March 2025 features Venus transitioning from the evening to the morning sky, with a bit of overlap; the year’s best evening appearance of Mercury; Jupiter and Mars against stellar backgrounds; the moon’s maximum northern and southern excursions, a kind of phenomenon observed at Stonehenge; a close scraping of the moon with a horn of Taurus; and a total eclipse of the moon!
Saturday, March 1: Did you spot the first crescent moon in twilight early last evening (Feb. 28), 18° to the lower left of Venus and just 2° to the lower left of Mercury? As the first visible moon of this lunar month, last night’s 2 percent, 26-hour crescent marked the beginning of the month of Ramadan on the Islamic calendar. This evening, spectacular sights await: In the west, brilliant Venus (magnitude -4.8) is 6° to the upper right of a 6 percent crescent moon, and Mercury (magnitude -1.0) is 11° to the moon’s lower right. While sky is still bright, binoculars will show Venus is itself a crescent, 14 percent full and 50 arcseconds across. High in the southwest as it darkens, find bright Jupiter (magnitude -2.3) with Aldebaran and the Hyades cluster 5°-10° below. High in the east, Mars (magnitude -0.3) forms a nearly isosceles triangle with Pollux and Castor, about 7° from each.
March 2: At nightfall in early March, you can catch the variable star Mira in Cetus near peak brightness in its 11-month cycle. Aldebaran and the Hyades cluster, comprising the head of Taurus, serve as a V-shaped arrowhead pointing 22° southwest to Alpha Ceti (magnitude 2.5). Go 7° farther in the same direction to Delta Ceti (magnitude. 4.1) and another 6° farther beyond Delta to Mira. Compare Mira’s brightness to Alpha and Delta Ceti, and to Gamma, of magnitude. 3.5, just northeast of Delta and west of Alpha.
March 4: At nightfall, find the Pleiades star cluster within 7° to the upper left of the 33 percent moon, and 5.7-magnitude Uranus 4.5° to the lower left of the moon and 8° to the lower left of Pleiades.
March 5: Venus is 26° to the upper right of the setting sun tonight, and with optical aid shows a crescent 10 percent full and 52 arcseconds across. At nightfall, find Jupiter 7° from a fat, 44 percent crescent moon nearing first quarter phase, and 5.7° from Aldebaran.
March 6: A rare event will take place tonight, involving the 54 percent moon and the 1.7-magnitude star Elnath, “the butting one,” marking the tip of the northern horn of Taurus, the Bull. Tonight, the moon appears farther north during any other time in darkness hours during the current 18.6-year cycle of the wobbling of its orbit, or “lunar nodes regression.” Almost every month, the moon passes south of this star, but tonight at about 8:52 p.m., as seen from a narrow track less than a mile wide across the southern portion of the Coachella Valley, including Palm Desert, the moon will graze Elnath, causing the star to disappear and reappear from behind the mountains on the moon’s northern edge. A telescope at high magnification will be needed to observe the event. South of the track, the moon occults the star, completely covering it. Palm Springs will see a very narrow miss, with the moon almost touching the moon’s mountaintops. During evening twilight on March 6 and 7, the moon passes within 6° south of overhead from Palm Springs. Early on Friday morning, the moon sets far toward the northwest after 1:30 a.m. from Palm Springs.
March 7: At dusk, the 65 percent gibbous moon appears about two-thirds of the way from Jupiter toward Mars. Mercury reaches greatest elongation, 18° from the sun, tonight, and is 7° to the lower left of Venus. Mercury still shines brightly at magnitude. -0.5, but will fade more than a magnitude to +0.6 by March 12.
March 8: At dusk, the 75 percent moon appears 2° to the north of Mars and about 5° from the “Twin” stars, Pollux and Castor. Daylight saving time begins on Sunday morning, which makes for later clock times for sunrise and sunset.
March 9: At dusk, the 84 percent moon is about one-third of the way from Mars toward Regulus, heart of Leo, the Lion.
March 10: Venus is 20° to the upper right of the setting sun. Through binoculars and telescopes, it displays a crescent 6 percent illuminated, nearly 56 arcseconds across.
