Sky Calendar -- March 2012
| 1 | Moon near Aldebaran (evening sky) at 0h UT. |
| 1 | First Quarter Moon at 1:22 UT. |
| 3 | Mars at opposition at 20h UT. Mag. -1.2. Visible all night. |
| 5 | Mercury at greatest elongation, 18° east from Sun (evening sky) at 9h UT. Mag. -0.5. |
| 5 |
Moon near Beehive cluster (evening sky) at 12h UT.
• Beehive Star Cluster (M44) (Wikipedia) |
| 7 | Moon near Regulus (evening sky) at 2h UT. |
| 8 |
Full Moon at 9:41 UT.
• Full Moon Names (Wikipedia) |
| 10 | Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 1h UT (362,400 km; 33.0'). |
| 10 | Moon near Spica (morning sky) at 21h UT. |
| 11 | Moon near Saturn (morning sky) at 3h UT. Mag. +0.4. |
| 13 | Venus 3.0° N. of Jupiter (46° from Sun, evening sky). Mags. -4.3 and -2.1. As March begins, watch the two brightest planets gradually approach and then pass each other before being joined by the Moon on 26 March. [Sky Maps] |
| 13 | Moon near Antares (morning sky) at 23h UT. |
| 15 | Last Quarter Moon at 1:26 UT. |
| 20 |
Vernal equinox at 5:13 UT. The time when the Sun reaches the point along the ecliptic where it crosses into the northern celestial hemisphere marking the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Vernal Equinox (Wikipedia) |
| 21 | Mercury at inferior conjunction with the Sun at 19h UT. Mercury passes into the morning sky. |
| 22 |
New Moon at 14:38 UT. Start of lunation 1104.
• Lunation Number (Wikipedia) |
| 25 | Moon near Jupiter (evening sky) at 23h UT. Mag. -2.1. |
| 26 | Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 6h UT (distance 405,777 km; angular size 29.4'). |
| 26 | Moon near Venus (46° from Sun, evening sky) at 21h UT. Mag. -4.4. |
| 27 |
Moon near the Pleiades (evening sky) at 10h UT.
• Pleiades (star cluster) (Wikipedia) |
| 28 | Moon near Aldebaran (evening sky) at 7h UT. |
| 30 | First Quarter Moon at 19:41 UT. |
| All times Universal Time (UT). USA Eastern Standard Time = UT - 5 hours. | |
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