The March Sky

By Paul Curtin

Saturn is the planet to watch this month. The rings are especially well placed for observation. Price (1) and Alexander (see Moore in (2)) cover the basics of observing disk and ring features. Those wishing to draw Saturn may wish to consult these texts for templates displaying the range of ring inclinations. Dobbins et al. (3) and Price (1) have excellent sections on observing and identifying the components of the rings.

The March Sky

Northern March is a month of open clusters and an introduction to the season of galaxies. The south enjoys warm nights and fantastic Milky Way objects.

Let us begin by forming a triangle with Polaris at the apex, the western side is the seventh hour line to southern Camelopardalis (this line, continued south, would divide Gemini into roughly equal portions), and the western stars of the Big Dipper form the eastern side. In this region one finds dozens of faint nebulae, all of which are galaxies far removed from our Milky Way. These galaxies belong primarily to the Coma-Virgo Super cluster to which our Local Group belongs. The brightest of these are M81 and M82. Wide field telescopes and binoculars will show them both in one field. The contrast in shape is quite striking. Due to the lack of bright signposts, locating these objects is a real challenge. But those interested in deep-sky objects should take this opportunity to hone their star-hopping skills and compare the great range of galactic morphologies.

For observers interested in easier finds, we turn now to M44, east of Gemini. M44, also known as the Praesepe, is the heart of Cancer. This is a delightful open cluster best observed with binoculars. In early March one can still compare the Pleiades, the Hyades and M44 with respect to color, density and overall brightness. In addition to M44, Cancer boasts a number of interesting stars. Using a telescope, try to split Iota Cancri, a green-orange pair due north of M44.

To the south of Cancer is a rough circle of stars that constitutes the head of Hydra. West of this is the bright star Procyon in Canis Minor. Scan the area southward for the open clusters M46 and M47 in Puppis. M48 can be found by scanning north and east of M46, but it can be hard to find due to the lack of guide stars.

In the south the Milky Way in Puppis and Pyxis provides us with many objects of interest. M93, due east of the feet of Canis Major, is a fine open cluster. Scan southwards from here, following the dense star fields on the eastern edge of the Milky Way. NGC 245 is a large open cluster in Puppis. Moving south note the star clouds of Vela and Carina. Beyond the western edge of the Milky Way in Carina is NGC 2516, a very wide open cluster. Use binoculars or a wide field telescope to catch the entire cluster.

The Planets in March

Mercury is in the evening sky after sunset. The first half of March will present northerners with their best view of Mercury this year.

Venus is not visible this month.

Mars rises a few hours before the sun. It continues to brighten although its disk is still a fourth of what it will be at opposition.

Jupiter, in Virgo, rises after dark and outshines everything in the sky including Sirius.

Saturn is still in Gemini rising before dusk and setting early in the morning. The rings are still well placed for viewing.

References

1. F. Price, "The Planet Observer's Handbook," Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

2. P. Moore (ed.), "Practical Amateur Astronomy," London: Lutterworth Press, 1975.

3. T. Dobbins, D. Parker and C. Capen, "Introduction to Observing and Photographing the Solar System," Richmond: Willmann-Bell, 1988.

Bibliography

Robert Burnham, Jr., "Burnham's Celestial Handbook," New York: Dover, 1978.

R. Gupta (ed.), "Observers Handbook 2005," Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004.

G. R. Kepple and G. W. Sanner, "The Night Sky Observers Guide," Richmond, VA: Willmann-Bell, 1999.

W. Tirion, B. Rappaport and W. Remaklus, "Uranometria Deep Sky Atlas," Richmond, VA: Willmann-Bell, 2000.

T. W. Webb, "Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes," New York: Dover, 1962.