Everything you always wanted to know about astronomy
March
By Bruce Dennis

Bruce Dennis is a retired sciecne teacher from Haverling High school.

Venus will once again be glistening in the west at Sunset, still prominent among the other 'stars', and higher in the night sky each time the Sun sets. It is the first planet to spring into view, and the best time to observe it telescopically is in the twilight, as soon as you can see it after the Sun sets. A few days later - on March 3rd - we'll be treated to a total eclipse of the Moon. Mercury will not be visible until the final couple weeks of the month, and Mars will be gracing our late night sky about 2 hours before Sunrise. Saturn, like last month, will be visible most of the night, rising in the East and setting in the West. Jupiter, getting higher each night, will rise about 2 AM on March 1st.

Venus is that bright 'star' standing alone near the West at nightfall. It is very bright and may be mistaken for a UFO. I'm sorry to disappoint many of you by letting you know that it's 'only' a planet. This author has seen a UFO, as all of my former students will recall, and I'd be happy to tell you about it sometime. Once again, a telescopic view of Venus will be disappointing - no features or shadows - just a fuzzy ball. Mercury, which 'hung around' Venus last month, will not be visible until the last couple weeks of March. It will be a disappointment - only a small, dim point of light.

Jupiter will rise about 2 AM in the beginning of the month and closer to midnight by April 1st. Stay up late and observe Jupiter at its highest point - around 3 or 4 AM. You'll be able to see the Jovian moons, the Spots (in the news lately), and the gas bands. Jupiter will be the brightest planet all night - primarily because of its size.

Saturn, also a very bright planet, is twice as far away from us as Jupiter, but is 'full' with all of its Sun-illuminated surface facing Earth. Saturn's rings are tilted at about 30 degrees and man-made satellites are flying through them, causing the planet to give up many secrets once known only by the ringed planet: most of the rings are only a few inches thick; there are two moons embedded in the rings; the gravity of the 'embedded' moons cause knotting of some of the rings; there are dozens of rings; etc.

A total eclipse of the moon occurs on March 3rd. This happens when the Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon. Since we can only see the Moon by reflected Sunlight, when the Earth 'steals' this light and it can't reach the Moon, a Lunar Eclipse occurs. The 3 bodies must be perfectly lined up for this to happen. If they were always lined up, we'd have an eclipse every month. But they're about 24degrees from being in the same plane, so an eclipse occurs every once-in-awhile. The total eclipse this month is between 5:44 PM and 6:55PM. At this time you'll still be able to see the moon from reflected Earth-light but it'll look reddish-brown and very dull.

We can say good-bye to the Winter constellations after this month. Orion, the noble hunter all Winter, is peeking above the Southern horizon most of the month, and won't be entirely seen again until September. March is referred to as the 'dog days of Winter.' This is primarily because Canis Major and Canis Minor (the Big Dog and the Little Dog ) reach their highest positions in the Southern sky. The Summer constellations are on their way. The 'dog days' of Summer are just around the corner.

On March 1st, look for the full (almost full) moon just to the left of Saturn. This should be visible about 1 hour after Sunset. On March 28th, a ? full moon is just above Saturn. The full Moon occurs on March 3rd, and the new Moon on March 20th. Don't forget to change your clocks on March 11th. (This is a month earlier than on previous years) Remember: 'Spring ahead, Fall back'. On the 20th, Spring Equinox occurs - all places on the Earth get 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. The direct rays of the Sun fall on the Equator! Summer is coming! Happy