March Skywatch

Sky Signs of Spring

When evening arrives, find Mars high in the southern sky, while Saturn hangs high in the east. Mars is in the constellation Taurus and the ringed Saturn in the constellation Cancer.

Right now Jupiter (negative second magnitude, bright) rises just before midnight; by the end of the month, it will rise in the east at about 9:30 p.m.

Venus arrives about two hours before sunrise. At about 4:30 a.m., look for it in the east. By sunrise, you'll find the effervescent Venus shining bright in the southeast.

And the astronomical start of spring occurs at 1:26 p.m. Eastern time, March 20: the Vernal equinox, when the sun crosses the equator from the southern hemisphere into the northern hemisphere.