March Calendar by Dave Mitsky
All times are UT (subtract 5 hours and when appropriate 1 calendar day for EST)
3/1 Mercury is 3.3 degrees north-northwest of the Moon at 4:00; Uranus is in conjunction with the Sun at 11:00; the Moon is at the ascending node (longitude 4.4 degrees) at 16:24
3/2 Mercury is stationary in right ascension, with retrograde (westward) motion to follow, at 7:00; Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition at 22:00
3/4 The Galilean satellite Ganymede reappears from eclipse at 5:44; Ganymede is occulted by Jupiter at 8:38; Jupiter is stationary in right ascension, with retrograde (westward) motion to follow, at 23:00
3/5 Mercury is at its greatest latitude north of the ecliptic (7.0 degrees) at 5:00; the Moon is 0.40 degree north-northeast of the center of the bright open cluster M45 (the Pleiades) at 15:00
3/6 Mars is 2.9 degrees south-southeast of the Moon at 6:00; First Quarter Moon occurs at 20:16
3/7 The north pole of the Sun is most inclined (7.25 degrees) away from Earth today; a maximum lunar libration of 9.7 degrees occurs at 0:00
3/9 The Moon is 1.7 degrees south of the first magnitude star Pollux at 20:00
3/10 Saturn is 3.8 degrees south-southwest of the Moon at 20:00
3/12 The Sun enters Pisces (ecliptic longitude 351.39 degrees) at 3:00; Mercury is in inferior conjunction with the Sun (3.55 degrees north of the Sun) at 3:00; the Moon is 2.5 degrees north-northeast of the first magnitude star Regulus at 23:00
3/13 The Moon is at apogee, subtending 29'25" from a distance of 406,278 km, at 2:00
3/14 A minimum lunar libration of 2.1 degrees occurs at 19:00; Full Moon (known as the Crow, Lenten, and Sap Moon) occurs at 23:35 - a penumbral lunar eclipse begins at 21:22 and ends at 2:14
3/15 The Moon is at the descending node (longitude 184.3 degrees) at 19:54
3/17 The Moon passes 0.31 degree north of the first magnitude star Spica at 11:00 - an occultation occurs in the Hawaiian Islands and the westernmost part of South America
3/19 Jupiter is 5.0 degrees north-northeast of the Moon at 10:00
3/20 The vernal equinox (i.e., the moment that the Sun crosses the celestial equator and enters the celestial northern hemisphere) occurs at 18:25
3/21 Asteroid 4 Vesta (magnitude 7.7) passes as close as 42' north of Epsilon Geminorum tonight; the Moon passes 0.35 degree southwest of the first magnitude star Antares at 3:00 - an occultation occurs in the northeastern South America and southern South Africa
3/22 A maximum lunar libration of 9.9 degrees occurs at 7:00; the Moon is at its southernmost position (declination -28.72 degrees) until 2025 at 17:00; Last Quarter Moon occurs at 19:11
3/24 Mercury is stationary in right ascension, with direct (eastward) motion to follow, at 12:00
3/25 Venus is at its greatest western elongation (46.5 degrees) at 7:00; the Sun is at the same longitude as the ascending node of the Moon (4.6 degrees) - the theoretical middle of the eclipse season - at 9:00; the Moon is 0.73 degree north-northwest of asteroid 1 Ceres at 11:00 - an occultation occurs in northwest South America, central and east North America, Great Britain, and western Europe
3/26 Venus is 5.5 degrees north-northwest of the Moon at 3:00; Neptune is 3.6 degrees north-northwest of the Moon at 3:00; Venus (magnitude -4.4) is 1.8 degrees north-northwest of Neptune (magnitude 8.0) at 12:00
3/27 Uranus is 1.3 degrees northwest of the Moon at 17:00 - an occultation occurs in part of Antarctica; Mercury, Uranus, and the Moon lie within a 2.12 degree diameter circle at 18:00; Mercury is 2.1 degrees northwest of the Moon at 19:00; Mercury (magnitude 1.0) is 1.5 degrees north-northeast of Uranus (magnitude 5.9) at 23:00
3/28 The Moon is at perigee, subtending 33'16" from at distance of 359,167 km, at 7:13; Mercury is at the descending node at 15:00; a minimum lunar libration of 1.2 degrees occurs at 16:00
3/29 The Moon is at the ascending node (longitude 4.3 degrees) at 3:29; a double shadow transit by Io and Ganymede begins at 5:53; a total solar eclipse, the 29th eclipse of Saros series 139, begins at 8:36 and ends at 11:48; New Moon (lunation 1030) occurs at 10:15; Pluto is stationary in right ascension, with retrograde (westward) motion to follow, at 11:00
Times and dates for the lunar light rays predicted to occur this month are available at
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/rlo/rays/rays.htm
A penumbral lunar eclipse takes place on the evening of March 14. Mid-eclipse occurs at 6:47 p.m. EST. During the eclipse, the Moon does not pass through the Earth's dark umbra, a situation that won't reoccur until August 29, 2053.
