March is a perfect time to spot planets, Milky Way in Arizona skies
Mar 7, 2017, 11:56 AM
(Daniel Mears/Detroit News via AP)
March is one of the best month’s to observe our Arizona skies with warmer daytime temperatures but nights that still stay cool.
Here are some of the more interesting heavenly sights to see in March.
The moon begins the month as a thin, waxing crescent in the western sky right after sunset. The moon then moves on and to the left each night, shining as it reached first quarter on the Sunday.
The moon will appear as a gibbous — or egg-shaped moon — all this week.
The full moon — known as the Full Worm Moon — will occur March 12 at 7:54 p.m. This is the exact moment that the moon will be 180 degrees from the sun.
The moon then wanes and reaches last quarter on March 20. Look for this moon at its best just before sunrise high in the south.
Finally, we come to the new moon of March 27!
This is a great time to view the sky under the darkest of conditions in Arizona.
What better time to view the arm of our galaxy, the Milky Way, as it hugs the horizon from west to north and back to east.
This is best seen in dark clear skies around 2 a.m. all month.
Venus will be bright in the west at sunset and moves into conjunction with the sun by March 25. The view in a telescope is stunning, as Venus looks like a tiny crescent moon.
Mars is faint, but visible to the eye, just to the upper left of Venus.
If you look to the east just after 10 p.m., you will the mighty planet Jupiter rising. It is amazing in a small telescope and will get better as we get into April.
March skies offer something for everyone!
Get you very own Dr. Sky March star chart.