With Mercury positioned in the western sky above the nearly upright evening ecliptic (green line), this appearance of the planet will be an excellent one for Northern Hemisphere observers but a poor showing for observers located in the Southern Hemisphere. The optimal viewing times at mid-northern latitudes will be around 6:30 p.m. local time. Viewed in a telescope (inset), the planet will exhibit a waning, half-illuminated phase. Much brighter Venus, itself showing a slim crescent phase, will be positioned a generous palm’s width to Mercury’s upper right (or 7 degrees to the celestial north).
Saturday, March 8 – Moon joins Mars in Gemini (all night)
Once the sky darkens on Saturday evening, March 8, bright reddish Mars and Gemini’s two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux, will appear around the bright gibbous moon. Mars and the moon will be close enough together to share the view in a backyard telescope or binoculars (orange circle). The “twin” stars will shine off to their left (or celestial northeast). As the night wears on, the moon’s eastward orbital motion will carry it between Mars and Pollux, and the diurnal rotation of the sky will rotate the twins above the moon and Mars.
Sunday, March 9 – Daylight Saving Time Begins
For jurisdictions that adopt Daylight Saving Time (DST), clocks should be set forward by one hour at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 9. For stargazers, the time change and the fact that sunsets occur 1 minute later each day near the March equinox will mean that dark-sky observing cannot commence until much later in the evening — possibly after the bedtime of junior astronomers. The difference from local time to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and the astronomers’ Universal Time (UT) decreases by one hour when DST is in effect. Daylight Saving Time will end on November 2, 2025.
Tuesday, March 11 – Bright moon near Regulus (all night)
Once the sky begins to darken on Tuesday, March 11, the bright, white star Regulus, which marks the heart of Leo, the Lion, will appear several finger widths below the bright, waxing gibbous moon — close enough for them to share the view in binoculars (orange circle). Early risers on Wednesday morning can look above the western horizon to see the moon shining much closer to the star. Also designated Alpha Leonis, Regulus’ position less than one degree north of the ecliptic (green line) causes it to be occasionally occulted by the moon and planets. The white, B-class star is located 79 light-years away from our sun.
Wednesday, March 12 – Venus dances with Mercury (after sunset)
In the western sky, after sunset on the evenings surrounding Wednesday, March 12, the inner planets Mercury and Venus will dance with one another. Both planets will be swinging sunward in their orbits and dropping lower night over night. Mercury and much brighter Venus to its right will be cozy enough to share the view in binoculars (orange circle) from March 8 onward. At closest approach on Wednesday, they will be 5.5 degrees apart. Good binoculars or a backyard telescope will show that Venus has a very slim, 5%-illuminated crescent phase (inset), while Mercury will be smaller and 26%-illuminated.
Friday, March 14 – Full Crow Moon and Total Lunar Eclipse
The moon will reach its full phase on Friday, March 14, at 2:55 a.m. EDT or 06:55 GMT, which converts to 11:55 p.m. PDT on Thursday, March 13. To a casual glance, the moon will appear full on both Thursday and Friday night. The March full moon, known as the Worm Moon, Crow Moon, Sap Moon or Lenten Moon, always shines in or near the stars of Leo or Virgo. The indigenous Ojibwe people of the Great Lakes region call this full moon Ziissbaakdoke-giizis “Sugar Moon” or Onaabani-giizis, the “Hard Crust on the Snow Moon”. For them, it signifies a time to balance their lives and to celebrate the new year. The Cree of North America call it Mikisiwipisim, the “the Eagle Moon” – the month when the eagle returns. The Cherokee call it Anvyi, the “Windy Moon”, when the planting cycle begins anew.
This full moon will pass directly through the Earth’s umbral shadow, producing a total lunar eclipse visible across the Americas and a partial eclipse in the Pacific and western Europe and Africa. The lower left (southwestern) rim of the full moon will start its trip through the weaker penumbral shadow at 11:57 p.m. EDT on Thursday (03:57 GMT), very slightly darkening it. The first “bite” out of the moon will appear when it contacts the central umbra at 1:09 a.m. EDT (05:09 GMT). It will be fully darkened into a reddened, so-called “Blood Moon” from 2:26 to 3:32 a.m. EDT (06:26 to 07:32 GMT). The moon will finally move clear of the Earth’s umbral shadow at the final “bite” time of 4:48 a.m. EDT (8:48 GMT) on Friday morning. Lunar eclipses are completely safe to view and photograph without filters. This lunar eclipse will be followed two weeks later by a partial solar eclipse on March 29.
Saturday, March 15 – Bright moon approaches Spica (all night)
After the bright, waning gibbous moon clears the rooftops in the southeast during mid-evening on Saturday, March 15, Virgo’s brightest star, Spica will be twinkling to its lower left (or celestial east). As the night wears on, the moon will drift closer to the star while Earth’s rotation carries them west. Before sunrise on Sunday morning, the star will have shifted to the moon’s upper left. On Sunday evening, skywatchers in a zone stretching from eastern Africa and south across the Indian Ocean to southeastern Australia can watch the moon occult Spica. Lunar occultations of stars are safe to observe with unaided eyes, binoculars, and telescopes. Use an app like Starry Night to look up the timings where you live.
