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Monthly Night Sky Calendar

Events

• Mar. 1 Mon. evening: The Moon is 8º to the right of Saturn as they rise around 8 p.m.; following each other across the sky all night, by morning the Moon is to the lower right of the planet.
• 7 Sun.: The Moon is at 3rd quarter.
• 11 Thu.: Mars resumes direct (eastward) motion against the background stars.
• 14 Sun 2 a.m.: Set clocks forward ("spring forward") to Daylight Saving Time.
• 14 Sun.: Mercury is at superior conjunction with (behind) the Sun, moving into the evening sky.
• 15 Mon.: The Moon is new.
• 16 Tue. evening: A very thin crescent Moon is 7º to the lower right of Venus low in the west at dusk, and 10º above the planet the next evening.
• 17 Wed.: Uranus is at conjunction with (behind) the Sun, moving into the morning sky.
• 20 Sat.: Spring (vernal) equinox, the northern hemisphere's first day of spring when day and night are each (about) 12 hours long.
• 20 Sat. evening: The crescent Moon is grazes the Pleiades star cluster, a sight best seen in binoculars; the star Aldebaran, the "red eye of the bull," is 13º to their upper right.
• 21 Sun.: Saturn is at opposition -- on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun.
• 23 Tue.: The Moon is at 1st quarter.
• 24 Wed.: The gibbous Moon is 7º to the upper right of Mars, and 10º below the planet the next night.
• 28 Sun. all night: The Moon accompanies Saturn across the sky tonight, starting 9º to the planet's upper right in the east in the evening and being 8º below Saturn in the west by morning.
• 29 Mon.: The full Moon is called Lenten Moon, Sap Moon, Crow Moon, and Worm Moon.

March Planets

• Mercury spends most of the month too near the Sun to be seen but emerges low in the evening sky by month's end.
  
• Venus is starting to emerge as the "evening star" very low in the west; by month's end it is increasingly noticeable low in the W at dusk.
  
• Mars has dimmed noticeably since reaching opposition Jan. 29, but is still brighter than most of the stars; still in Cancer, Mars is high in the SE in the evening and up most of the night before setting in early morning.
  
• Jupiter spending most of March in the Sun, begins to emerge low in the morning sky by month's end.
  
• Saturn, still in Virgo, is at its best this month, reaching opposition Mar. 21; it is in the E in the evening, up all night, and in the W by morning; its rings are still barely visible, currenlty tilted only 3º.
  
• Uranus spends the month too near the Sun for practical viewing.
  
• Neptune spends most of March too near the Sun for viewing but begins to emerge just before dawn at month's end.
  

The Planets on March 1

March Moon

• Sun., Mar. 07 -- 3rd quarter (good evening stargazing, poor morning)
  
• Mon., Mar. 15 -- New Moon (good stargazing all night)
  
• Tue., Mar. 23 -- 1st quarter (good morning stargazing, poor evening)
  
• Mon., Mar. 29 -- Full Moon (poor stargazing all night)
  

Events

• Feb. 2 Tue.: Groundhog Day and Candlemas, a cross-quarter day celebrating the middle of winter.
• 2 Tue. morning, then evening: In the morning, the gibbous Moon is 10º below Saturn in the southwest; then in the evening, the Moon is 10º to the lower right of Saturn as they rise in the east before 11 p.m.
• 3 Wed. through 5 Fri. all night: Mars passes within 3º of the Beehive Cluster; they will pass even closer in April.
• 4 Thu. morning: The gibbous Moon is 5º below Virgo's brightest star Spica high in the south.
• 5 Fri.: The Moon is at 3rd quarter.
• 7 Sun. morning: The crescent Moon is 3+º to the upper right of Scorpius' brightest star Antares low in the southeast.
• 11 Thu. morning: The crescent Moon is 6º to the upper right of Mercury very low in the east southeast at dawn, and 4º to the planet's lower left the next morning.
• 13 Sat.: The Moon is new.
• ** 14 Sun. early evening: Jupiter is 2º above brighter Venus with an ever-so-thin crescent Moon 5º to their left near the west southwestern horizon; they will become visible soon after sunset and set soon thereafter; binoculars will help.
• 14 Sun.: Neptune is at conjunction with (behind) the Sun and passing into the morning sky.
• 16 Tue. early evening: Jupiter is one moonwidth to the right of brighter Venus very low in the west southwest just after sunset.
• ** 16/17 Tue./Wed. all night: Asteroid 4 Vesta, at opposition and at mag 6.1, passes between Gamma Leo (mag 2.2) and 40 Leo (mag 4.8). Gamma and 40 Leo are separated by 22', and Gamma is also a double with a 3.5 mag companion only 4.5" away. While Vesta will be visible in binoculars, this should also be a great sight in a scope, even at low power, although it will take 100x or more to split Gamma Leo.
• 21 Sun.: The Moon is at 1st quarter.
• 25 Thu. evening, and all night: Mars is 5º to the left of the bright gibbous Moon; the faint Beehive Cluster is 7º below them but will require binoculars to see.
• 28 Sun.: Jupiter is at conjunction with (behind) the Sun, moving into the morning sky.
• 28 Sun: The full Moon is called Wolf Moon, Snow Moon, and Hunger Moon.

February Planets

• Mercury is visible low in the ESE much of the month but is quite near the rising Sun by month's end.
  
