March opens with the moon just a 10th of a degree away from the bright star, Spica. Which means that Saturn will be close by, also, since the Ringed Planet has been hovering around that area for months.
Spica is a blue-giant variable, in fact, it's a pair of stars, orbiting a common centre of mass every four days. March 18, Jupiter is less than two degrees from our satellite; full moon is March 27 and the next day, Spica is back in the scene again. Saturn is three degrees north of the moon March 29.
Mercury is out of the picture until after mid-month, when it is an early dawn object in the eastern sky for several weeks.
Venus is behind the sun for the whole month.
Mars is also behind the sun, and not visible.
Jupiter is in the western evening sky at sunset, continuing to hang around the Seven Sisters (Pleiades) and Taurus, the Bull. Many astronomers study Jupiter's cloud tops - the many stripes, whorls, eddies, and spots provide a fascinating look at the weather there. One area that never fails to amaze is the Great Red Spot, that has been visible for as long as there have been telescopes. That same vortex has been raging for over 400 years. The colours come and go, sometimes pale orange, and at other times bright orangey-red, but always there.
One can get a feel for Jupiter's rapid rotation by watching the position of these markings. The equator rotates once every 9.5 hours, much faster than our 24 hours, which accounts for Jupiter's oblate shape.
Other astronomers keep track of Jupiter's moons, observing when a significant event occurs, like shadow transits, or when one or more moons pass in front of the planet. Three such events occur on March 9, 16, and 23 - all double-shadow transits. There is an event about every three and a half hours over the entire year.
Saturn rises just after midnight in the east, becoming earlier each evening, and confirming its eastward movement against the starry background. The giant planet Saturn is second in size in the Solar System only to Jupiter. The Cassini spacecraft has been in orbit there since July 2004, monitoring the weather and sending back snapshots of the rings and the many moons of Saturn- at last count, there were 62 such moons. See http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=12
Uranus and Neptune are not visible throughout the entire month.
Early March is Messier Marathon time. This event is popular with amateur astronomers, to see how many of the 110 Messier objects can be "bagged" in one continuous sitting. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_marathon. From the Web site: "At low northern latitudes, particularly around latitude 25 degrees north, it is possible to observe all Messier objects in one night during a window of a few weeks from mid-March to early April. In that period the dark nights around the time of the new moon are best for a Messier Marathon." It's harder from our latitude, very hard in some cases, but it's a good challenge. Often the real challenge is trying to stay warm during the all-night event.
- James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000 and is editor's assistant and a contributor to the Observer's Handbook, production manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal and the society's national secretary. He was given the RASC Service Award at the 2012 General Assembly in Edmonton.