Some two weeks later a total solar eclipse begins in Brazil and ends in Siberia. A partial solar eclipse is visible throughout Europe with the path of totality cutting northward across Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and central Asia. Totality lasts a maximum of 4 minutes 7 seconds. The instant of greatest eclipse occurs at 5:11:18 a.m. EST.
Look for the zodiacal light in the western sky after sundown from dark sites in early March.
The planets on March 1: Mercury (0.3 magnitude, 8.4", 27% illuminated), Venus (-4.5 magnitude, 33.8", 35% illuminated), Mars (0.7 magnitude, 7.0", 89% illuminated), Jupiter (- 2.2 magnitude, 39.4", 99% illuminated), Saturn (-0.1 magnitude, 20.0", 100% illuminated), Uranus (5.9 magnitude, 3.3", 100% illuminated), Neptune (8.0 magnitude, 2.2", 100% illuminated), and Pluto (13.9 magnitude, 0.1", 100% illuminated).
Morning planets: Venus, Neptune, and Pluto
Evening planets: Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
Mercury drops towards the Sun and is no longer visible by March 6. It enters the morning sky during the last week of March.
Venus rises in the east-southeast about two hours before the Sun. It reaches a 50% illuminated state known as dichotomy on March 25.
By month's end, Mars fades to a magnitude that matches that of Aldebaran (magnitude 0.9) some 15 degrees to the south.
Located in Libra, Jupiter rises around 9:00 p.m. EST at the end of March, when it will be positioned about 30 degrees above the horizon at 1:00 a.m. EST.
Saturn is still situated in Cancer. It travels approximately 3 degrees to the west of M44, the Beehive Cluster, before returning to an easterly course. Saturn's magnificent rings are tilted at 20 degrees for the final time this decade. Titan (magnitude 8.4), Saturn's largest and brightest satellite, is located north of the planet on March 5 and March 21. It is south of Saturn on March 13 and March 29. The enigmatic Iapetus shines at magnitude 10.1 when it reaches greatest western elongation during the second week of the month. Iapetus is close to Titan on March 29.
Uranus is not observable this month.
Neptune is visible in the morning sky with difficulty. Venus passes 2 degrees north of Neptune on the mornings of March 26 and March 27.
Pluto lies in the southern sky at dawn.
Asteroid 4 Vesta is located to the north of Epsilon Geminorum. The third largest minor planet fades from magnitude 7.4 to 7.8 as it tracks eastward during March.
Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 may reach a brightness of ninth magnitude as it tracks on an easterly course to the south of the first magnitude star Arcturus.
Comet C/2005 E2 (McNaught) leaves Pisces and enters Aries this month. On the night of March 22, the tenth magnitude comet is situated a few degrees north of the spiral galaxy M74 in Pisces.
Comet C/2006 A1 (Pojmanski) enters the northern hemisphere morning sky in early March. Throughout the month, the comet travels on a northeastern course from Aquila to Lacerta. It may brighten to fifth magnitude, two magnitudes greater than originally predicted.
Thirty binary and multiple stars for March: Struve 1173, Struve 1181, Struve 1187, Zeta Cancri, 24 Cancri, Phi-2 Cancri, Iota-1 Cancri, Struve 1245, Iota-2 Cancri, 66 Cancri, Struve 1327 (Cancer); Struve 1270, Epsilon Hydrae, 15 Hydrae, 17 Hydrae, Theta Hydrae, 27 Hydrae, Struve 1347, Struve 1357, Struve 1365 (Hydra); 3 Leonis, Struve 1360, 6 Leonis, Omicron Leonis (Leo); Struve 1274, Struve 1282, Struve 1333, 38 Lyncis, Struve 1369 (Lynx); h4046 (Puppis)
Challenge binary star for March: Struve 1216 (Hydra)
Twenty deep-sky objects for March: M44, M67, NGC 2775 (Cancer); M48, NGC 2610, NGC 2642, NGC 2811 (Hydra); NGC 2903, NGC 2964 (Leo); NGC 2859 (Leo Minor); NGC 2683 (Lynx); NGC 2567, NGC 2571 (Puppis); M81, M82, NGC 2681, NGC 2841, NGC 2950, NGC 2976, NGC 2985 (Ursa Major)
Challenge deep-sky object for March: Abell 30 (Cancer)