The Sky This Month March 2023

Look low within the west on March 22 for Jupiter and a crescent Moon, lower than 2° aside. They set about 70 minutes after the Solar. The next night, the Moon hangs 6° beneath Venus in one other pretty pairing. Attempt photographing this scene in twilight with attention-grabbing foreground objects to create a creative silhouette in opposition to the sky.

As a prelude to the Venus-Uranus conjunction, the wandering crescent Moon and Uranus stand lower than 1.5° aside on March 24. Seize binoculars to view the beautiful crescent Moon, then scan southward to search out the dim planet shining at magnitude 5.8. Uranus is near a Seventh-magnitude discipline star simply 4′ away. Attentive observers in some U.S. areas will spot the disappearance and reappearance of Sixth-magnitude Rho (ρ) Arietis in an occultation by the Moon that takes place from roughly 7:30 P.M. to eight:10 P.M. native time. (You’ll wish to verify exact predictions, as whether or not the occasion is seen and its actual timing are affected by your geographic location.)

By March 30, Venus is in conjunction with Uranus. With binoculars, yow will discover Uranus standing 1.2° due south of Venus. Venus now exhibits a 78-percent-lit gibbous disk spanning 14″. The rather more distant Uranus (20.45 AU; 1.9 billion miles) spans 3″. The next evening, the final night of March, the 2 planets are nonetheless lower than 2° aside. They set earlier than 10:30 P.M. native time, so plan your viewing quickly after darkish.

Uranus is a straightforward binocular goal all month, beginning March close to Sigma (σ) and Pi (≠) Arietis, a pair of Fifth-magnitude stars about 12° due north of Menkar in Cetus the Whale. On March 1, the planet is positioned halfway between these two stars; from evening to nighttime, it wanders northeastward. It passes near a Sixth-magnitude discipline star on March 15, then enjoys its assembly with the Moon on the twenty fourth and with Venus on the thirtieth.

Mars blazes brightly in Taurus the Bull, outshining magnitude 0.9 Aldebaran for many of March and in the end fading to match the red giant star by the tip of the month. The Crimson Planet’s nightly path carries it roughly halfway between the horns of the Bull, marked by the celebrities Zeta (ζ) and Beta (β) Tauri, on March 11. It crosses into Gemini March 26.

Within the first week of March, Mars spans 8″. Throughout this week, the options going through earthward round midevening embrace the Tharsis ridge and Olympus Mons. By mid-March, the planet has shrunk to 7″ and Valles Marineris and Solis Lacus are outstanding. Within the third week of March, Sinus Meridiani and Sinus Sabaeus are on show.

On March 29, Mars stands 1.1° due north of the nice open star cluster M35 in Gemini. The view in binoculars is worth it, and a rich-field telescope reveals a star-studded discipline of view together with the good orange glow of Mars, now magnitude 0.9. The outstanding darkish function Syrtis Main is coming onto the Earth-facing disk on the finish of March throughout early evenings.

The very best views of Mars happen a few hours after sundown, with Mars very excessive within the sky. By the tip of March, Mars units earlier than 2:30 A.M., permitting ample time for observers to check their expertise on a tiny disk.