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.Events .Moon .Planets .Minor Planets, NEOs .Comets .Shooting Stars .Occultations .Sun .check more! (occultations observers are advised to check in 'Events', and to turn to such dedicated sites like the I.O.T.A).. don't forget to check the weather! For the US: the NOAA . color codes: Wwd worldwide, UsA USA-Americas, EuA Europe-Africa, AsP Asia-Pacific, Chk Check for Your Zone. check the site's concept and the instructions of use
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color codes: Wwd worldwide, UsA USA-Americas, EuA Europe-Africa, AsP Asia-Pacific, Chk Check for Your Zone. check the site's concept and the instructions of use
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Events Home Page.Events Seen All Month Long .Ephemerides Proper
(data from the former yearly ephemerides generator at Fred Espenak's NASA's eclipse website; miscellaneous data with the 'Astronomical Phenomena for The Year 2017,' a joint work by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office and the U.S. Naval Observatory; to be found at the latter's site; all time UT except otherwise stated)
Wwd At the Tropics or the southern hemisphere by dawn, fine bright stars are seen South!
 | Fine bright stars are seen South, by dawn in the southern hemisphere! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon Stellarium |
1 Wwd There is a occultation of Regulus, the bright star to constellation Leo, the Lion today by Moon! check more at Occultations; check more too at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)
9 EuA AsP At all latitudes, First Quarter tomorrow morning by dawn, is close to Mars Fine viewing and photograph opportunities!
10 Wwd Tomorrow morning by dawn, at all latitudes, last quartered Moon is close to Saturn. Fine viewing and photograph opportunities!
 | Moon by dawn, close to Saturn! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon Stellarium |
11 Wwd Moon is at its apogee at 09:13 UT (distances non available) as that same day it also reaches a southernmost declination at 06:39 UT
14 Wwd Moon is at a descending node at 03:48 UT
18 UsA EuA Very first crescent by all latitudes, is seen close to Venus where the latter available like a evening star! Fine viewing opportunities!
 | Moon close to Venus by evening twilight were the latter is seen! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon Stellarium |
19 AsP Very first crescent at all latitudes, is seen close to Venus where the latter available like a evening star! Fine viewing opportunities!
20 Wwd It is the spring, or vernal equinox today, by 16:15. Nighttime equal daytime worldwide! check more details about Earth's seasons with our tutorial Seasons
22 Wwd First crescent by all latitudes, is finely close to Aldebaran, the bright star to constellation Taurus, the Bull. The show may be seen as soon as by twilight
 | Moon close to Aldebaran! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon Stellarium |
22 Wwd There is a occultation of Aldebaran, the bright star to constellation Taurus, the Bull today by Moon! check more at Occultations; check more too at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)
25 Wwd Moon reaches a northernmost declination at 02:04 UT
26 Wwd Moon is at its perigee at 17:17 UT (distances non available)
27 UsA Waxing Moon, by all latitudes, is close to Regulus tonight, the bright star to constellation Leo, the Lion
27 Wwd Moon is at a ascending node at 10:56 UT
28 EuA AsP Waxing Moon, by all latitudes, is close to Regulus tonight, the bright star to constellation Leo, the Lion
28 Wwd There is a occultation of Regulus, the bright star to constellation Leo, the Lion today by Moon! check more at Occultations; check more too at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)
Occultations observers are advised to turn to such dedicated sites like the I.O.T.A as they may also check below at our Occultation section
Moon Home PageFull Moon is on March 2nd, at 00:51 UT
Last Quarter is on March 9th, at 11:20 UT
New Moon is on March 17th, at 13:12 UT
First Quarter is on March 24th, at 15:35 UT
Full Moon is on March 31st, at 12:37 UT
(source: Ephemeris generator at Fred Espenak's NASA's eclipse website)
Planets Home PageMercury is reaching a greatest eastern elongation on March 15th, 2018 by 14:59 UT. Mercury is a evening star now. The show is by less than 10 degree of altitude in the northern hemisphere as it is low by the Tropics and about null in the southern hemisphere
 | Mercury is by less of 10 degree of altitude like a evening star in the northern hemisphere, as Venus is not that far! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon Stellarium |
Venus is now a evening star in the northern hemisphere due West as it keeps low at the Tropics but it keeps too low to qualify in the southern hemisphere
Mars Mars Observation Campaign! is now a high morning star in the northern hemisphere. Mars by the Tropics is rising as soon as 1:00 a.m. local time and the same in the southern hemisphere. A Mars Observation Campaign is now unfolding 2018-2019 as it constitutes a remarkable, perihelic opposition, with Mars nearest to Earth at the same time it is nearest to the Sun on its orbit! Mars will reach a 24.2" of apparent diameter at its best as the observation campaign will span from when the Red Planet is reaching, then leaving 6" of apparent diameter! Don't miss those occasions of observing Mars! check more at our Mars Observation Campaign 2018-2019 page
 | The Mars Observation Campaign 2018-2019 keeps unfolding now! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon Celestia |
