Astronomy Essentials

Visible planets and night sky guide for March

March 18 evening: Moon near Pollux and Castor

On the evening of March 18, 2024, the bright waxing gibbous moon will pass Pollux and Castor, the “twin” stars of Gemini. They’re named for twin brothers born from different fathers. So, they don’t really look alike. Pollux is a bit brighter and golden in color. And Castor appears white. They’ll rise before sunset and travel across the sky’s dome until a little before sunrise.

White dots for the moon and two stars on March 17 and 18.
Chart by EarthSky.

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Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.

Wow, colors change just before the moon covers the sun!

March 18, 2024, is 21 days until April 8’s total solar eclipse. In the minutes before the moon covers the sun completely, everything in your surroundings will begin to look EERIE. Part of the reason is color weirdness! Watch this video to know about the Purkinje Effect, which creates the strange colors on an eclipse day. And here’s a tip … ask your family and friends to wear red or green on April 8.

Watch the Countdown to Eclipse video series

Read about the April 8 total solar eclipse

This weekend’s EarthSky Minute: Moon and bright stars

Join EarthSky’s Marcy Curran for a 1-minute video preview of the moon throughout this weekend, as it visits some of our sky’s brightest evening stars. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we call these stars the Winter Circle or Winter Hexagon. Check them out!

March 20: March Equinox

The March equinox marks the sun’s crossing above the Earth’s equator, moving from south to north. It’ll happen at 3:06 UTC on March 20, 2024 (9:06 p.m. CDT on March 19). It marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.

Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.

March 20 and 21 evenings: Moon near Regulus

On the evenings of March 22 and 23, 2024, the fat waxing gibbous moon will float near the bright star Regulus, the brightest star in Leo the Lion. They’ll be visible through dawn.

White dots for the moon and a star on March 20 and 21.
Chart by EarthSky.

March evenings: Watch for the zodiacal light

The zodiacal light – a hazy pyramid of light, really sunlight reflecting off dust grains that move in the plane of our solar system – is now visible after evening twilight for Northern Hemisphere observers with dark skies. When the young moon waxes, the zodiacal light becomes harder to see. Southern Hemisphere observers? Look for the zodiacal light before morning twilight begins. Read about the zodiacal light.

Moon phases for the month

Join EarthSky’s Marcy Curran for a 1-minute video preview of the moon phases – and dates when the moon visits some planets – for the month of March 2024.

Moon at apogee March 23

The moon will reach apogee – its farthest distance from Earth in its elliptical orbit around Earth – at 16 UTC (10 a.m. CDT) on March 23, 2024, when it’s 252,459 miles (406,293 km) away.

March 24 and 25: Full Worm Moon and penumbral lunar eclipse

The instant of full moon – the Worm Moon – will fall at 7 UTC (1 a.m. CDT) on March 25, 2024. It’ll be the second smallest – most distant – full moon in 2024 at 251,900 miles (405,394 km) away. Also, if the moon is above the horizon, you can see a penumbral lunar eclipse. People in parts of Antarctica, the western half of Africa, western Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, the Americas, the Pacific Ocean, Japan and the eastern half of Australia will see a deep penumbral lunar eclipse. The penumbral eclipse begins at 4:53 UTC on March 25, 2024 (10:53 p.m. CDT on March 24).

March 24 evening: Mercury at greatest evening elongation

Mercury is farthest from the sun on our sky’s dome – at greatest elongation – at 23 UTC on March 24, 2024 (5 p.m. CDT). At that time, Mercury is 19 degrees from the sun in our sky. This will be its best evening apparition of 2024 for the Northern Hemisphere.

Mercury reaches Greatest Eastern Elongation on March 24.
Chart by EarthSky.

Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.

March 25 and 26 evenings: Moon near Spica

On the evenings of March 25 and 26, 2024, the waning gibbous moon will hang near the bright star Spica in Virgo the Maiden. They’ll rise soon after sunset and be visible until sunrise.

White dots for the moon and a star on March 25 and 26.
Chart by EarthSky.

March 27 to April 10: Zodiacal light

The zodiacal light may be visible after evening twilight for Northern Hemisphere observers for the next two weeks. Southern Hemisphere observers? Look for it before morning twilight begins.

March 30 and 31 mornings: Moon near Antares

On the mornings of March 30 and 31, 2024, the waning gibbous moon will lie close to the bright star Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion. In fact, at 15 UTC on March 30, 2024, skywatchers in parts of northeast Melanesia, Micronesia and most of Polynesia will see the moon pass in front of – or occult – Antares.

White dots for the moon and stars in Scorpios on March 30 and 31.
Chart by EarthSky.

March evenings: Look for Auriga the Charioteer

The bright star Capella is almost overhead this month. It’s the brightest light in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer. To be sure you’ve found Capella, look for a little triangle of stars nearby. Capella is sometimes called the Goat Star, and the little triangle of stars is an asterism called The Kids. After finding Capella, you can trace out the rest of this pentagon-shaped group of stars. Read more about Capella and Auriga.

Star chart showing the constellation Auriga with stars and other objects labeled.
Chart by EarthSky.

March evenings: Look for Gemini the Twins

On March evenings, the constellation Gemini the Twins is high overhead on the sky’s dome. Look for the bright – and obvious – “twin” stars, Castor and Pollux. These two stars aren’t really twins. Pollux is brighter and more golden. Castor is slightly fainter and white. But both stars are bright, and they’re noticeable for being close together on the sky’s dome. You may need dark skies to locate the rest of the constellation. In March, the constellation is highest around 9 p.m. That’s your local time, no matter where you are on the globe. You can use binoculars to see a nice open star cluster listed on the chart below, M35.

