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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the period between March 1 and March 31, 2024. Here are the events happening in the sky of southern California.

Mercury starts March close to the sun and is unobservable. On the 6^th, the sun sets at 5:54 p.m., PST, and Mercury sets in the west at 6:26 p.m., PST, 32 minutes later. The planet is 98-percent illuminated and 5.1 arcseconds wide. On the 24^th, the sun sets at 7:08 p.m., PDT, and Mercury sets at 8:39 p.m., PDT, one hour 31 minutes later, the maximum time between the two events for March. The planet is at magnitude -1.6, 47-percent illuminated, and 7.3 arcseconds wide. On the 31^st, the sun sets at 7:14 p.m., PDT, and Mercury sets at 8:30 p.m., PDT, one hour 16 minutes later. The planet is at magnitude +1.0, 20-percent illuminated, and 9.0 arcseconds wide. Do not observe any planet when it comes close to the sun, for the danger to the eyes is great.

Venus rises in the east-southeast at 5:17 a.m., PST, on the 1^st, and the sun rises at 6:21 a.m., PST, one hour four minutes later. The planet is 91-percent illuminated and 11 arcseconds wide. On the 31^st, Venus rises at 6:04 a.m., PDT, and the sun rises at 6:41 a.m., PDT, 37 minutes later. The planet is 96-percent illuminated and 10 arcseconds wide.

Mars moves from Capricornus the Sea Goat to Aquarius the Water Bearer on the 19^th. On the 1^st, Mars rises in the east-southeast at 5:06 a.m., PST, one hour 15 minutes before the sun rises. On the 31^st, Mars rises at 5:17 a.m., PDT, one hour 24 minutes before the sun rises. Mars is 96-percent illuminated and 4.4 arcseconds wide, which is too small for anything on its disk to be seen.

Jupiter is in Aries the Ram. On the 1^st, Jupiter sets in the west-northwest at 10:32 p.m., PST. On the 31^st the planet sets at 10:02 p.m., PDT. The planet is 34 arcseconds wide. A magnification 50x will show the Red Spot, and the four bright Galilean moons can be seen moving back and forth, across and behind Jupiter.

Saturn is in Aquarius the Water Bearer. The planet starts March close to the sun and is unobservable.  On the 16^th, Saturn rises in the east at 6:31 a.m., PDT, and the sun rises at 7:01 a.m., PDT, 30 minutes later. On the 31^st, Saturn rises at 5:37 a.m., PDT, one hour and four minutes before sunrise. The planet is 16 arcseconds wide. The rings and Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, may be seen with a magnification of 50x.

Uranus is in the constellation Aries the Ram. On the 1^st, Uranus sets in the west-northwest at 11:12 p.m., PST. On the 31^st, the planet sets at 10:20 p.m., PDT. On the 15^th, Uranus is at Right Ascension 3^h 10^m 44^s with a declination of +17° 29ʹ 9ʺ. The disk of Uranus is 3.5 arcseconds wide, and so a magnification of 150x is needed.

Neptune is in the constellation Pisces the Fishes. On the 1^st, Neptune sets in the west at 6:58 p.m., PST, one hour eight minutes after sunset. On the 9^th, the sun sets at 5:57 p.m., PST, and Neptune sets at 6:28 p.m., PST, 31 minutes later, and is too close to the sun through the rest of March.

The last quarter moon occurs on the 3^rd, new moon on the 10^th, first quarter on the 16^th, and full moon on the 25^th.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 10^th, at 2:00 a.m. All clocks must be set forward one hour, according to the saying, “Spring forward, fall back.”

Spring begins in the earth’s northern hemisphere (and autumn in the southern hemisphere) at 8:06 p.m., PDT, on March 19. At this precise moment, when the sun reaches the point where the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator, it moves from south to north. The point where and the time when the sun crosses the celestial equator to the north is the vernal equinox. Spring ends with the summer solstice on June 20.

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs on the 25^th. The eclipse begins at 9:53 p.m., PDT, and ends at 2:31 a.m., PDT, with mid-eclipse at 12:13 a.m., PDT. During a penumbral lunar eclipse, the moon travels through the outer, fainter portion of earth’s shadow and does not significantly dim as it would during an umbral eclipse, when the moon passes through the darker, umbral part of earth’s shadow.

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