March is the season of the awakening of the earth and the prelude to spring in the starry sky. As the days extend dramatically and the winter stars fade away, astronomers will be in for a feast for the eyes, and the vernal equinox will kick off the spectacle at 11:06 p.m. ET on March 19.
At the moment of the vernal equinox, the sun crosses the celestial equator and crosses into the blue sky of the Northern Hemisphere. In ancient Roman times, it marked the beginning of the New Year, and today it has important festivals and fasting dates in many religions.
In astronomy, the marking point of the vernal equinox is sometimes referred to as the "first point of Aries", a term that is still widely used in astrology. Aries was the location of the vernal equinox in the Babylonian era, which laid the basic principles of astrology.
Today, due to the 26,000-year cycle of the "equinox precession," the actual equinox point is located about 30 degrees west of the constellation Pisces. After 3,000 years, the equinox will drift to Aquarius, and around 23,000 years, it will return to Aries.
The term "equinox" contains the concept of "waiting for night", meaning that the length of day and night is exactly 12 hours each. In fact, the first quarter of the sun appears on the horizon a few days before the vernal equinox. This year, the actual 12 hours of day and night will be on March 16, when the old sun rises at 7:17 a.m. ET and sets at 7:17 p.m. ET.
At the beginning of March, a crescent moon dots the morning sky. On the morning of the 3rd, early risers can catch the first quarter moon in the southern sky in the morning light, forming a beautiful picture with the red star Antares, the heart of Scorpio, less than a little bit.
The new moon will fall on the 10th, and the moon will gradually plump up in the evening sky and reach its full moon on the 25th. The March Full Moon is known as the "Worm Moon" because the ground is soft and earthworms are able to gush out, providing abundant food for birds and animals. It is also known as the Raven Moon and the Sap Moon.
To be on time for Sunday the 10th, you'll need to turn the clock forward one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night, and we'll switch from standard time to daylight saving time at 2 a.m. on March 10.
In the evening, you can discover the winter constellations in the western sky, which bear witness to the hardships of our long winter nights. By the end of the month, they will disappear by midnight. Orion and its companions will provide a magnificent feast for the eyes until the end of March, which is also the last chance until late autumn.
Towards the end of March, more subdued constellations begin to rise and fill the night sky. One of the most recognizable is the familiar Big Dipper. The seven stars form a unique pattern that outlines a solemn spoon and is one of the first constellations that many novice stargazers learn to recognize. In England and Ireland, it is also called a plow, while in other parts of Europe, it is called a wain (horse-drawn carriage). These seven stars are part of the larger constellation Ursa Major. The two stars at the end of the Big Dipper's "stalk" point to the North Star, marking the North Celestial Pole.
Follow the "pointer" to the south and you will find the constellation Leo, which is made up of two different asterisms. Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, is located under a semicircular secondary constellation that forms the outline of the lion's head. To the east of Regulus, there is a right-angled triangle of stars that marks the hindquarters of the constellation Leo.
Following the "handle" of the Big Dipper, you will encounter the brightest star of spring, Arcturus. As one of the brightest stars in the northern sky, Arcturus is beautiful in its vivid rose color, reminiscent of the spring flowers that are about to bloom.
For planetary watchers, March may be a little dreary. When night falls, the only bright planet is Jupiter, which rules the western sky. In early March, the massive planet sets between 11 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., but with daylight saving time on the horizon, you'll see it again shortly after sunset.
However, once Jupiter disappears, the night that follows will lose its bright planetary companionship. Before dawn, you may be able to look for Venus in the twilight, but it will hang low in the southeastern sky.
At the end of the month, we will have the opportunity to find the most challenging planet, Mercury. The best time to observe is on the night of March 17-31, 30 to 45 minutes after sunset, when Mercury will be about 10 degrees above the western horizon. If you can find it, with the help of binoculars, you will be able to see this mysterious planet more clearly in the twilight.