Visit the Scarborough & Ryedale Astonomical Society Website

March

The Sun begins the month in the constellation of Aquarius but crosses the border into Pisces on the 12^th at around 04h. It is climbing steeply now and daylight increases rapidly. At 17h32, on the 20^th March, the Vernal Equinox occurs, when the sun is directly overhead at the earth’s equator. The sun-earth distance at the time is 148,989,865 km. The astronomical season of spring begins and lasts for 92.74 days. If the earth had no atmosphere, day and night at this time would be exactly equal all over the planet except at the poles, but due to atmospheric refraction, this scenario occurs some days earlier. 

March is the best month to observe the mysterious Zodiacal Light during evenings when the moon is not present in the sky and you are well away from light pollution. Look towards the west when twilight has faded and you should see a faint cone of light pointing southwards at a steep angle of 60°.  This year, the best dates to observe the zodiacal light is during the first half of the month. This phenomenon is caused by the sun illuminating a disc of fine dust, which is the remnant of solar system formation 4.5 thousand million years ago.

The Moon

The Moon is at perigee, its nearest to the earth, at 04h57 on the 28^th, and at apogee, its furthest from the earth, at 10h08 the 12^th.

Last Quarter Moon, is on March 7^th at around 15h43, on the Scorpius /Ophiuchus border.

New Moon is on the 15^th at 21h02, in western Pisces.

First Quarter takes place at 11h01 on March 23^rd in the western part pf the constellation of Gemini, and is one of the highest First Quarter moons of the year.

Full Moon is on the 30^th around 02h27 12° to the SE of Saturn in the constellation of Virgo.

This Moon is the Paschal Full Moon, which fixes the date of Easter. The rule (of the western Christian church) is that Easter Day is the first Sunday after the first Full Moon following the Vernal Equinox.  Easter Sunday is therefore on April 4^th. 

Earthshine, (described in January notes) may be seen during the evenings on the dark hemisphere of the waxing crescent from the 16^th to the 22^nd.

The Planets

Mercury passes just 1.5° south of the sun on the 14^th at 14h. This marks superior conjunction and the point where theoretically Mercury changes from being a morning object to an evening one, although the planet, being so close to the sun, cannot be seen. The rapid motion of Mercury however, brings it away from the sun so that by the end of March it sets two hours after the latter. This evening apparition of the innermost planet is the best one of the year and the proximity of brilliant Venus will help you locate it. So, during the last few days of the month look towards the western horizon around 19h, where you will spot Venus 11° in altitude and the bright object 3° to the right and slightly lower is Mercury.

Venus becomes readily more visible as the month progresses and is a beautiful sight in the western sky as dusk falls. As mentioned previously, Mercury moves away from the sun to join Venus at the month’s end, giving a good opportunity to see the two inner planets together in the same part of the sky. By the end of March, Venus sets two hours after the sun. There is a good opportunity to see both the thin waxing crescent moon with earthshine and bright Venus 8° beneath it in the western sky at around 19h on the 17^th, a very pretty sight in the turquoise sky of dusk.

The retrograde motion of Mars through western Cancer ends on the 11^th, after which the planet appears to move direct (towards the east) again as it gradually begins to fade. The moon two days past first quarter may be seen 7° to the lower left of Mars high in the south at 20h on the 25^th. The Red Planet is still brighter than any of the late winter stars with the exception of Sirius, the brightest star glittering 15° above the SSW horizon. At the end of March, Mars sets at around 04h.

Jupiter has now moved into the morning sky but because it rises barely 45 mins before the sun at the end of the month, is not likely to be seen.

Saturn is opposite the sun and so in opposition on the 22^nd at 01h. At that time it lies midway between Zaniah (Eta Viginis) and Zavijava (Beta Virginis) in western Virgo, and culminates at midnight in the south at an altitude of between 34° and 40° depending on your location. The planet is at its brightest and is conspicuous amongst the stars of Spring. The northern surface of the rings appears very narrow as seen through a small telescope. The Full Moon is some degrees below Saturn overnight on the 29^th/ 30^th.

Both Uranus and Neptune are too close to the sun to be observed during March.

Constellations visible in the south around midnight, mid-month, are as follows: Leo, the western part of Virgo, Crater, and Hydra. The Plough (Big Dipper), which is part of the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear, is at the zenith, directly overhead.

All times are GMT     1° is one finger width at arm’s length.