Spring is in the air, and in the night sky if you look closely

At that moment, the center of the sun's disk crosses the celestial equator into the northern hemisphere of the sky. This served as the traditional start of the new year in many cultures until Roman times, and today marks important feasts and fasts in many religions.

The point in the sky that marks the equinox is sometimes referred to as the “first point of Aries,” a term still widely used in astrology. The constellation of Aries, the Ram, was the location of the equinox in the Babylonian period, when the basic principles of astronomical practice were established.

Today, the equinox is actually located at 30 degrees west in the constellation Pisces, thanks to a 26,000-year cycle called the “precession of the equinoxes.” After 3,000 years, the equinox will occur among the stars of Aquarius; It will return to Aries somewhere around the year 23,000.

The term “equinox” refers to the concept of “equal night,” where day and night are exactly 12 hours long. In fact, the upper limb of the Sun rises above the horizon a few days before the equinox. The actual date of 12 hours of daylight and darkness in D.C. this year is March 16, when Old Sol rises at 7:17 a.m. ET and sets at 7:17 p.m.

Moon notices, set this alarm

You will find the waning moon decorating the morning sky at the beginning of March. On the morning of the third, early risers can catch the last quarter moon before dawn in the southern part of the sky. Less than one degree away is the bright red star Antares, the heart of Scorpio, the zodiac sign.

The new moon falls on the tenth day. Luna rises in the evening sky, reaching full phase on the 25th. The traditional name for March's full moon is the Worm Moon, because the ground is soft enough for earthworms to find their way to the surface, providing a food source for birds and animals. Other traditional names are Crow Moon and Sap Moon.

If you want to be on time for any Sunday morning engagements on the 10th, you will need to set your clocks forward by one hour before going to bed on Saturday night. Unless you live in Arizona or Hawaii, US law requires us all to switch from standard time to daylight saving time at 2 a.m. on March 10. During my many years at the US Naval Observatory, I received hundreds of inquiries about why this happened every year. But the rule is not our right to implement.

In the United States, civil time is subject to the authority of Congress through the Department of Transportation. The observatory maintains a single reference time scale, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). We leave it up to others to figure out what to do with it.

From the Big Dipper to the spearfish

You can find the winter constellations that have helped us through the long winter nights in the western sky by mid-evening. By the end of the month, they will be set by midnight. If you enjoy looking at Orion and its fellow bright stars, this is the last month to get a good view until late fall.

After March, a somewhat quieter group of constellations will rise to take over the night. The most famous pattern among them is the star cluster known to most of us as the Big Dipper.

These seven stars form a distinctive pattern that defines a respectable soup ladle, and are usually one of the first star signs that novice stargazers learn to recognize. It is also known as a plow (plow) in Britain and Ireland, and a wayne (cart) in other parts of Europe. The seven stars are part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Big Dipper. The two stars at the end of the Big Dipper's “bowl” point north toward Polaris, which represents the north celestial pole.

Follow the 'pointers' to the south and you will encounter the constellation Leo, Leo, which consists of two distinct star constellations. Leo's brightest star, Regulus, lies beneath a semicircle of second-magnitude stars outlining Leo's head. To the east of Regulus, you'll find a right triangle of stars marking the back of Leo.

Returning to the Big Dipper, if you follow the arc made by its “handle,” you will encounter the distinctive spring star, Arcturus. This star is hard to miss because it is the brightest star in the northern sky and the fourth brightest overall thanks to its relatively close distance of 37 light-years and its luminosity that is about 170 times that of the Sun. Its pink color reminds me of the colorful blooms that will follow as March goes into April.

March may be a disappointment for planet watchers. The only bright member of the solar system that is easy to see is Jupiter, which dominates the western sky during the evening hours. In early March, the giant planet sets between 11 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., but after the switch to daylight saving time, you'll have no problem spotting Jupiter shortly after sunset.

However, once Jupiter sets, the rest of the night lacks any bright planets to look for. Just before dawn, you may be able to see Venus in the gathering glow of twilight, but it will be very low in the southeastern sky.

However, at the end of the month, we will have the opportunity to see one of the most elusive planets, Mercury. The best time to look for Mercury will be 30 to 45 minutes after sunset on the evenings of March 17 to 31, when it is about 10 degrees above the western horizon. If you have them, use binoculars to look for them in the twilight glow. Once you find it, you should be able to see it with the naked eye.

Heavenly views in the DC area in March

The weather is getting milder. Here are some places you can look through a telescope this month.

• George Mason University Observatory – Free public lectures and telescopic tours every week!
• Every Friday (weather permitting) – visit Analemma Society Observatory at Turner Farm Park in Great Falls, Virginia.
• March 2 and 16 – Greenbelt Stars Party Nights with Greenbelt Astronomical Society.
• March 9 — General Observation Night with Northern Virginia Astronomy ClubC.M. Crockett Park in Midland, Virginia.
• March 9 – Stargazing Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center In Chantilly, Virginia
• March 16 – “Astronomy for everyone”. Come see the stars from Northern Virginia's only International Dark Sky Park!

For a list of astronomy clubs, planetariums, science centers and observatories in the DC, Baltimore and Richmond metro areas, see This website is from the US Naval Observatory.