SkyEye

Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events.

March 2013

The Calendar

All times and dates are given in Universal Time (UT).
Nightly darkness estimates are calculated for 45° N and 30° S.
Like total solar eclipses, lunar occultation events can be seen only from limited regions on Earth (and sometimes not at all if the occultation takes place during daylight hours). However, the Moon will appear close in the sky to its 'target' for some hours either side of the actual occultation, regardless of where you are.

Date		Event
1	Fri	Moon occults Spica: visible from much of Central and South America from about 05:00 UT.
2	Sat
3	Sun
4	Mon	Mercury at inferior conjunction
4	Mon	Last Quarter Moon
5	Tue	Moon at perigee
6	Wed
7	Thu
8	Fri
9	Sat
10	Sun	Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) at perihelion
11	Mon	New Moon
12	Tue
13	Wed
14	Thu	The Gamma Normids need more observations and this month's dark skies are ideal for those in the southern hemisphere who want to make the attempt.
15	Fri
16	Sat
17	Sun
18	Mon
19	Tue	Moon at apogee
19	Tue	First Quarter Moon
20	Wed	Earth at equinox
21	Thu
22	Fri
23	Sat
24	Sun
25	Mon
26	Tue
27	Wed	Full Moon
28	Thu	Moon occults Spica: visible from southeast Asia and northeastern Australia from about 12:30 UT.
28	Thu	Venus at superior conjunction
29	Fri	Uranus at solar conjunction
30	Sat
31	Sun	Moon at perigee
31	Sun	Mercury at greatest elongation west

Coming up next month...

Next month's Full Moon participates in a partial lunar eclipse.

The Solar System

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. Dwarf planets and small solar-system bodies including comets, are not so constrained, often moving far above or below the ecliptic.

Sun: Aquarius » Pisces
The solar south pole is most inclined toward the Earth early this month. An equinox occurs on Earth on 20 March. The word equinox means 'equal night' so that on this day, the (centre of the) Sun spends an equal amount of time above and below the horizon everywhere on the planet.
Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS): Sculptor » Aquarius » Cetus » Pisces » Cetus » Pisces » Andromeda
Discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System in June 2011, Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) will be at its closest to Earth (1.1 AU) on 5 March and will reach perihelion (0.3 AU) five days later. It may reach third or even second magnitude but as always, take care when looking for any object near to the Sun in the sky. Northern hemisphere observers should look to the west after sunset after the first week of March as the comet gets higher and higher above the horizon. Those living in southern latitudes have been watching the comet get brighter and brighter the past month or so but will miss seeing it depart the inner solar system as Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) speeds northwards and out of their view.
Mercury: Pisces » Aquarius
This is a fantastic month for observing Mercury - if you like getting up early and you live in the southern hemisphere. The smallest planet in the solar system is at inferior conjunction on 4 March but soon appears in the east before sunrise, vaulting high into the morning sky ahead of the Sun and reaching greatest elongation west on the last day of the month. Northern observers get a much more miserable showing, with this elusive planet staying stubbornly low in the sky.
Venus: Aquarius » Pisces » Cetus » Pisces
The morning star is virtually unviewable this month as it is very low in the east just before sunrise and getting lower on its way to superior conjunction on 28 March. It reappears next month as the evening star.
Mars: Aquarius » Pisces » Cetus » Pisces
The red planet is lost in the evening twilight as it approaches conjunction with the Sun next month.
Jupiter: Taurus
The largest planet in the solar system still rules the evening sky, outshining bright Aldebaran. Look for it before midnight.
Saturn: Libra
On its way to opposition next month, Saturn rises mid-evening and takes command of the sky when Jupiter sets soon after.
Uranus: Pisces » Cetus » Pisces
At solar conjunction the day after Venus, this mysterious ice giant is lost to view this month.
Neptune: Aquarius
A small telescope is necessary to view the most distant planet in the solar system but potential observers won't get much joy this month. Neptune was at solar conjunction in February and is lost in the morning twilight.

The Celestial Sphere

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

For More Information...

Consult our online glossary for non-technical explanations of many of the astronomical terms used in these pages.
Blue moons, eclipses, the dates of Easter and much more can be found at the Interactive Astronomy Pages.
For more information about the objects and events described in SkyEye, visit these astronomy-related sites.

Credits

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.

The SkyEye banner features the Hubble Deep Field. Combining approximately 6 days worth of data collected between late December 1997 and late June 1998, this look into intergalactic space harbours a surprise, a supernova 10 billion light years from Earth! Finding such exploding stars at great distances help astronomers determine the past history of the universe, particularly the expansion rate. This image is courtesy of NASA and A. Riess (STScI).