{"id":55397,"date":"2024-03-05T15:00:23","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T15:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/d322e9d7-1140-418d-94c1-8426a6157f7e"},"modified":"2024-03-05T16:32:36","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T16:32:36","slug":"visible-planets-in-the-night-sky-march-2024","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/visible-planets-in-the-night-sky-march-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Visible planets in the night sky, March 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\">A guide to observing the planets in March, and which planets will not be visible. <\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Pete Lawrence\n      <\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Tuesday, 05 March 2024 at 15:00 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>In this guide we&#8217;ll reveal which planets will be visible in the sky in March, and which will not be visible at all.<\/p><p>Mercury is probably the planet to keep an eye on, as it is set to improve throughout March 2024, although it begins the month very tricky to see.<\/p><p>Its improvement as the month goes on is due to the inclination of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/ecliptic-tracing-sun-path-across-the-sky\">ecliptic<\/a> plane being rather steep against the western horizon at this time of year as the sun goes down.<\/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 tonight, March 2024\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jKeez88IdGg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>On <strong>7 March<\/strong>, Mercury shines at mag. \u20131.4 and sets 40 minutes after the Sun.<\/p><p>By <strong>25 March<\/strong> Marcury will set two hours after the Sun, and even though its brightness will have decreased, you should still be able to make it out.<\/p><p>Find out more about Mercury in March 2024 and scroll down for our quick guide to visible planets in 2024.<\/p><p><strong><em>Keep up to date with what&#8217;s in the night sky by signing up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/newsletter\">e-newsletter<\/a> and listen to our weekly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/podcasts\/star-diary\">Star Diary podcast<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In late March, Mercury is reasonably well placed above the western horizon after sunset. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-see-the-planets-in-march-2024\"><strong><strong>How to see the planets in March 2024<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/03\/planets-march-2024-1024x341.jpg?fit=800%2C266\" alt=\"The phase and relative sizes of the planets in March 2024. Each planet is shown\u00a0with south at the top, to show its orientation through a telescope\" class=\"wp-image-147512\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The phase and relative sizes of the planets in March 2024. Each planet is shown\u00a0with south at the top, to show its orientation through a telescope<\/figcaption><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Mercury<\/strong><\/h3><ul><li><strong>Best time to see:<\/strong> 25 March, 40 minutes after sunset<\/li><li><strong>Altitude:<\/strong> 10\u00b0<\/li><li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Pisces<\/li><li><strong>Direction:<\/strong> West<\/li><li><strong>Features:<\/strong> Phase, surface markings<\/li><li><strong>Recommended equipment:<\/strong> 150mm scope or larger<\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Venus \u00a0<\/strong><\/h3><ul><li><strong>Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 March,\u00a020 minutes before sunrise<\/li><li><strong>Altitude:<\/strong> 2\u00b0 (very low)<\/li><li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Capricornus<\/li><li><strong>Direction:<\/strong> East-southeast<\/li><\/ul><p>Venus is visible in the morning sky, but is getting trickier with each passing day. On <strong>1 March<\/strong>, it shines at mag. \u20133.8 and rises just 40 minutes before the Sun. On this date it sits close to mag. +1.3 Mars, but this planet is rapidly lost in the bright morning sky.<\/p><p>Venus sits less than half a degree from mag. +0.8 Saturn on <strong>22 March<\/strong>, but the pairing will be lost in the dawn twilight. By the time the <strong>end of March<\/strong> arrives, Venus will rise just 16 minutes before the Sun.\u00a0<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Mars<\/strong><\/h3><p>Mars is in the morning sky in March 2024, but is unlikely to be seen.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Jupiter<\/strong><\/h3><ul><li><strong>Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 March, 18:30 UT<\/li><li><strong>Altitude:<\/strong> 42\u00b0 \u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Aries<\/li><li><strong>Direction:<\/strong> Southwest<\/li><\/ul><p>Jupiter is slowly losing its battle against the evening twilight. On <strong>1 March<\/strong>, it appears 40\u00b0 up against a fairly dark sky, but by the end of the month it\u2019s only 16\u00b0 up under similar darkness. Despite this, Jupiter remains bright and beautiful to look at through a telescope.\u00a0<\/p><p>On <strong>1 March<\/strong>, it shines at mag. \u20132.0, dimming slightly to mag. \u20131.9 by the end of the month. A 16%-illuminated waxing crescent Moon will appear 3.8\u00b0 from Jupiter as true darkness arrives on <strong>13 March<\/strong>. The distance closes until the Moon sits 3\u00b0 northwest of Jupiter as both objects approach the west-northwestern horizon around 22:30 UT.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Saturn<\/strong><\/h3><p>After lining up with the Sun in solar conjunction at the <strong>end of February<\/strong> 2024, Saturn is now a morning object, but it is still too close to the Sun to be seen properly.<\/p><p>On <strong>22 March<\/strong>, it sits 26 arcminutes from mag. \u20133.8 Venus, but at mag. +0.8 and battling against the bright dawn twilight, Saturn is unlikely to be seen.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Uranus<\/strong><\/h3><ul><li><strong>Best time to see:<\/strong> 1 March, 19:40 UT<\/li><li><strong>Altitude:<\/strong> 40\u00b0 \u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Aries<\/li><li><strong>Direction:<\/strong> West-southwest<\/li><\/ul><p>The observing window closes for Uranus this month, the evening twilight rapidly expanding to engulf the<br\/>mag. +5.8 planet. It\u2019s visible under dark-sky conditions at the <strong>start of March<\/strong>, 40\u00b0 above the west southwestern horizon on <strong>1 March<\/strong>. The apparent separation between Uranus and mag. \u20132.0 Jupiter is closing currently.<\/p><p>On <strong>13 March<\/strong>, both planets appear 6.3\u00b0 apart. A beautiful 16%-lit waxing crescent Moon lies 3.8\u00b0 west-northwest of Jupiter on this date around 20:00 UT. By the <strong>end of the month<\/strong>, Uranus will be just 14\u00b0 above the western horizon as true darkness falls. Jupiter will be 3.5\u00b0 to the west of the planet<br\/>at this time.\u00a0<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Neptune<\/strong><\/h3><p>As it reaches solar conjunction on <strong>17 March<\/strong>, Neptune isn\u2019t currently visible.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A guide to observing the planets in March, and which planets will not be visible. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":55398,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/visible-planets-in-the-night-sky-march-2024.jpg",1200,825,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/visible-planets-in-the-night-sky-march-2024-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/visible-planets-in-the-night-sky-march-2024-300x206.jpg",300,206,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/visible-planets-in-the-night-sky-march-2024-768x528.jpg",768,528,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/visible-planets-in-the-night-sky-march-2024-1024x704.jpg",800,550,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/visible-planets-in-the-night-sky-march-2024.jpg",1200,825,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/visible-planets-in-the-night-sky-march-2024.jpg",1200,825,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A guide to observing the planets in March, and which planets will not be visible.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/55397"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}