{"id":55309,"date":"2024-02-27T14:18:10","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T14:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/7ad3a307-4e40-4c49-a90f-c239b27d55d5"},"modified":"2024-02-27T15:34:10","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T15:34:10","slug":"what-to-see-in-the-night-sky-tonight-march-2024","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/what-to-see-in-the-night-sky-tonight-march-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"What to see in the night sky tonight, March 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\">What can you see in the night sky tonight? Find out what&#8217;s on view in our monthly stargazing guide. <\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Pete Lawrence\n      <\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Tuesday, 27 February 2024 at 14:18 PM<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p>What&#8217;s in the night sky tonight?<\/p><p>Those of us who enjoy stargazing and observing the night sky can&#8217;t always plan when and where we&#8217;re going to get the chance to gaze upwards.<\/p><p>Busy schedules, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/light-pollution-astronomy\/\">light pollution<\/a>, the weather: sometimes finding even just 30 minutes to stand and stare up at a clear, dark night sky and take in the planets, stars and constellations can be a feat in itself.<\/p><p>So when you do find the time, you&#8217;ll need to know what&#8217;s visible in the night sky tonight, and the best things to look out for when stargazing.<\/p><p><em><strong>Complete newcomer? Read our guides to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/top-astronomy-kit\/best-telescopes-beginners\/\">best telescopes for beginners<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/astronomy-for-beginners\/\">astronomy for beginners<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What's in the night sky, February 2024\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fjeGLX3I5aI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>Here&#8217;s our stargazing guide to what you can see in the night sky tonight.<\/p><p>Our guide is centred around what&#8217;s visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.<\/p><p>In our guide, we use Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT<\/p><p class=\"p3\">We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).<\/p><p class=\"p3\">These coordinates are the night sky\u2019s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial \u2018globe\u2019.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">For help with these, read our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/a-guide-to-celestial-coordinates\/\">celestial coordinates<\/a>.<\/p><p><em><strong>For more advice, read our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/stargazing-top-tips\/\">how to stargaze<\/a> or sign up to receive the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/newsletter\/\">BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter<\/a> for weekly tips delivered directly to your email inbox.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p><strong><em>If you&#8217;re south of the equator, find out what you can see in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/southern-hemisphere-night-sky-tonight\">Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Milky Way over Namthing Pokhri Lake Basudeb Chakrabarti, West Bengal, India, 13 March 2022 Equipment: Nikon D5200 DSLR, Tokina 11\u201316mm lens, tripod<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-s-in-the-night-sky-tonight\"><strong>What&#8217;s in the night sky tonight?<\/strong><\/h2><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-march-astronomy-highlights\"><strong>March astronomy highlights<\/strong><\/h3><ul><li><strong>2 March:<\/strong> Minor planet 3 Juno reaches opposition<\/li><li><strong>13 March:<\/strong> Jupiter lies near a waxing crescent Moon (pm)<\/li><li><strong>14 March:<\/strong> Waxing crescent Moon lies near the Pleiades (pm)<\/li><li><strong>26 March:<\/strong> Spica lies very close to the Moon (pm)<\/li><li><strong>29-31 March:<\/strong> C\/2021 S3 PanSTARRS crosses the Coathanger Cluster<\/li><\/ul><p>The Northern Hemisphere\u2019s spring, or vernal, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/solstices-equinoxes\">equinox<\/a> occurs on 20 March, marking the transition of the Sun\u2019s northward movement across the celestial equator.\u00a0<\/p><p>Jupiter and Uranus struggle this month as the evening twilight expands to envelop them.<\/p><p>Coupled with a shallow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/ecliptic-tracing-sun-path-across-the-sky\">ecliptic<\/a> angle in the morning sky, this is a poor month for the main planets.<\/p><p>Not so minor planet <strong>3 Juno<\/strong> which reaches opposition on 2 March, shining around ninth magnitude in the southern part of <strong>Leo, the Lion<\/strong>.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Comets<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full has-lightbox\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"765\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/02\/Comet-C-2021-S3-PanSTARRS-march-2024.jpg\" alt=\"Chart showing the postiion of comet C\/2021 S3 PanSTARRS throughout March 2024. Credit: Pete Lawrence\" class=\"wp-image-146650\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chart showing the position of comet C\/2021 S3 PanSTARRS throughout March 2024. Click on the chart to zoom in. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>Comets remain interesting during March, and there are a number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/comets-2024\">bright comets in 2024<\/a> that beg to be observed.<\/p><p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/comet-c-2021-s3-panstarrs\">C\/2021 S3 PanSTARRS<\/a><\/strong> moves into a more favourable position and shines bright enough to be seen with binoculars.