Star chart showing the stars of the constellation Gemini the Twins, with Castor, Pollux, Alhena and M35 marked.
Image via EarthSky.

March evenings: Look for the Winter Triangle

The Winter Triangle isn’t a constellation. It’s an asterism, made of three bright stars in the Northern Hemisphere’s winter sky (or the Southern Hemisphere’s summer sky). Procyon, Sirius and Betelgeuse are easy to find on winter and spring evenings. It’s also part of a larger asterism, the Winter Circle. And locating bright stars can help you find constellations. Sirius is in Canis Major, Procyon is in Canis Minor and Betelgeuse is in Orion the Hunter.

Procyon, Betelgeuse and Sirius form a triangle.
Chart via EarthSky.

Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.

Visible planets in March 2024

Early March mornings: Venus and Mars

The brightest planet is Venus, and at the beginning of March it will be low in the morning twilight descending more each day. At the same time, Mars climbs slowly higher each day but will remain challenging to spot in the morning twilight. It’ll be fun to watch them grow apart. Venus will disappear before mid-month. When is the last day you catch Venus in the sky? Once Venus slips away, it won’t be visible again until it pops up in the evening sky in August. Also, a thin waning crescent moon will visit Venus and Mars on the mornings of March 7 and 8, 2024. The pair will be easiest to spot in binoculars.

Here’s a binocular view of Venus and Mars as they move away from each other at the beginning of March.

Large brown circle with dots for Venus and Mars showing them on March 1 with arrows moving opposite directions.
Chart by EarthSky.

Mid-March mornings: Mars

Mars will become easier to identify in the morning twilight, rising about an hour before sunrise. Although you probably won’t see them in the morning twilight, Mars will lie in front of the constellation of Capricornus the Sea-goat and will move into Aquarius the Water Bearer near the end of the month. Mars remains a morning object through all of 2024.

Dot for Mars in the March morning sky.
Chart by EarthSky.

March evenings: Jupiter

Bright Jupiter is easy to spot in the March 2024 evening sky. However, it is losing altitude and brightness as it descends closer to the sun. It will set about five hours after the sun at the beginning of the month, and about three hours after sunset by month’s end. It will shine near the pretty Pleiades star cluster in the constellation Taurus the Bull. Jupiter reached opposition overnight on November 2-3, 2023, when we flew between it and the sun. So, as Jupiter recedes from Earth, it’ll fade a bit in our sky. It will reach opposition again on December 7, 2024, so it’ll be at its brightest for the year around then. It will lie in the dim constellation Aries the Ram, and it’ll shine at -2.1 magnitude by month’s end. The waxing crescent moon will float by Jupiter on March 13, 2024.

White dot for Jupiter in March.
Chart by EarthSky.

March evenings: Mercury

The bright but elusive planet Mercury emerges during the second week of the month and quickly rises to prominence after sunset. This will be Mercury’s best evening apparition for the Northern Hemisphere in 2024. It’ll reach its greatest distance from the sun on the evening of March 24. And then, it’ll fade quickly and be gone by the end of the month. Bright Jupiter will be higher in the sky.

An arrow and dots for Mercury and Jupiter in March for the Northern Hemisphere.
Chart by EarthSky.

Where’s Saturn?

You probably won’t see Saturn this month.

Thank you to all who submit images to EarthSky Community Photos! View community photos here. We love you all. Submit your photo here.

Looking for a dark sky? Check out EarthSky’s Best Places to Stargaze.

Sky dome maps for visible planets and night sky

The sky dome maps come from master astronomy chart-maker Guy Ottewell. You’ll find charts like these for every month of 2024 in his Astronomical Calendar.

Guy Ottewell explains sky dome maps

Visible planets: Circle constellations, planets, the moon, the Milky Way and celestial lines.
Here is the sky dome view for March 2024. It shows what is above the horizon at mid-evening for mid-northern latitudes. The view may vary depending on your location. Image via Guy Ottewell’s 2024 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.

Heliocentric solar system visible planets and more

The sun-centered charts come from Guy Ottewell. You’ll find charts like these for every month of 2024 in his Astronomical Calendar.

Guy Ottewell explains heliocentric charts.

Circle with sun at center, planets around, and zodiac names on outer edge.
Heliocentric view of solar system, March 2024. Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2024 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.

Some resources to enjoy

For more videos of great night sky events, visit EarthSky’s YouTube page.

Watch EarthSky’s video about Two Great Solar Eclipses Coming Up

Don’t miss anything. Subscribe to daily emails from EarthSky. It’s free!

Visit EarthSky’s Best Places to Stargaze to find a dark-sky location near you.

Post your own night sky photos at EarthSky Community Photos.

Translate Universal Time (UTC) to your time.

See the indispensable Observer’s Handbook, from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

Visit Stellarium-Web.org for precise views from your location.

Almanac: Bright visible planets (rise and set times for your location).

Visit TheSkyLive for precise views from your location.

Illustration of mythological constellations in the sky.
Attention amateur astronomers! Guy Ottewell’s popular and informative Astronomical Calendar for 2024 is available in both electronic and printed versions.

Bottom line: Visible planets in March 2022. We’re 21 days from eclipse day on April 8! Tonight the moon visits Castor and Pollux, the Gemini “twins.”

Posted 
March 18, 2024
 in 
Astronomy Essentials

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