March stargazing highlights: Total lunar eclipse, spring forward and planetary watching
March offers a few celestial highlights to enjoy, including a total lunar eclipse on March 14 and the chance to see most of the planets in our solar system throughout the month.
Firefly Aerospace lunar lander captures view from Moon's far side
FILE VIDEO: This video taken by Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander shows the far side of the Moon from about 75 miles above the surface. Blue Ghost is set to touch down on the Moon in early March.
March ushers in the start of daylight saving time as well as a host of skygazing opportunities to kick off the spring season.
To start March, a waxing crescent Moon and a warming trend underway for much of the U.S. equals a good time to step outside and look up.
For the first week of the month, our solar system’s smallest planet, Mercury, reaches its greatest angular separation from the Sun. On March 8, Mercury will appear at its highest above the western horizon just as evening twilight ends and will set about 40 minutes later.
Then it’s time to spring forward for daylight saving time. At 2 a.m. ET on March 9, automatic clocks will jump forward to 3 a.m. Just don’t forget to reset your manual clocks, such as the ones on your oven and microwave.
EARTH IN THE CLEAR FROM ASTEROID 2024 YR4 STRIKE IN 2032 AFTER IMPACT CHANCES DROP TO NEARLY ZERO
Throughout March, all the planets will make an appearance either in the night or morning sky.
On the morning of March 12, Saturn will be in conjunction on the far side of the Sun and appear in the early dawn sky on the eastern horizon. Later in the day after sunset, Venus and Mercury will appear closest to each other, just 5.5 degrees apart, according to NASA.
March’s full Moon, known as the Blood Worm Moon, reaches peak illumination just before 3 a.m. on Friday, March 14. You don't need to be up in the middle of the night to see the full Moon; our only natural satellite will appear full from Wednesday through Saturday.
FILE IMAGE: The longest partial lunar eclipse in 580 years seen from the city of Bogota, Colombia on November 19, 2021. (Daniel Garzon Herazo / Getty Images)
With the full Moon comes an extra celestial treat for the eyes: a total lunar eclipse.
According to NASA, the Moon will be eclipsed by Earth's shadow on March 14. The eclipse begins at 11:57 p.m. Thursday and reaches totality at 2:59 a.m. Friday.
Lunar eclipses like this one can appear to make the Moon glow "blood red,", which is why March's full Moon is known as the Blood Worm Moon.
The Northern Hemisphere will have to wait until April for any meteor shower activity. The next peak meteor shower occurs with the Lyrids toward the middle of the month.