By this point in the month, the Moon will rise a little after 3am, leaving a sizeable part of the night free from lunar interference.īeyond mid-month, the Moon will drift through the “bottom” of the ecliptic (from a northern hemisphere perspective), in Sagittarius, before starting its climb up through Capricornus and on into Aquarius, where it will meet the Sun and become New on the 21st, just a day after the aforementioned Vernal Equinox.Įmerging from the Sun’s glare as an evening object, the Moon then begins one of its best crescent displays of the year. As is customary, we remind readers that this part of the month won’t be the most opportune for deep sky observations, or imaging (except for those using very narrowband filters).īeyond Full, the Moon starts to wane as it passes from Leo, on through the expanse of Virgo and into the more southerly reaches of Libra, Scorpius and the non-zodiacal constellation of Ophiuchus, where it will reach Last Quarter phase on the 15th. Rising at a little after 11am the previous day, the Moon will set at a little before 4.30am (GMT).ĭuring the first week of March, the Moon will coast over the most northerly part of the ecliptic, passing through Gemini and Cancer and down into Leo, where it will become Full on the 7th. Our natural satellite begins March in Taurus, at a 9 day old waxing gibbous phase. Wherever you are in the world there’s plenty to see in the skies above us this month, so let’s find out what’s in store for us. ![]() It's important to note that equatorial regions experience more consistent hours of light and darkness throughout the year and hence do not require similar time adjustments. Around the Vernal Equinox, the southern hemisphere experiences a return to standard time, where their clocks are set back by an hour. While Europe observes this shift on Sunday, 26th March, other countries like the United States may adjust their clocks earlier in the month. Moreover, the Vernal Equinox triggers a time shift, where the majority of the northern hemisphere adjusts their clocks forward by one hour to Summer Time. Conversely, for those residing in the southern hemisphere, the Vernal Equinox coincides with the Southern Hemisphere Autumnal Equinox, with darkness slowly but surely creeping in. While this equality of day and night is a generalisation and is not be precisely accurate for those in extreme northern or southern regions, those of us in the northern hemisphere will all start to enjoy longer days, officially welcoming the arrival of Spring. ![]() This year, the Vernal Equinox will take place on Monday, 20th March, marking the occasion when the Sun moves from the southern celestial hemisphere to the northern celestial hemisphere, resulting in equal periods of day and night in certain parts of the world. March is a longer month, following the relatively short month of February and it brings forth the highly anticipated regular annual astronomical event, the Vernal Equinox.
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