The Sky This Month

Mar 05, 2025

by Peggy and John Hurley

First, a little introduction. Both of us are long time members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, https://rasc.ca, presently with the Kingston Centre, and enjoy sharing the sky with anyone who asks. Yes, even my former students would tell you that I have never considered talking about space a ‘waste of time’.

Leo Enright introduced me to the RASC and I enjoyed hearing Fred Barrett’s exploits —especially with the pies. John joined RASC when he was a boy living in Essex County. If you have questions about what we talk about, feel free to contact us through the Frontenac News. Or ask at RASC or one of the many centres across the country. Ottawa, Peterborough, Kingston and Belleville are the nearest.

Starting March 1, some of the planets ‘dance’ with the moon. Venus will be near the crescent Moon, at the upper right and very bright (look with binoculars to see the phase of Venus). Far below Venus, and quite faint, will be Mercury. You will need a clear horizon to see this as it will be visible at dusk for only a couple more days.

March 5 has Jupiter in the south with the moon approaching first quarter. Below this pair, Aldebaran, a red giant star. March 8 has Mars very close to the gibbous moon. Castor and Pollux, the bright stars of Gemini, will be on the left of the moon. Mars will be moving from the eastern sky toward the north western sky during the month.

March 9 is the beginning of Daylight Savings Time! Clocks forward at 2 AM.

From March 9 -12, Mercury and Venus will be setting very shortly after sunset (within 15 minutes). Venus should be fairly easy to see but Mercury can be a challenge. It will be below and to the left. If you can’t see it, they should show in the same view with binoculars.

March 13-14 is a Lunar Eclipse! This only happens at Full Moon and up to twice a year. This will be the only one visible from North America in 2025. The moon will enter Earth’s shadow at 1:09 a.m. EDT (Thursday morning).

This is the Penumbra, the lighter shadow. Do not be too concerned if you’re not sure you noticed. Sometimes it is pretty bright. The moon will enter the darker shadow, Umbra, at 2:26 a.m. until 3:32 a.m. EDT, then returning to Penumbra until 5:46 a.m. EDT. Mid eclipse will be at
2:59 a.m. How dark or red the moon appears during an eclipse is dependent on how much dirt is in Earth’s atmosphere. The first Lunar Eclipse I remember watching (1992) was shortly after Mt. Pinatubo had erupted. The Penumbral stage was a dark, deep red and the Umbralstage was so dark I could not see the moon at all! March 20 marks Equinox at 5:01 a.m. EDT. Equinox means ‘equal night’ and means when the hours of night and day equal each other.

After Equinox, here in the Northern Hemisphere, the hours of daylight grow longer. This is because our axis is on an angle and the Earth is passing through the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the path planets appear to take around the sun. At Equinox it is sometimes possible to see ‘zodiacal light’, which is caused by sunlight hitting small particles of dust left in the solar system from its formation. Zodiacal light can be very faint but doesn’t have to be. It could be seen before dawn or just after dusk. It will look like a pillar of light and may be angled like the ecliptic.

March 22 Venus will be moving to the morning sky.

March 29 is New Moon (so dark night sky) and a partial Solar Eclipse, not visible in North America.

While the leaves are down take this opportunity to check the lights around your property. Do they shine down to what you need lit? Do they trespass on your neighbour, show the light source which creates a glare, or go into the sky? Are they on all the time?

As spring nears, don’t forget the Dark Sky sites will be opening for your enjoyment.

Clear Skies.