March skies - 2021

The Moon is just past full phase at the beginning of the month. On the 9th, Saturn shares the spotlight with the Moon, and on the 10, Jupiter has the honours, both 4 degrees away from Luna.

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Mercury also is 4 degrees north of the Moon on the 10th, so all three planets will be in a tight grouping – could be a good photo opportunity! By the 16th, the Moon is 3 degrees south of Uranus; the 19th sees Mars just 1.9 degrees away; the 21st finds the cluster M35 0.7 degrees north of the Moon, which reaches full phase on the 28th.

  • Mercury On the 5th, Jupiter is 0.3 degrees north; on the 10th, the Moon is 4 degrees south of Mercury. However, the speedy planet is poorly placed for viewing being so close to the horizon at sunrise – more of a Southern Hemisphere object than for us northerners.
  • Venus is too close to the Sun to be seen.
  • Mars becomes visible in the southwest at sundown among the stars of Taurus, drifting off to the west as the evening progresses. The Moon passes by on the 18th – 19th, just 1.9 degrees to the south. On the 22nd, Mars is 7 degrees north of Aldebaran, the bright star in Hyades cluster.
  • Jupiter is one of a group of three planets lining up along the ecliptic, stretching off west of the Sun in this order -- Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn. As noted above, Mercury is a tough one to see, but Jupiter and Saturn are easy targets. On the 10th, the thin crescent Moon slides by Jupiter.
  • Saturn is part of the ecliptic trio described above, with the Moon passing by on the 9th.
  • Uranus hangs in the western sky at dusk, among the stars of Aries, The Ram. On the 17th, the Moon is 3 degrees to the south of the green/blue planet.
  • Neptune is too close to the Sun to be seen.
  • The Zodiacal Light is visible in the west after evening twilight for the first two weeks of March.
  • Daylight Saving Time begins on March 14.
  • The vernal equinox occurs on the 20th at 9:37 UT.

James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000, was National President for two terms, is now the Editor of the renowned Observer’s Handbook, and Production Manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal. The IAU named asteroid 1995 XC5 “(22421) Jamesedgar” in his honour and he was recently awarded a Fellowship of the RASC.

-James Edgar

Comment on this at lmtimes.ca/edgar

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