Colour dominates in March
WELCOME to what is happening in the skies above Moray in March. This map is for 8pm on the 15th and will cover most of the evening's major events.
The nights are still very long, but towards the end of the month you will notice the days getting slightly longer.
On the night sky map, in the north is the top of Hercules, sitting on the horizon below Draco's head. Next to them, on the northwest horizon, is the top part of the Summer Triangle, consisting of Deneb in Cygnus and Vega in the Lyra. In the west is the head of Pisces and above them the box of Pegasus. Andromeda is to the left of Pegasus, and above Andromeda is the W of Cassiopeia. On the south-western horizon is Cetus the whale and Eridanus the river.
The south is where the real action is, for now in its full glory is the constellation of Orion, with its beautiful nebula. The line of Orion's belt will take you up to Taurus the bull with its bright orange star Aldebaran and then on to the Pleiades (the Severn Sisters). Follow the belt stars down and you will see Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. A line from the bottom left star to the top right in Orion will take you up to Auriga with its bright star Capella. A line from the bottom right to the top left star in Orion will take you on to Gemini the twins, followed by Cancer with its lovely Bee Hive cluster.
And, finally, on the north-east horizon is Leo, now fully risen. Above him, our favourite sign post, the Plough (Ursa Major). Follow the pointers past Draco's tail to the tip of the little bears tail (Ursa Minor), which is Polaris (the pole star).
And if you look due east, between Leo and Cancer, you will see the planet Mars, god of war and glowing bright red and climbing into the night sky, and it reaches opposition on the 29th. Jupiter is still a bright evening object, but disappearing fast, and Mercury becomes visible before dawn towards the end of the month.
Don't forget the "Blue Moon" on the 31st. Part of it will turn red. No, it's not too much drink; it's a partial eclipse, which runs from 6.52pm to 7.23pm. The Moon is new on the 15th and full on the 30th.
The ISS is visible as an evening object from the 9th. For more details, visit www.heavens-above.com
The aurora is still very quiet, but you never know so keep looking north. There is one meteor shower this month, the Quadrantids, which are active from the 1st to the 6th with a peak on the 3rd. However, they are fairly weak, and are fighting a bright Moon.
For more information, look at our web site www.sigma-astro.co.uk or contact myself, Ian Brantingham, at ian@branters.freeserve.co.uk, Tel 01466 771371.
My thanks to Chris Peat at www.heavens-above.com for the use of his star maps.
