Constellations, Planets, and Astronomical Events Visible in March 2024
Happy Spring! Despite the predictions of a groundhog in February, March is consistently the astronomical start of the Spring season, which is marked by the Vernal Equinox on March 20th. The equinoxes are special points in Earth’s orbit around the sun where the Earth’s tilt is perpendicular to the sun. They are most widely known for being the two days out of the year when the sun spends the same amount of time above the horizon as it does below. So from March 20th until the autumnal equinox in September, the northern hemisphere will experience more daylight than starlight every day.
The last new moon before next month’s eclipse occurs on March 10th. If the weather cooperates, this will be the best night to observe fainter celestial objects. The full moon of March is nicknamed the Worm moon, and it rises in the evening of March 25th. The nickname ‘Worm moon’ comes from the earthworms that appear due to the spring rains softening the ground. With the new moon comes a penumbral lunar eclipse. The moon will pass through Earth’s penumbra. Sadly, this type of lunar eclipse is nearly impossible to observe, since the red glow only occurs during an umbral lunar eclipse.
Most of the planets are difficult to observe this month. Jupiter is the only clearly visible planet for most of the month; although it is already located near the western horizon after sundown. Jupiter will only be visible for 2 hours before sinking below the horizon. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Neptune are all too close to the sun for us to view. Uranus is located near Jupiter in the sky; it sets nearly an hour after Jupiter, but powerful binoculars or a telescope is required to observe it.
With the coming of spring, the winter constellations are beginning to set earlier in the night. Orion starts the night in the southwestern sky. The Hunter is one of the most recognizable constellations in the sky, so it is commonly used as a reference to guide observers to other areas of the sky. For instance, Orion is hunting the bull Taurus, which can be found by looking over Orion’s westernmost shoulder to the bright star Aldebaran. Over Orion’s easternmost shoulder is the constellation of the Gemini twins, identified by their bright stars Castor and Pollux. These constellations will no longer be visible by mid-April, so enjoy them while they last!
Happy Observing!
Sources:
Image Credits:
Orbit Diagram: https://www.weather.gov/cle/Seasons
Penumbral Eclipse: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/penumbral-lunar-eclipse.html#:~:text=Penumbral%20lunar%20eclipses%20can%20be,entire%20face%20of%20the%20Moon.
Jupiter: https://www.space.com/jupiter-opposition-closest-approach-skywatching Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley)
Winter Constellations: https://stellarium-web.org/
