Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events. All times and dates are given in Universal Time (UT). Nightly darkness estimates are calculated for Greenwich, London (51.5° N, 0° W).
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wed | Uranus at conjunction |
| 2 | Thu | |
| 3 | Fri | |
| 4 | Sat | |
| 5 | Sun | |
| 6 | Mon | First Quarter Moon |
| 7 | Tue | The south pole of the Sun is most inclined towards the Earth. |
| 8 | Wed | |
| 9 | Thu | |
| 10 | Fri | |
| 11 | Sat | |
| 12 | Sun | Mercury at inferior conjunction |
| 13 | Mon | The Gamma Normids meteor shower is washed out by the nearly Full Moon. |
| Moon at apogee | ||
| 14 | Tue | Full Moon |
| Penumbral lunar eclipse | ||
| 15 | Wed | |
| 16 | Thu | |
| 17 | Fri | The Hawaiian Islands and other parts of the Pacific Ocean are treated to the site of the Moon occulting the first-magnitude star Spica. Start watching from about 1000 UT. |
| 18 | Sat | |
| 19 | Sun | |
| 20 | Mon | Earth at equinox; day and night are of equal length. |
| 21 | Tue | In an event visible from the southern Ocean and South Africa from approximately 0200 UT, the Moon occults the first-magnitude star Antares. |
| 22 | Wed | Last Quarter Moon |
| 23 | Thu | |
| 24 | Fri | |
| 25 | Sat | Venus at greatest elongation west |
| 26 | Sun | |
| 27 | Mon | The Moon occults Urnaus but this is only observable during daylight hours in the Antarctic. |
| 28 | Tue | Moon at perigee |
| 29 | Wed | New Moon |
| Total solar eclipse | ||
| 30 | Thu | |
| 31 | Fri | |
The word planet is derived from the Greek word for "wanderer." Unlike the background stars, planets seem to move around the sky, keeping mostly to a narrow track called the ecliptic, the path of the Sun across the stars.
| Object | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | Aquarius -> Pisces |
The south pole of the Sun is its most inclined towards us on 7 March. Parts of Africa, Europe and Asia lie in the path of totality when the our star is eclipsed by the Moon on 29 March. |
| Mercury | Pisces -> Aquarius |
Because this tiny planet is at inferior conjunction on 12 March, it disappears from view early in the month. However, it reappears as a morning sky object about a week after conjunction. Southern hemisphere viewers will get an excellent view of Mercury as it rises high in the east before sunrise. |
| Venus | Sagittarius -> Capricornus -> Aquarius -> Capricornus |
The "morning star" reaches greatest elongation west on 25 March. Those in the southern hemisphere will see it climb very high in the east but it remains nearly stationary in altitude for northern hemisphere observers. |
| Mars | Taurus -> Gemini |
The red planet can be seen in the south and southwest after sunset, finally dipping below the horizon around midnight. |
| Jupiter | Libra | As Mars sinks into the west, bright Jupiter rises in the east. |
| Saturn | Cancer | Setting around sunrise, the ringed planet is well-placed for observing during the evening hours. |
| Uranus | Aquarius | At conjunction on 1 March, Uranus is too near to the Sun to be seen this month. |
| Neptune | Capricornus | This planet has only just emerged from conjunction last month and is also hidden in solar glare. |
| Pluto | Serpens (Cauda) | With a brightness of around fourteenth magnitude, the smallest planet in the solar system can be seen only through a good-sized telescope. It rises just as Mars sets. |
Constellations are patterns of stars in the sky. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognises 88 different constellations. The brightest stars as seen from the Earth are easy to spot but do you know their proper names? With a set of binoculars you can look for fainter objects such as nebulae and galaxies or some of the closest stars to the Sun.
Descriptions of the sky for observers in both the northern and southern hemispheres are available for the following times this month. Subtract one hour from your local time if summer (daylight savings) time is in effect.
| Local Time | Northern Hemisphere | Southern Hemisphere |
|---|---|---|
| 1730 hours (1830 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 1930 hours (2030 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 2130 hours (2230 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 2330 hours (0030 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 0130 hours (0230 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 0330 hours (0430 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 0530 hours (0630 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
Much of this information can be found in this month's issue of your favourite amateur astronomy magazine available in your local bookshop. Another excellent source is the current edition of the Astronomical Calendar by Guy Ottewell and published by the Universal Workshop at Furman University.
The image of the Sun in the SkyEye banner is courtesy of the SOHO/EIT consortium. The composite image from May 1998 combines EIT images from three wavelengths (171Å, 195Å and 284Å) into one that reveals solar features unique to each wavelength. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.
Copyright © 1995-2006 by David Harper and L.M. Stockman