Star Calendar
March 2016
Star Calendar Planets:
Moon makes a less dramatic swing from standing to lying crescent either side of New Moon this year. Firstly the tilt of the lunar path from the ecliptic is currently one that subtracts its obliquity from the equator, secondly, this month’s syzygies fall near the nodes – there are two eclipses this month (neither visible from the U.S.). Still it is worth noting the more upright old Moon before dawn on the 6th/7th and the contrasting higher, reclining, earthshine-glowing young evening Moon on the 9th/10th. The tilt-drama is increasing from a minimum last year, next peaking in 2025.
Mercury is getting brighter but nearer the Sun – so we must imagine him receding and crossing behind the Sun this month. Next month will afford a better evening showing than this has bee, even though his excursion is of a smaller angle.
Venus is now pretty low just before dawn – but bright enough to see yet; beside the Moon on the 7th especially.
Sun is in the sky about 2 ¾ minutes longer each day this month and is high enough at noon to be beneficial on the skin.
Mars and Saturn are night-long beacons as they approach their oppositions. Saturn is nearly as bright (to the left) but watch Mars increase to equal Jupiter’s brilliance by late May. The increase is due to the dramatic approach he makes. As March opens he is farther away than is the Sun, by the 2nd week, equal distant as the Sun, by month’s end, ¾ the Sun’s distance, and at opposition, only half as distant as the Sun.
Jupiter nearest and brightest now, but varies much less than does Mars! He is King of the Night for this month anyway, up from dusk ‘til dawn, and shining far brighter than any other star or planet.
Saturn, Antares, Mars and Moon make a quartet before dawn on the 1st. Saturn is also increasing in brilliance, but, characteristically, very slowly, hardly discernible to the eye during March anyway.
Equinox is an astronomical event that occurs at the moment the center of Sun’s disk crosses the celestial equator. That instant is on the 20th in all of Asia, Europe and Africa, but would be on the 19th in all of the U.S. were NOT the clocks fiddled with for so-called Daylight Savings (sic). So the equinox is on the 20th for Day-lighters in the Eastern time zone, but on the 19th for Central Time and points West.
Star Calendar Dates:
1 Moon between Mars and Saturn, and above Antares; high in S at 6:AM
Sunrise/sunset in Spring Valley at 6:30/17:48 EST (11h18m daylight)
2 Moon near Saturn in the AM hours
7 Moon near Venus, ESE around 6:AM
8 Jupiter in opposition, nearest and brightest for year, and mid-loop
9-10 Hilal before Easter, (how œcumenical!) Young Grail Moon, West after sunset
10 Perigee one day after syzygy, large-ish spring tide
13 Much of U.S. pushes clocks forward an hour; also Palm Sunday
14 Since Pi=3.14159…, 3/14/16 is a better approxi-Pi-date than last year’s
15 2059 years since Caesar was rendered unto… the Ides
16 Sunrise/sunset in Spring Valley at 7:05/19:05 EDT (12h daylight, = night)
19 Daylight lengthens most rapidly, nearly 3 minutes/day
20 Equinox at 00:30PM, Sun crosses celestial equator
21-22 Moon with Jupiter all night
23 Full Sugaring Moon at 8:01, sets just before entering penumbra of Earth’s shadow
Mercury passes the backside of the Sun, superior conjunction
25 Saturn turns retrograde, approaches, begins loop for a June opposition
27 Summer Time begins in Europe
Easter for Western churches, Eastern falls on May 1 (=April 18 Julian)
28 Moon over Mars midnight to dawn
29 Moon over Saturn midnight to dawn
31 Sunrise/sunset in Spring Valley at 6:40/19:21 (12h41m daylight)
