In this month's Sky Notes:

Planetary Skylights

Following February, which saw no full Moon, March -like January - has two full Moons, the 2nd and 31st , the latter being yet another ‘rare’ blue moon. 

22-Mar-2018 at 22:30h (W):
Moon & Aldebaran Occultation
(Click for full-sized image)

The Moon is also involved in two occultation’s of bright stars, Regulus in Leo on the morning of the 1st and Aldebaran in Taurus during the late evening of the 22nd.  During an occultation the moon will pass in front of the star involved.  On the 1st the Moon will occult Regulus from around 05:50h very low in the west.  The Aldebaran occultation will commence around 23:00h and again will be low in the west sky.

In the evening sky Venus and Mercury put on a splendid show for the first half of the month.  You will locate them low in the west 40 minutes after sunset (around 18:00-18:15h).  View on the 3rd when both lie side by side just over a degree apart.  Venus will be far the brighter, but Mercury will be pretty conspicuous also (mag-1.2). 

Over the course of the next two weeks, Mercury arcs up into the sky to around 10 degrees, reaching greatest elongation on the 15th before dropping back to the horizon by the end of the month.  Venus climbs slowly into the sky during March.  The Moon lies nearby on the 18th.

03-Mar-2018 at 18:10h (W):
Venus & Mercury
(Click for full-sized image)

08-Mar-2018 at 18:15h (W):
Mercury & Venus
(Click for full-sized image)

15-Mar-2018 at 18:30h (W):
Mercury & Venus
(Click for full-sized image)

19-Mar-2018 at 18:45h (W):
Moon, Mercury & Venus
(Click for full-sized image)

In the dawn sky Jupiter, Mars and Saturn are all to be found.  Jupiter is by far the most conspicuous residing to the south in the twilight sky.  Mars lies well to the east Jupiter and over the course of March closes on Saturn located down in the southeast.  The Moon lies close by on the 11th and 12th.

07-Mar-2018 at 05:45h (S):
Moon, Jupiter, Mars & Saturn
(Click for full-sized image)

10-Mar-2018 at 05:30h (S):
Moon, Mars & Saturn
(Click for full-sized image)

30-Mar-2018 at 05:45h (S):
Saturn & Mars
(Click for full-sized image)

 

Meteors

No major showers this month.  However, at the very end of March you may spot a few Viginids, which are slow moving and have long paths.  As usual early morning hours are best to spot any meteors.

March 2018 Sky Charts
Looking North
Mid-March - 20:00h

Looking South
Mid-March - 20:00h
Looking East
Mid-March - 20:00h
Looking West
Mid-March - 20:00h
Looking North (morning)
Mid-March - 05:00h		 Looking South (morning)
Mid-March - 06:00h
Looking East (morning)
Mid-March - 06:00h		 Looking West (morning)
Mid-March - 05:00h
Northern Aspect
Mid-March - 20:00h		 Southern Aspect
Mid-March - 20:00h

 

Additional Image Credits:

  • Planets and Comets where not otherwise mentioned: NASA
  • Sky Charts: Stellarium Software