NASA has just shared their monthly skywatching tips for March, helping us better understand what exactly we’re seeing when we look up at a sea of celestial bodies — assuming it’s not cloudy.
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Venus and Jupiter
Earlier this month Venus and Jupiter appear close together in the night sky and you can see both with the naked eye. But as days go by, the distance between the two planets will open up, with Venus rising higher and Jupiter gradually moving in the opposite direction.
Jupiter will drop so low that it will disappear from view in the coming weeks. But in May – in the predawn sky – it will return together with Saturn.
moon and venus
In its monthly update, NASA notes that the moon will be visible as a narrow crescent moon near Venus on March 23-24 for the first few hours after sunset. On March 23 it will appear just below the moon, while the next night it will be just above it. The following night, March 25, the Moon will make its upward orbit as seen from Earth, appearing that evening alongside the luminous Pleiades star cluster.
Ceres
Because crops are planted and harvested in both the northern and southern hemispheres during this month, NASA suggests the coming weeks as “an opportune time to attempt to discover the planet named after a mythical goddess of agriculture, grain and… of the fertile land is named. (In addition to the origin of the word ‘grain’.)”
It’s the dwarf planet Ceres, which sits in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, but since it’s only about 600 miles across, you’ll need binoculars or a telescope to spot it. Watch NASA’s video at the top of this page to find out how.
Try one of these excellent smartphone apps for iPhone or Android devices to locate planets and star formations more easily.
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