The primary two weeks of March present a terrific alternative to sight 4 vivid naked-eye planets within the early night sky.
Low towards the west blazes Venus, which serves as a handy celestial landmark to make a sighting of Mercury which might be hovering not removed from it. Mercury places on its greatest night apparition of 2025 for Northern Hemisphere observers throughout these two weeks. Venus will plummet dramatically towards its inferior conjunction on March 22, when it passes 8.4 levels north of the sun. For a number of days round this date, we will attempt recognizing Venus in vivid twilight each instantly earlier than dawn and proper after sundown. It quickly zooms into the morning sky, reaching an angular distance of 15 levels from the solar by month’s finish.
In the meantime, glowing brilliantly, nicely up within the southern and western sky is Jupiter. Mars, accompanied by its stellar companions Pollux and Castor, climbs nearly overhead a few hours after sundown and continues to noticeably dim because it pulls away from Earth. The one planet that’s out of the viewing loop this month is Saturn, which is just too near the solar to be seen, reaching photo voltaic conjunction on March 12. Earth will go via the airplane of Saturn’s ring system on March 23, at which era the rings theoretically disappear. Sadly, Saturn might be solely 10-degrees from the solar presently so commentary of a ringless Saturn isn’t attainable, at the very least not simply but.
Associated: Night sky, March 2025: What you can see tonight [maps]
Learn extra: Best telescopes for seeing planets in 2025
High telescope choose!
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In our schedule, keep in mind that when measuring the angular separation between two celestial objects, your clenched fist held at arm’s size measures roughly 10 levels. Right here, we current a schedule beneath which supplies a number of the greatest planet viewing instances as nicely directing you as to the place to look to see them.
SPECIAL NOTE: Daylight Saving Time returns on this second Sunday in March. Besides within the states of Arizona and Hawaii, and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, clocks are to be moved ahead one hour at 2:00 a.m. The mnemonic is: “Spring ahead, Fall again.”
Make sure to take a look at our best telescopes for viewing planets guide and our extra common guides for the best binoculars and the best telescopes. In the event you’re all in favour of taking your personal spectacular skywatching photographs, we’ve got suggestions for the very best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses for astrophotography.
The solar
The sun reaches the March equinox at 5:01 a.m. Jap Daylight Time on March 20. That is when it crosses the equator heading northward. This second marks the change of seasons: the start of spring within the Northern Hemisphere and fall within the Southern.
Mercury
Mercury reaches best elongation, 18 levels east of the solar on the night of March 8, showing nearly straight above that place on the western horizon the place the solar set. In mid-twilight, about 45 minutes after sundown from latitude 40 levels north, Mercury will stand 9 levels above the horizon practically due west, and seven levels to the decrease left of Venus. Mercury will set simply after twilight ends on this date; its magnitude is -0.3. However Mercury fades very quickly thereafter. By the twelfth it can have dimmed to magnitude +0.7 and simply 4 days later its magnitude is +1.9, definitely too faint for it to be seen in vivid twilight with out optical assist.
On the night of March 1, there’ll come a chance to sight each Mercury and Venus close to to a stunning waxing crescent moon. Begin wanting a half-hour after sundown, low towards the western horizon for the slender lunar sliver. About 10 levels beneath and barely to its proper might be Mercury, shining at magnitude -1.0, whereas 7 levels to the higher proper of the moon might be Venus, dazzling as at all times at magnitude -4.8. On March 24, Mercury arrives at inferior conjunction and enters the morning sky.
Venus
Venus begins March gleaming excessive above the western horizon at nightfall. (It is 23 levels up a half hour after sundown for observers round 40 levels north latitude.) However Venus plummets out of the night sky within the subsequent few weeks. By March 6 Venus is nineteen levels excessive a half hour after sundown, and that’s lowered to simply 5 levels by March 16. Venus passes straight north of the solar on March 20 and reaches inferior conjunction, passing the solar’s place alongside the ecliptic, on March 22. And Venus is closest to the solar within the sky (8.4 levels aside) just some hours after that.
Nonetheless, outstanding views of Venus can be found this month. Solely close to inferior conjunction is Venus’s large, skinny crescent seen via steadily supported binoculars — and even presumably with out optical assist by a number of exceptionally keen-eyed observers. And solely each 8 years, when Venus is way north of the solar at inferior conjunction, can Northern Hemisphere observers see the planet at daybreak and nightfall on the identical day. Venus begins rising simply earlier than the solar (at latitude 40 levels north) as early as March 12. On March 20, Venus is about 5 levels above the horizon each at dawn and sundown. By the twenty fourth, Venus is already 2 levels above the japanese horizon a half hour earlier than dawn and on March 31, will probably be 6 levels excessive.
Mars
Mars resembles a golden orange level close to to the “Twins Stars” of Gemini, Pollux and Castor. Mars crosses the meridian about three hours after sundown on March 1st and one hour after sunset on the thirty first. It passes practically overhead for observers in the US (besides Alaska). This month Mars fades sharply from magnitude -0.3 (brighter than Arcturus) to +0.4 (equal to Procyon), as its distance grows from 81 to 106 million miles (130 to 170 million km). Evaluate Mars to Betelgeuse. Which is redder? Solely a pretty big telescope with good optics on an excellent night time is more likely to present a lot element on Mars.
Jupiter
Jupiter treks past Aldebaran and the Hyades in March, showing greater than 2/3 of the best way up within the southern sky at nightfall on the first and nonetheless midway up within the west at nightfall on March 31. This behemoth world dims from magnitude -2.3 to -2.1 throughout this month, and its obvious diameter diminishes in dimension by about 8 %. On the night of March 5, as darkness falls, be aware of the moon sitting about 8 levels to the higher proper of Jupiter.
Saturn
Saturn passes via conjunction with the solar on March 12, and stays misplaced within the glare of dawn for the remainder of the month. On the twenty third, its well-known rings might be turned edge-on to Earth for the primary time since 2009, in order that when it emerges into view within the morning sky subsequent month, it can seem ringless via most telescopes.
Joe Rao serves as an teacher and visitor lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmers’ Almanac and different publications.
Editor’s Observe: In the event you get a terrific picture of any of the planets and wish to share it with House.com’s readers, ship your picture(s), feedback, and your title and site to spacephotos@house.com.
