SkyEye: March 2024

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

All times and dates are in UT with the time given to the nearest 30 minutes.
Planetary positions are geocentric apparent places, referred to the true equator and equinox of date.

The phases of the in March 2024

Day	Events
1
2
3	The LAST QUARTER MOON occults the first-magnitude star α Sco (Antares) at 08:00. Minor planet 3 Juno is at opposition today but a telescope will be necessary to see this ninth-magnitude object.
4
5
6
7
8	The waning crescent Moon is just over 3° south of Mars at 05:00 and Venus at 17:00. Meanwhile, at 15:00, Mercury and Neptune are just 0.4° apart in evening twilight.
9	Saturn and a very slender crescent Moon are 1.5° distant at 17:00.
10	The nearest perigee of the year occurs just two hours before NEW MOON, leading to extreme "perigean tides" on Earth. At 19:30, the Moon occults Neptune.
11	The very young crescent Moon occults Mercury (magnitude −1.3) at 02:30.
12	The Moon passes through its ascending node.
13
14	The waxing crescent Moon first passes 3.6° north of Jupiter (01:00) and then 3.4° north of Uranus (11:30).
15	The open cluster M45 (Pleiades) is occulted by the Moon at 03:00.
16
17	The FIRST QUARTER MOON occurs at 04:00. Seven hours later, Neptune is at conjunction with the Sun.
18
19	The Moon is 1.5° south of the first-magnitude star β Gem (Pollux) at 06:30.
20	The Earth is at equinox today. At 08:00, the waxing gibbous Moon passes 3.5° north of the open cluster M44 (Beehive).
21	Venus and Saturn are just 0.3° apart at 23:00.
22	At 05:00, the Moon is 3.6° north of the first-magnitude star α Leo (Regulus).
23	The Moon reaches apogee.
24	Mercury is at a greatest elongation east of 18.7°.
25	The FULL MOON participates in a penumbral lunar eclipse beginning at 05:00 and concluding at 09:30.
26	The Moon passes through its descending node. At 19:30, the waning gibbous Moon is 1.4° north of the first-magnitude star α Vir (Spica).
27
28
29
30	Seventeenth-magnitude dwarf planet 136472 Makemake is at opposition today. At 14:30, the Moon occults α Sco (Antares) for the second time this month.
31

The position of the Sun and planets at mid-March 2024

Sun Aquarius → Pisces The solar south pole is most inclined toward Earth early this month.

Mercury Aquarius → Pisces Mercury makes it first appearance in the sunset sky this month in what is the best evening apparition of the year for observers in northern temperate latitudes. The planet begins the month at magnitude −1.8 but dims throughout, ending March at first magnitude. It is highest above the western horizon around the time of greatest elongation east on 24 March. The close pass by Neptune on 8 March and occultation by the young crescent Moon on 11 March both take place very near to the Sun.

Venus Capricornus → Aquarius The morning star is best observed from the southern hemisphere; it is skimming the eastern horizon at sunrise as seen from more northerly latitudes. Venus (magnitude −3.9) and Saturn (magnitude +1.0) are less than 20° from the Sun when they have their close encounter on 21 March.

Earth and Moon As witnessed from Earth, the Sun passes through the celestial equator south to north on 20 March, resulting in an equinox. As a result, the days in the northern hemisphere become longer than the nights with the reverse true in the southern hemisphere. This will be the case until the next solstice which occurs in June. The coincidence of New Moon and the closest perigee of the year on 10 March brings on extreme "perigean tides". The Moon occults Antares twice this month and the waxing crescent Moon provides an attractive spectacle on 15 March when it passes through the Pleiades open star cluster in Taurus.

Mars Capricornus → Aquarius The red planet is a morning sky object, best viewed from the southern hemisphere. It does not rise until dawn when sought from northern skies. The first-magnitude object skims past several third- and fourth-magnitude stars in Capricornus and Aquarius this month, including θ Cap on 2 March, ι Cap on 7 March, γ Cap (Nashira) on 12 March, δ Cap (Deneb Algedi, the brightest star in the constellation) on 15 March, and finally ι Aqr on 21 March.

Jupiter Aries The brightest of the superior planets is shining at magnitude −2.2 in the faint constellation of Aries this month and slowly advancing on Uranus. It is visible in the evening sky and is best viewed from northern latitudes where it does not set until late evening.

Saturn Aquarius Saturn appears in the morning sky after conjunction late last month. It is low in the east at dawn, with early risers in the southern hemisphere having the best opportunity to see it. Saturn's close pass by the fourth-magnitude variable star λ Aqr on 17 March is probably unobservable. The ringed planet is just 0.3° away from Venus four days later but the two bright planets are only 19° away from the Sun at the time.

Uranus Aries Located very near Jupiter in the sky, Uranus is visible in the evening but at sixth-magnitude, requires dark skies to view it. On 5 March, Uranus is less than a degree south of 53 Ari, a variable star of similar brightness to the planet..

Neptune Pisces Neptune is at conjunction mid-month and is lost to view in bright skies. Its close approach to Mercury on 8 March and occultation by the New Moon two days later are unobservable.