Planetary Roundup
| as of March 1 |
Mercury |
Venus |
Mars |
Jupiter |
Saturn |
| Constellation |
Aquarius |
Pisces |
Cancer |
Aquarius |
Virgo |
| Magnitude |
- 1.2 |
- 3.8 |
- 0.4
|
- 1.9 |
0.6
|
| Direction |
n/a |
W |
overhead |
n/a |
E |
| Rises (EST) |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a
|
n/a
|
7:02 p.m. |
| Sets (EST) |
n/a |
7:07 p.m. |
4:40 a.m. |
n/a |
n/a
|
Sunset: 6:04 p.m. EST Sunrise: 6:27 a.m. EST
Evening Planets:
Venus - The hottest planet isn’t hot because it is only twelve degrees from the sun, but it will catch your attention due to its brightness. With a magnitude of –3.8 all month, there’s no mistaking it if you’re looking low in the west, but you’ll have to look quick unless you wait later in the month. Venus starts the month about half a fist width above the western horizon and only visible for an hour. As the month progresses, the scorching planet will slowly climb into better view.
Mars - Shrinking and fading certainly do not seem like a good combination but our planetary neighbor can handle a little dimming, at least for this month. The orange-yellow planet will outshine its nearby stars high in the east-southeast after sunset through March, getting even higher in the south as the night progresses. He forms a crooked line with the stars Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini the Twins. For those with telescopes, don’t get discouraged, this is still a great time to observe the desert surface of Mars.
By March 11th, Mars will pull a “U-ie” in the sky as it freezes its retrograde, or westward, motion and begins to move back eastward toward Cancer’s center and the Beehive Star Cluster.
March 30th - Mars reaches aphelion (farthest from the sun)
Saturn - Despite its rings displaying a minor tilt, you won’t want to miss Saturn. At the start of the month, the ringed planet will be high above the trees in the southeast around 8 p.m. Saturn will outshine the stars of its host, Virgo the Maiden, but will be much dimmer than Mars overhead. By the first day of spring, March 21, Saturn reaches opposition, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise. Opposition is usually when the planet appears at its maximum apparent size in a telescope and brightness. This time around, however, Saturn will be only a little brighter than Betelgeuse of Orion the Hunter instead of rivaling the brightest star in the sky. As for the rings, they’re only tilted four degrees from our line of sight and decreases to three degrees at the end of March.
Planets Currently Not Visible:
Mercury - The innermost planet is missing in action until month’s end as it will enter superior conjunction on March 14. At that time, Mercury will pass behind the sun from east to west as viewed from Earth. When the smallest planet reappears in our sky, it will be visible in the west for an half hour after sunset, but only hovering about a fist width above the western horizon. On March 31st, Mercury will shine fairly bright and begins its approach to Venus, from our perspective. Sitting about 3.5 fist widths to the lower of the brighter Venus, the two will be even closer in early April.
Jupiter - The mighty planet has finally abdicated its reign in the evening sky and passed in conjunction with the Sun on February 28th. March will not be a good month for viewing Jupiter; however, for those who insist on locating it, look very low in the bright dawn eastern sky 20 to 30 minutes before sunrise at the end of the month. Binoculars may be needed.