March 11: Regulus is 3° to the lower right of the 95 percent moon early this evening, with two days to go until full.
On March 13, there will be a total eclipse of the moon. The moon begins to enter the umbra, or circular dark central core of Earth’s shadow, at 10:09 p.m. By 11:26 p.m., the moon is completely within the umbra, and the total eclipse begins.
March 12: Saturn is in conjunction with the sun today, moving into the morning sky, but will remain hidden from our view all month. The rings in its equatorial plane are presented edge-on to the sun twice in each 29-year circuit. The next time this occurs will be at Saturn’s autumnal equinox on March 23, but unfortunately, Saturn will be only 10° away from the sun. When Saturn emerges into the eastern dawn sky in April, the northern face of the rings we’ve been viewing since 2009 will still be tipped toward Earth, but it will be dark, because it’ll be tipped away from the sun. When Earth crosses to the south of the ring plane on May 6, we’ll start seeing the illuminated south face of the rings, but at a very shallow angle at first. The rings will appear as “open” as they can, nearly 27° from edgewise, in 2032.
March 13: Tonight there will be a total eclipse of the moon. The moon begins to enter the umbra, or circular dark central core of Earth’s shadow, at 10:09 p.m. The umbral shadow will appear very dark at first, but as more of the moon becomes immersed in shadow, colors should become noticeable. By 11:26 p.m., the moon is completely within the umbra, and the total eclipse begins. It is around this time, and again when the moon starts to emerge from the umbra at the end of total eclipse at 12:32 a.m., when the greatest range of colors is likely to be seen. The eclipse is likely to appear darkest at deepest eclipse at 11:59 p.m., when the Earth passes closest to the center of Earth’s shadow. At that time, the northern edge of the moon, not far within the outer edge of the umbra, is likely to appear much lighter than the southern edge, which will pass closest to the center of Earth’s shadow.
The moon isn’t completely dark during a total lunar eclipse, because sunlight passing through the Earth’s atmosphere is refracted, or bent, into Earth’s shadow. The light is reddened, because much of the bluer light is scattered out while passing low through the Earth’s atmosphere.
The umbral eclipse ends at 1:48 a.m., as the moon leaves the umbra. Some dusky-looking penumbral shading will be noticed for 20 minutes or so before 10:09 p.m. and after 1:48 a.m., but it is much less striking, because direct sunlight still reaches the entire moon during the penumbral stages.
The next total lunar eclipse visible from Western U.S. will occur on the morning of March 3, 2026.
March 14: The moon, just past full, rises within an hour after sunset. Three hours after sunset, look for Spica 18° to the lower left of the moon.
March 15: The moon rises within two hours after sunset. Three hours after sunset, look for Spica about 6° to the lower left of the moon. By an hour before sunrise on Sunday, the moon will appear within 4° to the lower right of Spica.
March 17: An hour before sunrise, the 91 percent moon appears 8° to the left of Spica. At sunset, Venus is nearly 12° to the sun’s upper right and displays a crescent only 2 percent full and nearly one arcminute across, easily resolved in binoculars. A magnitude of 60x would make Venus look nearly one degree across, nearly double the moon’s apparent diameter with the unaided eye.
March 20: Spring begins at 2:01 a.m. today in Earth’s northern hemisphere, as the sun shines directly overhead on the Earth’s equator. An hour before sunrise, the 69 percent moon appears 2° to the lower right of Antares, heart of the Scorpion.
Using binoculars about 10 minutes before sunrise and 10 minutes after sunset today, if you have very clear skies and unobstructed views of the horizon, try viewing the 1 percent crescent Venus as both a morning “star” and evening “star.” At those times, Venus is about 2° above the horizon and 9° to the north of the sun, to the sun’s upper left before sunrise and the upper right after sunset, when the sun is safely hidden just below the horizon. An easier chance, not dependent on your landscape surroundings or atmospheric conditions: Stand in the shade on the north side of a building today at midday, when the sun reaches its highest point in the south (12:53 p.m. in Palm Springs): Venus is 9° almost directly above the sun. With the sun safely hidden by the top of the building, you can use a telescope or binoculars to view the amazingly thin, brilliant crescent! Always make sure the sun is not illuminating the front of your optics when you attempt observing Venus close to the sun.
