Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events. All dates are based on Universal Time (UT).
There are no eclipses this month.
The best views of the southern polar region of the Sun occur on 6 March. On 20 March, Earth reaches an equinox, heralding spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the south. As seen from the Earth, the Sun is moving from the constellation Aquarius to the constellation Pisces.
The phases of the Moon are
| New : |
6 March
|
| First Quarter : |
13 March
|
| Full : |
20 March
|
| Last Quarter : |
28 March
|
The Moon is at perigee on 15 March and at apogee on 27 March.
The Moon occults three planets this month, two of them twice. As in January, Neptune goes first, occulted by the Moon on 3 March. Both Uranus and Venus slide behind the limb of the Moon the following day. These events are visible during daylight hours in parts of Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. Antarctica gets a repeat performance when Neptune and Uranus are occulted again on 30 March and 31 March, respectively.
The word planet is derived from the Greek word for "wanderer." Unlike the background stars, planets seem to move around the sky, keeping mostly to a narrow track called the ecliptic, the path of the Sun across the stars.
- Mercury
- Mercury is at inferior conjunction on the first day of the month. This tiny planet resume prograde motion on 13 March and by 28 March, it reaches greatest elongation west. It climbs high in the eastern sky before sunrise for southern hemisphere observers but is low and difficult to observe in the north. Look for Mercury at the end of the month in the constellation Aquarius.
- Venus
- A combination of bright and faint planets line up when brilliant Venus comes within a degree of feeble Uranus on 4 March, the day they are both occulted by the Moon. The "morning star" is still high in the eastern sky before sunrise for southern hemisphere observers but is sinking rapidly. Venus can be found in the constellations Capricornus and Aquarius.
- Mars
- Beginning in the constellation Cetus,
Mars moves into Aries by mid-month. Look for it in the west after sunset.
- Jupiter
- Look for this bright planet in the constellation Aries.
- Saturn
- The constellation Aries is getting crowded with
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn all vying for attention in the west after sunset.
- Uranus
- Faint Uranus is joined by bright Venus on 4 March when they are both occulted by the Moon. Uranus falls victim to the Moon once again on the last day of the month. Look for it in the morning sky in the constellation Capricornus.
- Neptune
- Neptune is occulted twice by the Moon this month, the first time on 3 March and the second time on 30 March. This cold gas giant is in the constellation Capricornus.
- Pluto
- The outermost planet in the solar system is located in the constellation Ophiuchus. It reaches west quadrature on 3 March and begins retrograde motion on 16 March.
- Minor Planets
- On 22 March, 1 Ceres will be at opposition in the constellation Coma Berenice. At seventh magnitude, binoculars or a small telescope will be necessary to see it.
- Comets
- There are no naked-eye comets visible this month.
- Meteors
- The Gamma Normids, a minor southern hemisphere meteor shower, peaks on 13 March. The waxing Moon should not impair observations of this hard-to-detect shower.
Constellations are patterns of stars in the sky. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognises 88 different constellations. The brightest stars as seen from the Earth are easy to spot but do you know their proper names? With a set of binoculars you can look for fainter objects such as nebulae and galaxies or some of the closest stars to the Sun.
Descriptions of the sky for observers in both the northern and southern hemispheres are available for the following times this month. Subtract one hour from your local time if daylight savings time is in effect. (Note: These times are approximate.)
Northern Hemisphere : 45° N
- 1730 hours (1830 hours daylight savings)
- 1930 hours (2030 hours daylight savings)
- 2130 hours (2230 hours daylight savings)
- 2330 hours (0030 hours daylight savings)
- 0130 hours (0230 hours daylight savings)
- 0330 hours (0430 hours daylight savings)
- 0530 hours (0630 hours daylight savings)
Southern Hemisphere : 30° S
- 1730 hours (1830 hours daylight savings)
- 1930 hours (2030 hours daylight savings)
- 2130 hours (2230 hours daylight savings)
- 2330 hours (0030 hours daylight savings)
- 0130 hours (0230 hours daylight savings)
- 0330 hours (0430 hours daylight savings)
- 0530 hours (0630 hours daylight savings)
- Consult our online glossary for non-technical explanations of many of the astronomical terms used in these pages.
- Blue moons, eclipses, the dates of Easter and much more can be found at the Interactive Astronomy Pages.
- For more information about the objects and events described in SkyEye, visit these astronomy-related sites.
Credits
Much of this information can be found in this month's issue of Sky & Telescope and in other fine amateur astronomy magazines available in your local bookshop. Another excellent source is the current edition of the Astronomical Calendar by Guy Ottewell and published by the Universal Workshop at Furman University.
The image of the Sun in the SkyEye banner is courtesy of the SOHO/EIT consortium. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.
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Last modified on 29 February 2000
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