Stargazing has it all in March. All the great evening winter constellations

are still available, and in most places, you don’t have to bundle up quite as

much.

The first and last two weeks of March are especially wonderful because

there isn’t much moonlight, leaving you with darker skies to explore

celestial treasures. The full moon is on March 18. It has several

nicknames. Many Native American tribes called it the Worm Moon since

that was the time of the year earthworms emerged from winter

hibernation as the ground softened. Some of the other names for the

March full moon are the Crow, Crust, and Lenten Moon.

Spring begins two days later on March 20th, at least astronomically. The

start of spring is marked by the vernal equinox when all around the globe,

days and nights are nearly equal in length, about twelve hours each.

Anywhere along Earth’s equator, the sun will be directly overhead at noon.

From this point on, the northern hemisphere receives more sunlight each

day, increasing daylight hours until June 21st. The bad news for us

stargazers is that we have to wait later and later for true nightfall.

One of the great constellations of spring is rising in the evenings in the

Butler eastern skies. It’s Leo the Lion. Look for a distinctive backward

question mark that outlines the chest and head of Leo. Regulus is the

moderately bright star at the bottom of the question mark that marks Leo’s

heart. As March continues, Leo will appear higher and higher in the sky as

nightfall sets in.

Meanwhile, Orion and the rest of the beautiful winter constellations are

still performing in the evening skies, but this will be the last full month

you’ll be able to enjoy this close-knit group of bright stars. As Earth

continues its orbit of the sun, the nighttime side of Earth will gradually turn

away from that part of space where all those wonderful winter shiners are.

The three bright stars in a row that comprise Orion’s belt jump out at you.

Nowhere else in the sky will you see three stars this bright in a perfect row.

Below his belt are three fainter stars in a row that outline the hunter’s

sword. The middle star is the famous Orion Nebula, which appears as a

faint fuzzy star to the naked eye. It’s a superb telescope target, even if you

have a small scope. You’re witnessing a giant cloud of excited hydrogen gas

with stars gravitationally forming within it. To travel there would require a

journey of over 1300 light-years. Just one light-year equals nearly six trillion

miles! Using a small telescope, you can see a tight cluster of four stars born

within the Orion Nebula. They’re called the Trapezium stars because

they’re arranged in a tight trapezoid pattern.

In the northern sky, the Big Dipper is standing up on its handle. The

fainter Little Dipper is off to the left, hanging by its handle. The bright star

Polaris, otherwise known as the North Star, shines at the end of the Little

Dipper’s handle. Polaris shines directly above the Earth’s terrestrial North

Pole, so all stars in the northern hemisphere appear to circle the North Star

every 24 hours in response to the Earth’s rotation.

To be totally honest, it’s not a very good month for observing the

planets. In the early morning pre-twilight, Venus dominates the very low

southeastern sky. With a small telescope or even a pair of binoculars, Venus

will appear as a half-moon this month. That’s because of the 90-degree

angle between the sun, Earth, and Venus. Unfortunately that’s about all

there is to see with Venus because of its thick, highly reflective, and

poisonous atmosphere. Just to the lower left of Venus at the start of March

is the much fainter planet, Mars. Despite its faintness you should easily see

its distinct reddish hue. As 2022 continues, Mars will become brighter and

brighter and will eventually enter the evening sky in autumn. In December,

Mars will be super bright and the closest it’s been to Earth in over two

years. In the second half of March, Saturn will join Venus and Mars in the

early morning sky, but it will be faint and fuzzy. On March 28th, the thin

waning crescent moon will join the trio of planets to make for some

genuinely nice early morning celestial eye candy!

Enjoy the star-filled and warmer nights of March!

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast

meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author

of "Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations," published by

Adventure Publications and available at bookstores

and adventurepublications.net. Contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.