Sunday, March 16 – Evening Zodiacal Light (after dusk)
If you live in a location where the sky is free of light pollution, you might be able to spot the Zodiacal Light during the two weeks that precede the new moon on March 29. Starting on Sunday, March 16, after the evening twilight has faded, you’ll have about half an hour to check the western sky for a broad wedge of faint light extending upward from the horizon and centered on the ecliptic below the planet Jupiter. That glow is the zodiacal light – sunlight scattered from countless small particles of material that populate the plane of our solar system. Don’t confuse it with the brighter Milky Way, which extends upward from the northwestern horizon in the evening at this time of year.
Thursday, March 20 – March Equinox
On Thursday, March 20, at 4:01 a.m. EDT or 1:01 a.m. PDT and 09:01 GMT, the sun will cross the celestial equator traveling north, marking the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of northern spring. Days and nights will be of equal length on that day, and the sun will rise due east and set due west. At mid-northern latitudes on the March equinox, the amount of daylight added to each day peaks at 3 minutes.
Thursday, March 20 – Moon shines near Antares (pre-dawn)
In the southern sky on Thursday morning, March 20, early-morning sky-watchers can see the bright, waning gibbous moon shining several finger-widths to the right of Antares, the bright, reddish star that marks the heart of the Scorpion. The duo will be cozy enough to share the view in binoculars (orange circle). Observers located in most of Australia, southern New Zealand, and westernmost Antarctica can watch the moon occult Antares with unaided eyes, binoculars, and telescopes. Use an app like Starry Night to look up the timings where you live.
Saturday, March 22 – Third Quarter Moon
The moon will reach its third quarter phase on Saturday, March 22, at 6:29 a.m. EST, 3:29 a.m. PST or 11:29 GMT. Third quarter moons rise around midnight in your local time zone, and then remain visible in the morning daytime sky. At third, or last, quarter the moon is 50%-illuminated on its western side, towards the pre-dawn sun. The week of dark, moonless evening skies that follow this phase are ideal for observing deep sky targets in binoculars and telescopes, especially springtime galaxies.
Sunday, March 23 – Earth crosses Saturn’s ring plane (pre-dawn)
On Sunday, March 23, Earth’s orbit will carry us from the north side to the south side of the plane defined by Saturn’s rings, an event that happens every fourteen to seventeen Earth years. On that date, the planet’s very thin rings will effectively vanish for a number of hours, leaving the planet as a simple, unadorned globe. During the days and weeks surrounding the crossing, the rings appear through backyard telescopes as a thin line drawn through Saturn.
Unfortunately, this crossing will occur while Saturn is only 10 degrees from the pre-dawn sun and well below the slanted morning ecliptic for observers at mid-northern latitudes. Those viewing Saturn from mid-southern latitudes will have the best chance to see Saturn without rings, but the view will be hampered by morning twilight and atmospheric turbulence and haze over the eastern horizon. The next ring plane crossing will be in October 2038, when Saturn will be 28 degrees from the morning sun.
Saturday, March 29 – New Moon Partial Solar Eclipse
The March new moon will occur on Saturday, March 29, at 6:58 a.m. EDT, 3:58 a.m. PDT, and 10:58 GMT. This new moon will also produce a very deep partial solar eclipse visible across the northeastern USA and Canada, Greenland, most of Europe, northwestern Africa, and northern Russia. After the moon’s penumbral shadow first contacts Earth at 08:50:43 GMT in the Atlantic Ocean north of Belem, Brazil, it will sweep northwestward through the New England states and the Canadian Maritimes, across Quebec and Nunavut, then over the pole and southward through northern Russia until it lifts off Earth north of Krasnoyarsk at 12:43:45 GMT. The instant of greatest eclipse, with the moon blocking 94% of the sun’s diameter, will occur on the northeastern coast of Hudson Bay, Canada, just after sunrise at 6:47 a.m. EDT or 10:47:27 GMT. This new moon will also generate large tides worldwide.
Monday, March 31 – Earthshine moon below Jupiter (after sunset)
In the western sky after sunset on Monday, March 31, the very slender crescent of the young moon will resemble the Cheshire Cat’s smile when it shines below bright Jupiter and the Pleiades Star Cluster — setting up a wonderful wide-field photo opportunity. Uranus will be positioned between them but will not be easily seen without a telescope. Watch for Earthshine on the moon. Sometimes called the Ashen Glow or the Old Moon in the New Moon’s Arms, the phenomenon is visible within a day or two of new moon, when sunlight reflected off Earth and back toward the moon slightly brightens the unlit portion of the moon’s Earth-facing hemisphere.
Read more at: https://www.space.com/16149-night-sky.html