March 21: An hour before sunup, look for Antares 10° to the upper right of the 59 percent moon.
March 22: This morning’s southeastern moonrise (2:16 a.m., or 4.5 hours before sunrise in Palm Springs) is the southernmost in the 18.6-year cycle of the varying inclination of the moon’s orbit to Earth’s equatorial plane. The 49 percent moon passes due south less than 27° up from Palm Springs at 7 a.m., 14 minutes after sunrise.
For the next several mornings through March 28, the waning moon will be moving through the constellations that the sun passes through during the winter months: Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius and Pisces. The moon’s day-to-day path is inclined at a low angle to the horizon, so on most mornings, you’ll need to look during twilight. Even though the moon will still be 12° from the sun on March 28, you’re not likely to see it then, because it will rise just shortly before sunup.
Venus passes inferior conjunction around 6 p.m., when it’s just 8.4° to the north-northwest of the sun. Block the sun with a building, and if the sky is very clear, you may be able to spot the 1 percent Venus crescent with telescope or binoculars to the upper right of the sun. Venus is now at its closest to Earth; the time required for its reflected light to reach Earth is 2.33 minutes.
March 25 and 26, from about 25 minutes before sunrise until sunrise, if the sky is very clear, with optical aid, you can pick up the crescent Venus 9 to 10 degrees almost directly above the sun’s position. Note the crescent’s horns point upward, away from the sun. Once the sun rises, use a building or another object to block it from view, when you’re observing Venus this close to the sun. By March 31, Venus will appear as a 3 percent crescent 15° to the upper right of the sun, and rising more than an hour before sunup.
March 27: This is your last chance this month to catch the moon in the morning sky. About 35 minutes before sunrise, look between the east and the east-southeast for a 5 percent crescent moon. About 21° to the left and a little north of east, look for Venus. Binoculars and telescopes show it’s still a crescent, now 2 percent full.
March 29: The moon is new this morning at 3:58 a.m. Here’s a chance to catch the young, thinnest crescent moon you’ve ever seen. If you use binoculars or a telescope and have perfect sky conditions and an unobstructed horizon, look about 25 minutes after sunset, about 2° or 3° above the horizon, 9°or 10° north of west, for a hairline-thin crescent. From Palm Springs, it will be only 15.5 hours after new and 8.3° from the sun. The crescent will be very delicate, with breaks where lunar limb features cast shadows long enough to interrupt the crescent. This marks the end of Ramadan.
March 30: Tonight through April 2, the moon climbs higher in the west nightly, and traverses the zodiacal constellations Aries and Taurus, through which the sun will follow this spring. Tonight, the compact triangle of stars of magnitude 2, 3, and 4 to moon’s upper right are the brightest members of Aries, the Ram. Jupiter is in Taurus, 7.7° from Aldebaran, and Mars is in Gemini, while passing 4° south of Pollux.
March 31: This evening the 11 percent crescent moon is nearly 12° to the lower right of the Pleiades. The sixth-magnitude planet Uranus is about 7° from each, south of a line joining them. In coming evenings, watch the moon pass by two bright planets and five bright zodiacal stars, in order from west to east: Aldebaran, Jupiter, Castor, Pollux, Mars, Regulus and Spica.
These events, and other gatherings of the moon, planets and stars, are illustrated on the Abrams Planetarium Sky Calendar. For $12 per year, subscribers receive quarterly mailings, each containing three monthly issues; learn more at www.abramsplanetarium.org/skycalendar.
The Astronomical Society of the Desert will host a star party on Saturday, March 22, at the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center; and on Saturday, March 29, at Sawmill Trailhead, a site in the Santa Rosa Mountains at elevation 4,000 feet. For more information, including maps and directions to the two observing sites, visit astrorx.org.
Robert Victor originated the Abrams Planetarium monthly Sky Calendar in October 1968 and still helps produce an occasional issue. He enjoys being outdoors sharing the beauty of the night sky and other wonders of nature. Robert Miller, who provided the evening and morning twilight charts, did graduate work in planetarium science, and later astronomy and computer science at Michigan State University, and remains active in research and public outreach in astronomy.
