An early morning Total Eclipse of the Moon is the highlight of March skies this year for skywatchers. Although the eclipse will be visible across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as in Australia and Asia, those in the Eastern Time Zone will see only the first half of the eclipse.
The Full Moon rises on March 2nd among the stars of Leo. After midnight on March 3rd the Moon will begin to enter the Earth’s shadow , beginning the partial phase of the eclipse, at 4:50 am EST (eastern standard time). This will also be at 3:50 am in the central time zone. The Moon will appear to darken as it progresses into Earth’s shadow and will begin to assume an orange hue.
When totality begins at 6:04 am (EST) with the Moon completely inside Earth’s shadow, we will find it hard to see with twilight from the rising of the Sun interferring, and the Moon’s low altitude above the western horizon. Sunrise on March 3rd (EST) will be at 7:10 am.
This is why skywatchers in the eastern time zone will see only about half of the eclipse. But it is still worthwhile to look, especially between 5:00 and 6:10 am. In the Central Time zone the Moon will be 20 degrees above the western horizon, and observers in the Mountain and Pacific zones will see the total eclipse in a dark sky.
Venus is a bright and easy target in the western evening sky 40 minutes after sunset all month. On March 7th and 8th much dimmer Saturn is just left and slightly above Venus. Binoculars may be necessary to see the ringed planet. By the end of March Saturn will be lost in the glare of the Sun for awhile.
Jupiter is March’s dominant planet sitting at its highest altitude in the southern sky at 8:30 pm (EST) on March 1st, and 7:30 pm (EDT) on March 31st. We revert to Daylight Savings Time on the night of March 7/8; pushing our clocks ahead one hour when we retire for the night.
Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring, occurs exactly at 10:46 am (EDT) on March 20th. Daytime and nighttime are approximately equal then. Day length gradually increases each day after this until mid-June, with the Sun appearing higher in the sky with each passing day. This is all due to the tilt of Earth and the changes of the position of the Earth in our orbital revolution around the Sun.
Dennis Herrmann developed a life-long interest in astronomy at an early age and got his first telescope at the age of 12. Through his 43 years of teaching at Kent County High School he taught Astronomy and Earth/Space Science and coached track and field and cross country. He led and participated in numerous workshops on astronomy at the Air and Space Museum (DC), the Maryland Science Center, and the Mid-Atlantic Planetarium Society. He loves sharing and explaining the night sky to increase understanding and enjoyment of it to folks of all ages.