<\/p><p>Both <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/comet-62p-tsuchinshan\">62P\/Tsuchinshan 1<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/comet-144p-kushida\">144P\/Kushida<\/a><\/strong> are expected to be brighter than 10th magnitude, and comet <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/comet-c-2023-a3-tsuchinshan-atlas\">C\/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS<\/a><\/strong> is predicted to brighten from 13th to 12th magnitude.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full has-lightbox\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"964\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/01\/Comet-62P-Tsuchinshan.jpg\" alt=\"Chart showing the location of Comet 62P\/Tsuchinshan in March 2024. Credit: Pete Lawrence\" class=\"wp-image-145778\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chart showing the location of Comet 62P\/Tsuchinshan in March 2024. Click on the chart to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Moon<\/strong><\/h2><p>When the Moon is full and near perigee, the point in its orbit closest to Earth, great fuss is made of what\u2019s been coined a \u2018<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/supermoon-what-when-next\">Supermoon<\/a><\/strong>\u2019 in popular culture.<\/p><p>A fortnight later, the 25 March full Moon is close to lunar apogee which occurs on 23 March, the point when the Moon is furthest from Earth.<\/p><p>This has an unofficial name too, known as a \u2018<strong>Micromoon<\/strong>\u2019.<\/p><p>The Moon will be undergoing a weak penumbral eclipse on the morning of 25 March from 04:53 UT until moonset.\u00a0<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Stars and constellations<\/strong><\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1258\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/01\/castor-pollux-gemini-chart-f78ecc3.jpg\" alt=\"Chart showing Castor and Pollux in Gemini. Credit: Pete Lawrence\" class=\"wp-image-115525\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chart showing Castor and Pollux in Gemini. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure><p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/orion-constellation-best-targets-observe\">Orion<\/a>, the Hunter<\/strong> struggles to hang on throughout March, its westward drift dragging the Hunter towards the expanding evening twilight.<\/p><p>Draw a line from Rigel through Betelgeuse and keep it going for almost twice that distance to arrive at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/castor-pollux-stars-gemini\"><strong>Castor<\/strong> <strong>and<\/strong> <strong>Pollux<\/strong><\/a>, <strong>Alpha (<\/strong>\u03b1<strong>) and Beta (<\/strong>\u03b2<strong>) Geminorum<\/strong>.<\/p><p>These represent the heads of the Twins of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/constellation-gemini\">Gemini<\/a>.<\/p><p>Castor is interesting as it\u2019s a sextuplet star system: six stars in mutual orbit.<\/p><p>Through a telescope under 200x or higher magnification, the main components appear as two white stars of mag. 1.9 and 2.9, separated by 4.4-arcseconds.\u00a0<\/p><p>Almost overhead early evening you\u2019ll find the easy to recognise <strong>Plough<\/strong> or Saucepan asterism.<\/p><p>Identify the pan and extend the line of the side nearest the handle down and away from the handle.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/sickle-asterism-6c273bf.jpg\" alt=\"The Sickle asterism is found in the constellation Leo. Credit: CEDIC Team Hubl Bernard \/ CCDGuide.com\" class=\"wp-image-103731\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Sickle asterism is found in the constellation Leo. Credit: CEDIC Team Hubl Bernard \/ CCDGuide.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>Eventually, you\u2019ll arrive at bright <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/regulus\">Regulus<\/a><\/strong> (Alpha (\u03b1) Leonis) in Leo, the Lion, easy to confirm as this star sits at the southern end of a backward question mark pattern, known as <strong>the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/sickle-asterism\">Sickle<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p><p>Draw a line from Regulus to the northern Twin star Castor and, using binoculars, look at the position slightly south of the mid-point of this line.<\/p><p>Here you\u2019ll find the fantastic sight of M44, the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/astrophotography\/stars\/star-clusters\/beehive-cluster\">Beehive Cluster<\/a><\/strong> in the heart of Cancer, the Crab.<\/p><p>The Crab appears as a faint, inverted &#8216;Y&#8217;.<\/p><p>Locate the star marking the southeast point of this pattern, Acubens (Alpha (\u03b1) Cancri), and less than half an average binocular field of view to the west of it you\u2019ll find the much fainter <strong>M67<\/strong> open cluster, best seen through a telescope.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full has-lightbox\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"869\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/09\/Beehive-Cluster-cancer-ffb1f11.jpg\" alt=\"Chart showing the location of the populated Beehive Cluster, M44, within the dim constellation of Cancer, the Crab. Credit: Pete Lawrence\" class=\"wp-image-99487\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chart showing the location of the populated Beehive Cluster, M44, within the dim constellation of Cancer, the Crab. Click on the chart to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-night-sky-in-march-2024-night-by-night\"><strong>Night sky in March 2024, night-by-night<\/strong><\/h2><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Friday 1 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>Bright Venus appears very close to Mars this morning, but the mag. +1.3 Red Planet is rapidly lost to the brightening dawn sky.