• Venus starts the month hidden in the glare of the setting Sun; by mid month it begins to show very low in the WSW in the early twilight and by month's end is becoming quite noticeable low in the W at dusk.
  
• Mars, having just reached opposition Jan. 29, is up all night. It starts the month at magnitude -1.25 and by month's end fades to mag. -0.6 which is still brighter than most of the stars. Mars spends the month in Cancer, hanging out near the Beehive Cluster.
  
• Jupiter starts the month very low in the WSW, passes near Venus at mid month, and is lost in the Sun by month's end.
  
• Saturn rises by 10 p.m. in Virgo and is high in the SW by morning.
  
• Uranus is low in the W after dark near the Pisces-Aquarius border and sets a couple of hours after dark.
  
• Neptune is too near the Sun for viewing.
  

The Planets on February 1

February Moon

• Fri. Feb. 5 -- 3rd quarter (good evening stargazing, poor morning)
  
• Sat. Feb. 13 -- New Moon (good stargazing all night)
  
• Sun. Feb. 21 -- 1st quarter (good morning stargazing, poor evening)
  
• Sun. Feb. 28 -- Full Moon (poor stargazing all night)
  

Events

January belongs to MARS which begins the month at a bright mag -0.8 and brightens significantly to mag -1.3 by month's end when it reaches opposition. With Venus near the Sun and Jupiter setting early, Mars dominate virtually the entire night, being outshone only by the Moon when it is out.

• Jan. 2 Sat.: Earth is at perihelion, its nearest point to the Sun in its annual orbit at 91.3 million miles distant.
• 2 Sat. evening: The bright gibbous Moon is 6º to the right of Mars as they rise 3 hours after sunset.
• 3 Sun.: Quadrantid meteor shower peaks but Moon interference nearly all night makes this an unfavorable year.
• 4 Mon.: Mercury is at inferior conjunction with the sun - between Earth and the Sun - and passing into the morning sky.
• 6 Wed. morning: The gibbous Moon is 8º below Saturn high in the south.
• 7 Thur.: The Moon is at 3rd quarter.
• 11 Mon. morning: A thin crescent Moon almost grazes passes less than a moonwidth from the star Antares low in the southeast before dawn.
• 11 Mon.: Venus is at superior conjunction with (behind) the sun and passing into the evening sky.
• 13 Wed. morning: A very thin crescent Moon is 6º to the lower right of Mercury near the east southeast horizon as dawn breaks; binoculars will help.
• 14 Thu.: Saturn begins its temporary retrograde (westward) motion as seen against the background stars.
• 15 Fri.: The new Moon produces an annular eclipse of Sun which unfortunately won't be visible over the U.S.
• 17 Sun. evening: Bright Jupiter, faint Neptune, and a crescent Moon are all within a 5º circle low in the west southwest; they are only 10º above the horizon at dark and set soon thereafter; the next night the crescent Moon is 9º above the king of the planets.
• 19 Tue. evening: Faint Uranus is 6º to the upper left of the crescent Moon with Jupiter 20º below them.
• 23 Sat.: The Moon is at 1st quarter.
• 27 Wed. morning: Mercury is at greatest elongation 25º west of the rising Sun (and 16º above the horizon at sunrise).
• 27 Wed.: Mars passes closest to Earth at .664 a.u. (62 million miles), although this is not one of its closer approaches.
• 29 Fri.: Mars reaches opposition - on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun - when it rises at sunset, is up all night, and sets at sunrise; it will be quite bright at mag -1.3 but ironically a bright almost full Moon steals the Red Planet's thunder as it closely follows it across the sky all night tonight.
• 30 Sat.: The Full Moon is called Old Moon and Moon After Yule. This full Moon occurs only 3 hours before perigee (when the Moon swings nearest Earth in its elliptical orbit), thus the Moon's gravitational tug will be a bit stronger than average and produce higher than average tides.

January Planets

• Mercury, reaching inferior conjunction with the Sun (passes between Earth and Sun) Jan. 4, moves into the morning sky and is at its best late in the month.
  
• Venus, reaching superior conjunction with (behind) the Sun Jan. 11, moves into the evening sky but won't become easily visible for several weeks.
  
• Mars, reaching opposition Jan. 29, is up most of the night and brighter than usual; Mars begins the month just inside the western end of Leo, but being in retrograde motion, soon moves back into Cancer where it remains the rest of January.
  
• Jupiter, slipping ever nearer the setting Sun, is still the brightest object in the WSW until it sets in the early evening; it begins the month in the eastern end Capricorn but soon moves into Aquarius.
  
• Saturn rises shortly before midnight in Virgo and is high in the S by morning.
  
• Uranus, high in the SW in the early evening near the Pisces-Aquarius border, sets before midnight.
  
• Neptune, still just a few degrees from Jupiter in the eastern-most part of Capricornus low in the WSW after dark, sets in the early evening.
  

The Planets on January 1

January Moon

• Thu. Jan. 7 -- 3rd quarter (good evening stargazing, poor morning)
  
• Fri. Jan. 15 -- New Moon (good stargazing all night)
  
• Sat. Jan. 23 -- 1st quarter (good morning stargazing, poor evening)
  
• Sat. Jan. 30 -- Full Moon (poor stargazing all night)