![]() ![]() Look for a faint upside-down Y shape of stars between Leo and Gemini. The faint stars of Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Boötes, and Perseus become easier to spot.Įven under dark skies, the stars of Cancer the Crab can be a challenge to see. You can begin by looking for the fainter stars of the season's constellations. On a clear night, find a dark spot far away from city lights, give your eyes time to adjust to the dark, and look for even more celestial sights. ![]() From Dark Skiesīright outdoor lighting can make it hard to see all but the brightest stars. Other bright stars to look for this month are Capella in Auriga the Charioteer, and Procyon in Canis Minor the Small Dog.ĭon't mistake red stars Betelgeuse or Aldebaran for Mars! A good rule to tell the difference: planets usually don't twinkle like stars! Mars starts the March between the horns of Taurus, but heads towards Gemini through the month. Under dark skies you may just be able to pick out two stick-figure bodies leading back towards Orion. The bright stars Castor and Pollux mark the heads of the twins. While your eyes alone may just see six or seven stars in this cluster, a pair of binoculars will reveal dozens of stars.įollow Orion's belt down and to the left for the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, in Canis Major the Big Dog.ĭraw a line from Orion's blue-colored foot Rigel up through Betelgeuse, and keep on going until you run into Gemini the Twins. Look just past Aldebaran and you may see a grouping of stars called M-45, or the Pleiades Star Cluster. Together, Aldebaran and the Hyades mark the face of Taurus the Bull. It just happens to sit in front of the star cluster, lining up in just the right spot. Aldebaran is not part of the Hyades itself. The rest of the stars are part of a cluster called the Hyades. At one end of the V-shape is a bright orange-red star called Aldebaran. Follow the belt stars up and to the right to find a 'V'-shaped group of stars. Learn to find Orion, and he can direct you to many other sights of the winter sky. Betelgeuse, one of his shoulder stars, is distinctly red in color. Look for the three stars in a straight line that mark his belt, the two stars that mark his shoulders, and the two stars of his feet. The most famous and easily found constellation is Orion the Hunter. High in the southwest you can find the bright stars of the winter evening sky. The central peak of Cassiopeia's W-shape also points you in the direction of Polaris. This group of stars can also help you find the North Star. ![]() Look to the northwest for a group of five stars known as Cassiopeia the Queen. Neither of these constellations has any other bright stars. Then speed on to Spica, the single bright star in Virgo the Maiden low in the southeast. The point at the bottom of the question mark is Regulus, the regal heart of the lion.įollow the curved handle of the Big Dipper to trace the 'arc' to Arcturus, the orange colored star in Boöes the Herdsman. Look for a backwards question-mark shape representing the head of the lion. Where does the water fall? Onto the back of Leo the Lion. Imagine poking a hole in the bottom of the Dipper's bowl. The Big Dipper is just a part of the constellation Ursa Major the Great Bear. This group of stars is officially known as Ursa Minor the Little Bear. Polaris is at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. When you face Polaris, you're facing due north. Use the two stars at the end of the bowl of the Dipper to point you to Polaris. We can use the stars of the Big Dipper to help us find Polaris, the North Star. As we head towards springtime, it's getting easier to find in the early evening. A first quarter Moon visits Mars on the evening of March 27.ĭuring the autumn and winter, the Big Dipper was buried low to the northern horizon until the wee hours of the morning. It's almost directly overhead in the early evening. Look high in the south for the red planet Mars. If you have a clear, low horizon and cloudless skies to the west, look for an extremely thin crescent Moon near Jupiter on the evening of the 22nd. Jupiter will become increasingly difficult to see, getting lost in the glow of sunset by the end of the month. As March continues, the two planets will drift apart from each other - Jupiter setting earlier, and Venus setting later. Look as soon as the sky begins to get dark, because both planets will set by 8pm. On March 1 these two brilliant planets appear extremely close to each other. For the past several weeks, we've watched Venus approach Jupiter to the west just after sunset. ![]()
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