Dundee Astro - Sky Notes

The giant figure of Orion the Hunter stands high in the south on February evenings, surrounded by the other brilliant stars of the winter sky. Orion’s left shoulder is represented by the red star Betelgeuse, and his right knee by blue-white Rigel. The distinctive line of stars marking Orion’s belt points upwards to the yellow star Aldebaran in the V-shaped head of Taurus the Bull; a little further along this line is the star cluster of the Pleiades or Seven Sisters.

Orion’s belt leads downwards to Sirius, or the Dog Star. At magnitude -1.4 this is the brightest star in the night sky, and although it is actually a white star, Sirius twinkles strongly, appearing to flash different colours as it does so.

The Square of Pegasus and the stars of Andromeda are now low in the south-west, with the ‘W’ of Cassiopeia just above. High overhead are the stars of Perseus and Auriga, along with the constellation of Gemini and its Twin stars Castor and Pollux, this year joined by the brilliant planet Jupiter. Below Gemini is the bright star Procyon, often known as the ‘Little Dog Star’.

Climbing higher in the east is Leo, with the bright star Regulus at the bottom of the ‘Sickle’ of stars representing the Lion’s head. Lower in the south-east is Alphard, brightest star in the constellation of Hydra the Water Snake. This long, straggling constellation is actually the largest in the sky, though most of its stars are rather faint and its outline difficult to follow. Yellow-coloured Alphard stands out in an otherwise barren area of sky; appropriately enough, its name means ‘the Solitary One’.

The seven stars of the Plough are high in the north-east, the two ‘pointer’ stars showing the way to the Pole Star. The curve of the Plough’s handle leads down to the red giant star Arcturus, low in the north-east. Two of the stars of the ‘Summer Triangle’, Deneb and Vega, remain visible all year round from Scotland, and on February evenings can be found low above the northern horizon.

The Milky Way continues to be well-placed in the sky during February, appearing as a faint band of light stretching from Deneb in the north-west, through Cassiopeia and Perseus, and into the south-east between Orion and Gemini.

March opens with the Moon at a broad waxing gibbous phase; on the evening of Monday 2nd it lies to the lower left of Regulus, the brightest star in Leo.

Full Moon is on Tuesday March 3rd. The Moon rises in the east shortly after sunset, shines in the south at midnight and sets in the west just after sunrise on the 4th.

Late on the evening of Friday 6th the waning gibbous Moon rises just below the bright star Spica in the constellation of Virgo.

Last Quarter is on the morning of Wednesday March 11th. The half-illuminated Moon rises in the south-east just before 0400 UT and is very low in the south at dawn.

The waning crescent Moon may be seen low above the south-east horizon for the next couple of mornings before it disappears into the bright dawn twilight.

New Moon is early on the morning of Thursday March 19th. The thin young crescent will become visible low above the western horizon after sunset from Friday 20th onwards. On that evening the narrow Moon will lie just above the bright planet Venus.

First Quarter is on Wednesday March 25th, when the half Moon will appear high among the stars of Gemini, to the upper right of Jupiter. On the following evening, Thursday 26th, the Moon will appear to Jupiter’s upper left.

On the evening of Sunday 29th, the gibbous Moon will lie immediately to the lower left of Regulus; between 1818 UT (shortly before sunset) until 1915 UT the Moon will pass directly in front of the star and occult it. As the evening progresses it will slowly draw further away to the left of Regulus.

Mercury is setting in the south-west around an hour after the Sun at the start of March and sinks lower each evening as it approaches inferior conjunction on Saturday 7th, when it travels between the Earth and the Sun. It then emerges into the dawn sky but remains low and difficult to spot, rising only shortly before the Sun.

Venus slowly climbs higher in the evening sky during March, and will become more prominent shining above the western horizon after sunset at magnitude -3.9; by the end of the month it will be setting around two hours after the Sun.

Mars rises only minutes ahead of the Sun this month and will be invisible in the bright dawn sky.

Jupiter lies amongst the stars of Gemini, shining brightly at magnitude -2.4 high in the south in the early evening and setting in the north-west in the early hours of the morning.

Saturn sets in the south-west less than an hour after the Sun at the start of March and is all but lost in the bright twilight by mid-month. It is at conjunction on the far side of the Sun on Wednesday March 25th.

Uranus, at magnitude 5.8, is in Taurus about 5° to the south-east of the Pleiades star cluster.

Neptune lies close to Saturn and is also setting during evening twilight; it is in conjunction with the Sun on Sunday 22nd.

March 1st sunrise   7.04 am GMT    sunset 5.45 pm GMT
March 15thsunrise 6.27 am GMT    sunset 6.15 pm GMT
March 31stsunrise 6.44 am BST     sunset 7.48 pm BST

In mid-March, the sky is reasonably dark between 7.30 pm and 5.00 am GMT.

Friday March 20th is the Spring Equinox when the Sun crosses into the northern half of the sky, and spring officially begins in the northern hemisphere.
British Summer Time (BST) begins on Sunday March 29th; clocks should be put forward by one hour.
The Sun lies in the constellation of Aquarius for the first part of March, and then moves into neighbouring Pisces from Thursday 12th onwards.