March 2005 Skies

March brings us warmer weather, Spring and days again longer than our nights!

This is the last month for easy viewing of the Winter stars and constellations, and the first month for excellent viewing of the constellations and stars of Spring.

The Sun begins March in the Zodiac constellation of AQUARIUS, where it remains until March 13th, when it enters PISCES.

The Evening Sky
March 1st‘s sunset occurs at 6:19p.m.  Each following evening’s sunset happens a bit later.  On March 31st, sunset is at 6:42p.m.  On the afternoon of March 20th, the Sun crosses the Celestial Equator heading North.  On this day the Sun rises very nearly Due East and sets very nearly Due West.  Sunset on the 20th at 6:34 p.m. and sunrise on the 21st at 6:34 a.m. mark the beginning of Spring.  After March 20th for six months, the Sun rises to the North of Due East and sets to the North of Due West.  Thus until the beginning of Autumn, the Sun remains above the horizon longer than 12 hours and our days will be longer than our nights.

The Moon begins March in the Zodiac constellation of LIBRA, but there is no Moonrise on March 1st !  A 20-day old Moon rises at 11:06p.m. the night of February 28th, and a 3rd Quarter MOON next rises at 12:04a.m. the morning of March 2nd. 

March’s NEW MOON occurs at about midnight on the night of the 9th-10th in the constellation of Aquarius.

The FULL MOON rises just after sunset on the evening of the 25th in the Zodiac constellation of VIRGO. 

Sharp-eyed observers with binoculars should be able to first view the crescent Moon very low in the West after sunset on March 10th.  On the evening of March 11th, look for the crescent Moon low in the West just above the fleeting planet MERCURY.  The nearly 1st Quarter Moon passes near the Pleiades star cluster in TAURUS on the 15th, near SATURN on the evenings of the 18th and the 19th, and near the bright star Regulus on the 22nd.  Finally, the Moon chases and closely approaches JUPITER during the night of the 25th 26th.

Evening Planets 
MERCURY, SATURN, and JUPITER.  March is an excellent month to view MERCURY, which begins the month setting more than an hour after the Sun.  Look for Mercury low in the West appearing as a bright yellow star.  Moving farther away from the Sun, the planet becomes easier to view until the 13th, when it sets in a dark sky one and one-half hours after the Sun.  After the 13th, however, Mercury reverses course, hurrying Westward past the Sun to again become a Morning Planet by month end.

SATURN rises about four hours before sunset on March 1st in the Zodiac constellation of GEMINI.  Saturn is located just below Gemini’s brightest stars Castor and Pollux, and all remain visible most of the night.

Jupiter begins March by rising about 3 hours after sunset in Virgo. Jupiter is visible the rest of the night as the brightest object in the sky after the Moon.  A pair of binoculars or a small telescope should show Jupiter’s four brightest satellites: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto circling the planet, presenting a different pattern each evening.

What Else to See?  Spectacular Winter and Early Spring Constellations
Last month we discussed how to navigate the Winter constellations by finding Orion in the South, then using Orion’s belt stars to find Taurus and Canis Major. To the immediate left of Orion is the small constellation of Canis Minor with bright star Procyon.  High in the Northwest is Auriga with bright star Capella shining yellow in the sky.  During March, Gemini will pass directly overhead with bright stars Castor and Pollux and planet Saturn.

Marking the start of Spring low in the Eastern sky is Leo the Zodiac lion.  Also, we can see Ursa Major (the Great Bear) containing the familiar “Big Dipper” stars rising in the Northeast and standing straight up on the Dipper’s handle.  These stars were invisible during the Winter as they skimmed the Horizon, but now again grace the Northern sky and the two end stars of the Dipper “point” toward Polaris the North Star.
Follow the curve of the Big Dipper’s handle around to the East and Arcturus, a bright orange star in the belt of Bootes, the shepherd.  Continue this curve in the sky on to bright Spica in Virgo, and nearby planet Jupiter.

The Morning Sky
The Sun rises at 6:57a.m. on March 1st as we approach the beginning of Spring.  On the 31st, sunrise occurs more than a half-hour earlier, at 6:20a.m.

The waning MOON is seen in the morning sky through March 8th. 

On the morning of March 3rd the crescent Moon eclipses (“occults”) the red supergiant star Antares in SCORPIO.  This bright star disappears behind the Moon’s bright Eastern edge at about 3:00 a.m. and reappear at the Moon’s dark Western edge shortly after 4:00a.m.  Don’t miss this rare occurrence, so begin viewing no later than 2:45a.m. and observe the Moon’s relentless motion!  The Moon moves ever Eastward at a rate of approximately its own diameter in an hour, so it will rather quickly approach and occult Antares.  The star’s reappearance is even more spectacular, since Antares will again suddenly appear in the scorpion’s heart! 

At almost the same time Antares reemerges from behind the Moon, another fainter star, HR6145, is occulted in exactly the same manner.

The mornings of March 5th and 6th find the Moon near the red planet Mars low in the Southeast.

Morning Planets:  MARS  and (early in March) VENUS. 
MARS begins its namesake month in the Zodiac constellation of SAGITTARIUS rising at 4:06a.m.  Having moved into CAPRICORNUS on the 20th, Mars rises more than a half-hour earlier, at 3:28a.m., on the 31st.  Mars will be quite easy to see in a dark Southeastern sky. 

VENUS is technically a Morning Planet at the beginning of March, but is much too close to the Sun to be easily visible.  Moving Eastward, Venus passes the Sun in mid-March, becoming an Evening Planet by month end.

What Else to See?   But observers with binoculars or small telescopes may want to watch the Moon occult (eclipse) or approach very close to stars of 6th magnitude or brighter on the mornings of March 3rd (Antares and HR6145), March 4th, 19th, 20th, 30th and 31st, and on the evening of March 3rd, 14th, and 31st.  A listing with specific times and additional details of these events can found here.

On Friday, March 11th beginning at about 6:00p.m., the East Valley Astronomy Club will be hosting a Free Public Star Party at their observatory site East of the Gilbert Public Library.  Several telescopes will be available for public viewing of wintertime astronomical objects.

Good Luck Observing!