The Night Sky in March

Abstract

THE date of the spring equinox is March 21d 12h U.T. The moon is full on March 5 at 18h and new on March 21 at 2h. X Geminoram (magnitude 3-6) is occulted on March 2, the disappearance taking place as seen from Greenwich at Oh 23-6m at position angle 154° from the north point of the moon's disk. x Cancri, a fifth magnitude star, is occulted on March 3 at 18h 23-4m; 97 Tauri (mag. 5-1) is also occulted on March 26 at 18h 43-6m. Lunar conjunctions with the planets occur as follows: on March 13 with Mars; on March 17 with Venus; on March 22 with Mercury at llh and with Saturn at 17h. Jupiter is in conjunction with the sun on March 6. Neptune is in opposition on March 13. Mercury is at greatest elongation (18°E.) on March 17. Some ten days previously it may be possible to detect this elusive planet in the evening twilight at 18£h nearly due west and at 5° above the horizon. Saturn is an evening star setting at about 20h in mid-March. Venus, a bright morning star (mag. -3-8 to -3-6), rises before 5h, preceded by Mars, the rising of which is more than two hours earlier. Under suitable conditions, the Zodiacal Light may be seen after sunset during this month. In the middle of March, Sirius is due south about an hour after sunset. As the sky darkens, the rich assembly of bright stars west of the meridian contrasts with the sparseness of the eastern half of the sky. It is in this less spectacular region, however, that the great space-penetrating telescopes are able to record the remote extra-galactic nebulas, of which notable clusters are in the constellations of Leo and Ursa Major.