Jupiter is now rising as soon as by 11:30 p.m. local time in the northern hemisphere, 10:30 at the Tropics, and 10:45 p.m. in the southern hemisphere
Saturn keeps a fine morning star, high in the northern hemisphere. Saturn by the Tropics is rising as soon as 1:40 a.m. local time and by 1:48 a.m. in the southern hemisphere. A ring maximum aperture had been reached in 2017
 | Mars and Saturn are now fine morning stars in the northern hemisphere! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon Stellarium |
Uranus is tending to one of its conjunction which will occur next month and is barely observable as too low in the northern hemisphere, the same at the Tropics as it is now unobservable in the southern hemisphere
Neptune is nowhere observable as it is reaching its conjunction on March 4th, 2018 by 13:32
Pluto is now back to observation before dawn and still low in the northern hemisphere. It turned fully observable at the Tropics where it is now rising as soon as by 2:30 a.m. local time, and the same in the southern hemisphere, at 2:45 a.m. Pluto in 2018 is reaching a rare 'special' opposition as the latter will occur because the planet will reach its orbit's line of node. (according to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) since 2006, Pluto is not considered a planet anymore, but categorized like a dwarf planet instead along with Ceres, Eris, Makemake, and Haumea, and the prototype of a new category of 'trans-Neptunian', 'Pluto-class' objects)
Minor Planets, NEOs Home Page
Minor PlanetsMinor planets are those biggest asteroids in the Asteroid Belt which may be easily observed by amateurs from the Earth, namely Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta (due to the new categorization by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) by 2006, Ceres belongs to the 5 dwarf planets in the solar system with Pluto, Eris, Makemake, and Haumea). check data and charts at our section Minor Planets on the yearly Calendar page as our tutorial 'Asteroids and Asteroid Hunting' is of help too. Any remarkable event linked to a minor planet may have a notice here below
Nearest NEOsSome small asteroids dubbed Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are regularly making close approaches at Earth. People interested in such close approaches may obtain recent and upcoming data at NASA site Near-Earth Object Program (their section "Close Approaches"). Date, miss distance in AU or Lunar Distance (LD), estimated diameter, and relative velocity are available. For further observational purposes, check at the Near-Earth Object Program ephemeris Generator. For more about NEOs see tutorial "
Comets Home PageOnce every time, the solar system treats us with a remarkable comet, a eery view spanning up to thirty degrees of sky! Most of the time however comets are the domain of dedicated observers as mostly weak and, at the most, hovering at the limit of the naked-eye visibility. A good site to get information about current such comets is the British Astronomical Association Comet Section page or also the Weekly Information about Bright Comets page (which often points to comets close to the visual magnitude). Our 'Comets and Comet Hunting' tutorial will also be helpful. Remarkable comets otherwise usually will be presented below!
Shooting Stars Home Page->note: shooting stars afficionados will be aware of checking Moon at the dates of the showers
for more about the meteor showers of this month, for possible other meteor showers for this month, and for more about shooting stars, generally, see our tutorial "Shooting Stars"
Occultations Home PageEach month, Moon occults some relatively bright stars, that is the Moon, beginning either with its bright or its dark visible face, is passing in front of a star. This is called an occultation. The Pleiades, on the other hand, due to their position near the eclipic, are often occulted by Moon too. Some planets, at last, along the year, may be occulted by Moon or they themselves, or their satellites, may be seen too occulting a star. The asteroids too may occult stars. Yearly lists of such phenomenons are to be found at Sky & Telescope/SkyTonight.com, either in their newsstand issues or at their site, as a list of occultations of most brilliant stars, the planets and the Pleiades are available at the I.O.T.A site (I.O.T.A. stands for "The International Occultation Timing Association"). Most notable occultations are signaled below
Regulus back, the bright star to constellation Leo, the Lion is occulted by Moon on Mar. 1st, 2018 by 08:00 UT! The show is available for N.E. tip of Russia, N. North America, Greenland, Svalbard, W. edge of Europe, Azores. check more at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)
Aldebaran back, the bright star to constellation Taurus, the Bull is occulted by Moon on Mar. 22nd, 2018 by 08:00 UT! The show is available for N.E. Russia, N.W. North America, Greenland, Svalbard, most of Scandinavia, Great Britain and Ireland. check more at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)
Regulus back, the bright star to constellation Leo, the Lion is occulted by Moon on Mar. 28th, 2018 by 08:00 UT! The show is available for most of Scandinavia, N. and eastern Russia, Svalbard, N. Greenland, north westernmost North America, Aleutian Islands. check more at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)
check on this site for more about occultations, theoretically
Sun Home Page| CAUTION! OBSERVING THE SUN IS DANGEROUS AND REQUIRES DEDICATED SAFE TECHNIQUES! |