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Saturday 2 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>Minor planet 3 Juno reaches opposition today, when it can be found shining at mag. +8.6 against the stars of Leo.\u00a0<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sunday 3 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>This morning\u2019s last quarter Moon sits immediately west of M4 and 1.9\u00b0 west of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/antares\">Antares<\/a> (Alpha (\u03b1) Scorpii).<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sunday 10 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>The Moon reaches perigee at 07:07 UT, a couple of hours prior to new Moon at 09:03 UT. According to the \u2018official\u2019 definition, this counts as a new supermoon, although you won\u2019t be able to see it.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Monday 11 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>This evening\u2019s 2%-lit waxing crescent Moon sits 7.5\u00b0 east-northeast from mag. \u20131.2 Mercury, both visible 30 minutes after sunset, very low above the western horizon.\u00a0<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Wednesday 13 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>See the 16%-lit waxing crescent Moon 3\u00b0 northwest of Jupiter as both objects approach the west-northwestern horizon this evening around 22:30 UT.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Thursday 14 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>Catch this evening\u2019s 26%-lit waxing crescent Moon around 23:40 UT and look out for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/astrophotography\/stars\/star-clusters\/pleiades\">Pleiades<\/a> open cluster located 3.2\u00b0 to the northeast.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Saturday 16 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>Look directly above this evening\u2019s 46%-lit waxing crescent Moon and see whether you can spot mag. +1.6 Elnath (Beta (\u03b2) Tauri) immediately north of it around 21:20 UT.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sunday 17 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>Four popular <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/clair-obscur-effects-on-moon\">clair-obscur effects<\/a> are visible today: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/lunar-x-v\">Lunar X and V<\/a>, optimal at 14:21 UT in daylight; the Face in Albategnius, best seen around 22:15 UT; and Nessie in the crater Ptolemaeus is visible around midnight.\u00a0<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Monday 18 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>The clair-obscur effect known as the Eyes of Clavius is visible around 19:50 UT.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Wednesday 20 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>The Northern\u2019s Hemisphere\u2019s vernal equinox occurs today, the centre of the Sun\u2019s disc moving south to north across the celestial equator at 03:06 UT.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Friday 22 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>Venus is 27 arcminutes from Saturn at 06:00 UT as they rise above the east-southeastern horizon. Mag. \u20133.8 Venus should be visible, but at mag. +0.8 and against the bright dawn twilight, Saturn will be tricky.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Saturday 23 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>See this evening\u2019s 98%-lit waxing gibbous Moon occult mag. +4.0 Sigma (\u03c3) Leonis at around 21:00 UT.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sunday 24 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation, appearing separated from the Sun by 18.7\u00b0 in the evening sky. The mag. \u20130.1 planet sets nearly two hours after the Sun.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Monday 25 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>This morning\u2019s full Moon experiences a penumbral lunar eclipse. This is not well presented for UK observers, who only get the start of an already difficult-to-see event, just before the Moon sets below the horizon.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tuesday 26 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>As the just past full Moon rises this evening, around 20:30 UT, look out for mag. +1.0 Spica (Alpha (\u03b1) Virginis) very close to it.\u00a0<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Friday 29 March<\/strong><\/h3><p>The eighth-magnitude comet C\/2021 S3 PanSTARRS crosses the Coathanger Cluster (Collinder 399) from today through to 31 March.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What can you see in the night sky tonight? Find out what&#8217;s on view in our monthly stargazing guide. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":55310,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"7"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/02\/what-to-see-in-the-night-sky-tonight-march-2024.jpg",2119,1414,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/02\/what-to-see-in-the-night-sky-tonight-march-2024-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/02\/what-to-see-in-the-night-sky-tonight-march-2024-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/02\/what-to-see-in-the-night-sky-tonight-march-2024-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/02\/what-to-see-in-the-night-sky-tonight-march-2024-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/02\/what-to-see-in-the-night-sky-tonight-march-2024-1536x1025.jpg",1536,1025,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/02\/what-to-see-in-the-night-sky-tonight-march-2024-2048x1367.jpg",2048,1367,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"What can you see in the night sky tonight? 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