The Night Sky

A Beautiful Spring Month Of Enjoying The March Skies Lies Ahead

We have many celestial treats to look forward to including a close encounter between the very bright planets Jupiter and Venus, a daytime view of a thin crescent Moon near Venus, and a chance to spot a comet with binoculars. This will be a great month to explore some of the most prominent spring constellations of Capella, Gemini, and Leo, and of course, the Spring equinox marks a change in the clocks and a shortening of the nights… which is sad for astronomers! Read on to find out more details of how, where and when to observe these and other spring events. For more details about the positions and formations of the constellations mentioned above you can use free phone apps such as Stellarium or SkySafari.

Moon Phases and observing tips:

Full Moon - 7th around midday

Last Quarter Moon - 15th just after 3am

New Moon - 21st 6.30pm.

Whether you are looking with only your eyes, binoculars, or a telescope, you can begin to explore many different features on the surface of the Moon. Try to avoid observing during the 'Full Moon' phase as the bright rays of the Sun will tend to drown out details. The weeks on either side of the Full Moon will provide you with the opportunity to look for seas, impact craters, and ray craters. The rays which are easiest to spot with the naked eye emanate from the craters of Tycho and Copernicus. You can find some of the features in the labelled image on the right. If you are observing with a telescope, remember that your view will be inverted due to the mirrors in the telescope.

Planet activity this month

Mercury - this planet will be best viewed towards the end of the month and can be found close to Jupiter from the 26th to the 28th. Be sure to wait until the Sun is below the horizon as these two planets will be setting soon afterwards. Jupiter will be shining much brighter than Mercury, but the longer you look the more likely you are to spot this relatively tiny world.

Venus - our evening star at present, will be very close to Jupiter in the first week of the month. Look towards the west after sunset on the 2nd when the two planets will be at their closest. Venus shines at a visual magnitude of -4.0 while Jupiter appears brighter at -2.1. On the 24th, during the morning, it may be possible to observe a thin crescent Moon close to Venus. You will need a decent pair of binoculars for this. Take care to avoid looking at the Sun as it will be close by.

Mars - which will be fading in brightness this month - can be found looking south and seemingly moving closer to the constellation of Gemini throughout March. On the 28th it will be seen close to an almost first quarter Moon.

Jupiter - our other bright evening planet at the moment, may be spotted very close to a thin crescent Moon on the 22nd. With binoculars or a telescope it is well worth trying to spot the four brightest Galilean moons as they orbit the planet each night. Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus are poorly positioned or too close to the Sun at the moment to observe easily. Pluto!? Well if I mention Pluto you will know which generation I come from… poor Pluto!... no longer a planet.

The Spring Equinox

ByClaire Wardlaw

Claire Wardlaw, originally from Edinburgh, lives in the Charente with her husband. Since their move nearly 6 years ago, Claire has become passionate about astronomy

March it could still be spotted using binoculars or a small telescope, once you know where to look. This Comet was at its brightest in January and is now fading slightly and it appears lower in the skies through the rest of this month. February saw it journey past the constellation of Auriga, sitting fairly close to the star Capella. It then passed by the planet Mars mid-month. For March, it will be found to the lower right hand side of the constellation of Orion and by the very end of the month it could be visible, with binoculars, close to the star of Rigel. This comet was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility in March 2022. It is described as a 'long period' comet and may not return to Earth's orbit for another 50,000 years.

Meteor shower: The Virginids

Our evening star at present, will be very close to Jupiter in the first week of the month

The Virginids, as the name hints, will seem to emanate (or radiate) from the constellation of Virgo. Facing south this month, Virgo will be rising in the east and following the distinctive 'Lion' across the sky. While this shower has its peak of activity in April, it will be possible to look for meteors from the 10th of March onwards. A maximum rate of 5 meteors per hour can be expected but this will depend of course on how high above the horizon the 'radiant' is. It is best to look, not directly at the radiant, but 30-40 degrees to the side. These are slow meteors with long trails. The best time to catch a falling star will be when the Moon is 'New' or in a crescent phase.

This will occur on the 20th of March. At that time the day and night will be of almost equal length. Spring is officially returning which sees the nighttime hours reduce at their most rapid rate. This is also the time when 'Daylight Saving Time' begins. The clocks will therefore go forward by one hour on the 26th at 2am so sunrise and sunset will be about one hour later than the previous day.

Spot a Comet: C/2022 E3 ZTF

You may have heard the news of this Comet over the last month or two. In

The Merry Dancers

Any 'Scots' will know that the name of 'The Merry Dancers' refers to The Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. Being spring, the solar wind is blowing more strongly at this time in the year and as the stream of particles reaches us here on Earth we will see some of them in the North (the ones which are not deflected by our magnetic field) glowing as they collide with gas in our atmosphere. In some instances the glow can reach as far south as Europe. Happy stargazing and clear skies!