This chart depicts the evening sky for the times indicated. The edge
represents the horizon; the chart's center is the point overhead. Hold a
printout of the chart out in front of you so the horizon marked with the
direction you're facing is down. Then match the stars on the map with the
real stars in the sky.
This chart show the sky as seen from 40 degrees
north latitude. When viewing from a lower latitude, stars in the southern
sky will appear higher above the horizon while those in the northern sky
will be lower. When viewing from a latitude higher than 40 degrees, the
opposite will be true.
Printing or enlarging the chart requires Adobe
Reader
* Lunar phase times are listed for the U.S. Central Time Zone
Mar. 28 to Apr. 12: Venus and
Mercury Pair Up
The two worlds make for an attractive
pair in the west-northwest sky soon
after sunset. Between these two dates
these two planets are within 5 degrees
of each other, Venus appearing to the
left and slightly above the dimmer
Mercury. On April 3, they will appear
closest together, just a little over 3
degrees apart.
Recent and
Upcoming Phenomena (UT)
Mon,
Mar 29,
18h
Saturn 8° N.
of Moon
Tue,
Mar 30,
02h
FULL MOON
Tue,
Apr 06,
10h
LAST QUARTER
Wed,
Apr 07,
01h
Pluto
stationary
Wed,
Apr 07,
18h
Vesta
stationary
Thu,
Apr 08,
23h
Mercury
greatest elong. E.(19°)
Fri,
Apr 09,
03h
Moon at
apogee
Sat,
Apr 10,
01h
Neptune 4° S.
of Moon
Sun,
Apr 11,
22h
Jupiter 6° S.
of Moon
Mon,
Apr 12,
14h
Uranus 6° S.
of Moon
Moon highlights two colorful springtime stars
If you’ve never seen the
planet Mercury before, now is time to do so. Find
the planet Venus in the western twilight after
sunset, and you’re pretty much assured of spotting
Mercury.
Venus is easy to find,
because it’s the third brightest celestial object to
bedeck the heavens after the sun and the moon.
Mercury, although considerably fainter than dazzling
Venus, is still as bright as a first-magnitude star.
If you can’t see Mercury with the unaided eye, try
binoculars. Luckily, Venus and Mercury occupy the
same binocular field for the next couple of weeks.
Here’s how to catch
Mercury, the phantom of twilight. First, find an
unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunset.
Shortly after
sunset
– say from about 30 to 75 minutes afterwards – look
low in the western dusk for Venus and Mercury. These
planets follow the sun beneath the horizon by the
time that it gets good and dark. If you can’t see
Mercury next to Venus with the unaided eye, aim
binoculars at Venus to reel in Mercury.
Mercury, the solar system’s
innermost planet, never strays far from the sun’s
glare. On April 8, 2010, Mercury will be at its
greatest elongation east of the sun, and setting a
maximum amount of time after the sun. Your viewing
window for watching these two planets in early April
2010 will increase to about 90 minutes after sunset.
With Venus shining next to Mercury at dusk and early
evening, these next two weeks may well be your best
chance to catch Mercury in all of 2010
http://earthsky.org/tag/tonight
Planets Visible Now
Mercury
Mercury will pass behind the sun on March 14. By
month's end, it will be barely visible below Venus very low in
the west a half hour after sunset.
Venus
Venus will shine
low in the west as the evening sky darkens during March. It will be a
little higher each night, but its brightness will remain about the same
all month.
Mars
Mars will appear high in the southeast
as evening twilight fades during March, conspicuous in the constellation
Cancer the Crab.
Jupiter
Jupiter will be out of sight on the far side
of the sun during March
Saturn
Saturn will be opposite the sun in our sky
on March 21, when it will be closest to Earth in its orbit. It will rise
in the east at sunset, appear highest in the south around midnight and
set in the west at dawn. Saturn will be easily visible almost all night
during March as it crosses the southern sky, glowing bright yellow among
the stars of the constellation Virgo. Its rings will be tilted 3 degrees
to our line of sight. Saturn has at least 60 moons, and the largest one,
the planet-sized Titan, can be seen with any telescope. For the best
telescopic views, wait until Saturn is at least a third of the way up
the sky, above most of the turbulence near the horizon. See http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm
for the latest news and images from the Cassini spacecraft orbiting
Saturn.
Neptune
Neptune is hidden in the glow of the Sun. It will
return to view in late March, low in the morning sky.
Uranus
Uranus is lost in evening twilight in the
west-southwest sky. The planet will be visible again in early May, only now in
the morning sky.
