MARCH 2025 OBSERVING Southern Hemisphere Sky Chart by Jonathan Nally Planet location shown for mid-month Exact for latitude 35°S. To use the Southern Hemisphere map, follow the instructions on page 42. Zenith -40° -60° Car IC 2602 θ ι β -80° VOLANS 2516 CARINA Canopus OCTANS -80° -1 1 2 3 4 WHEN TO PAVO 20h i n g S o THE SOUTHERN MILKY WAY is filled with splendid open star clusters, many of which can be spotted with the unaided eye. One example in the constellation Carina is NGC 2516, also known as the Southern Beehive for its resemblance to the Beehive Cluster (M44) in Cancer. Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille first cataloged the Southern Beehive in January 1752 during his two-year observing mara44 MARCH 2025 * SKY & TELESCOPE Galaxy uble star bl t thon at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. With a total magnitude of 3.8, the cluster is visible under ideal conditions as a fuzzy patch about 3° west-southwest of 2nd-magnitude Epsilon (ε) Carinae, the star at the base of the False Cross asterism. Those with excellent eyesight and dark skies can see that the Southern Beehive spans nearly 30′ - about as large as the full Moon. ¢ -60° Late Jan Early Feb Late Feb Early March Late March USE THE MAP 11 p.m.* 10 p.m.* 9 p.m.* 8 p.m.* 7 p.m.* *Daylight-saving time ι 17h E C 23h Regulus 14h LEO c a F W N β n g i 2h g n i -20° 0° Procyon +20° 11h 5h +40° o N g n i 8h E Large Magellanic Cloud HYDRUS Small 47 Tuc Magellanic Cloud TUCANA A U Q β TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE ARA β Moon Mar 5 O T MUSCA R Moon Mar 13 CIRCINUS P ICTOR β β θ I L ω Cen CENTAURUS F a c P T HOROLOGIUM S W Hadar Rigil Kent β LUPUS i n g C I i n g β Aldebaran Hyades TAURUS Pleiades β o2 ERIDANUS FORNAX i c n PUPP I S M93 M47 M46 CETUS Mira W Moon Mar 9 APUS NORMA RET ICULUM DORADO VELA CRUX β 4755 β Galaxy Double star Variable star Open cluster Diffuse nebula Globular cluster Planetary nebula S E PHOENIX F a c LE0 MINOR URSA MAJOR M37 M36 AURIGA M44 Pollux GEMIM35NI β β CANI S MINOR LYNX h t r c a F Sickle N E 3 4 Rigel ORION Betelgeuse ι M42 c a F LEPUS β COLUMBA CAELUM CANCER M48 M50 MONOCEROS HYDRA SEXTANS M41 CANI S MAJOR Sirius β CRATER Spica V IRGO ANTL IA CORVUS E g -1 0 1 2 3 4 τ i n g c CHAMAELEON PYXI S ν β θ M38 Achernar θ β t s a F a Jupiter 30 Dor a F e t s M67 Castor Mars F a c u t h