Sky & Telescope - March 2023 - 46

MARCH 2023 OBSERVING
Sun, Moon & Planets by Gary Seronik
To find out what's
visible in the sky from
your location, go to
skyandtelescope.org.
Hello Saturn, Goodbye Jupiter
Several bright planets hang near the horizon - one at dawn, three at dusk.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1
The month kicks off with a real bang -
there's no saving the best for last this
time. Look to the west shortly after
sunset and you can't help but be dazzled
by the two brightest planets side by
side with just ½° between them. The
dazzling duo are, of course, Jupiter
and Venus. The reigning Evening Star
gleams at magnitude -3.9, while Big Jove
is -2.1. If you've been keeping an eye on
them over the preceding several nights,
you'll have noticed Venus climbing
higher as Jupiter sinks lower, making
this evening's meeting inevitable. But is
it especially rare? Perhaps not as rare as
you might expect.
The two planets meet with some
regularity - usually once each year.
But not every conjunction is equally
close, and sometimes they occur during
daylight hours. Jupiter and Venus had
a similarly close encounter at dawn on
April 30, 2022, and they next pair up
in May 2024, though they'll appear too
near the Sun to observe. You'll have
to wait until August 2025 to see the
planets together again, though on that
occasion they'll be twice as far apart as
tonight. A conjunction as good as this
evening's doesn't come until 2027. In
other words, tonight's is a show you
don't want to miss.
THURSDAY, MARCH 2
The Moon's closest approach to a bright
star this month occurs this evening,
These scenes are drawn for near the middle
of North America (latitude 40° north, longitude
90° west). European observers should move
each Moon symbol a quarter of the way toward
the one for the previous date; in the Far East,
move the Moon halfway.
46
MARCH 2023 * SKY & TELESCOPE
when a waxing gibbous sits a little more
than 1½° below 1.1-magnitude Pollux,
in Gemini. The gap between them
is smallest at around 6:41 p.m. EST.
Pollux is Gemini's leading light, but
only the fourth-brightest star the Moon
passes on its eastward journey along
the ecliptic. Tonight's pairing also has a
second act after midnight. That's when
the Moon is positioned along a line that
includes Pollux and fellow stellar Twin,
Castor. The three-in-a-row configuration
occurs at roughly 2 a.m. EST, on
the morning of March 3rd. By then,
however, the Moon has drifted away
from Pollux, and now they're separated
by more than 2½°.
SUNDAY, MARCH 19
At dawn today the earthlit, waning
crescent Moon sits about 5° below right
of Saturn. This certainly isn't the most
visually striking conjunction you're
ever going to see, but it's nonetheless
noteworthy because it may well be your
first glimpse of Saturn at the start of its
Dusk, March 1
1 hour after sunset
PISCES
Jupiter
Venus
10°
Just ½°
apart!
CORVUS
new apparition. The ringed planet was
last seen low in the dusk sky early last
month, just before its conjunction with
the Sun on February 16th. Saturn is still
very low as morning twilight claims the
sky, so you'll need an unobstructed eastsoutheastern
horizon and (probably)
a pair of binoculars to catch it. Even
though the Moon is somewhat lower
than Saturn, you'll probably spot it first,
which means you can use the lunar
crescent to guide you to the planet.
Don't worry if you can't locate Saturn,
though - from this point onwards, it
climbs a little higher each morning.
You'll get your first look eventually!
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22
As Saturn reappears at dawn, Jupiter
slips away at dusk. For naked-eye
observers, Jupiter has only another week
or so of visibility as it inches sunward,
Dawn, March 9 -10
45 minutes before sunrise
VIRGO
Moon
Mar 10
Spica
Moon
Mar 9
Looking West
Looking West-Southwest
http://www.skyandtelescope.org
Sky & Telescope - March 2023

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