There’s nothing like looking up at the sky and seeing the stars, moon and planets on their monumental courses—makes us feel grateful to be alive to see it. We already knew this year was going to be a great one for stargazing. And this month, there will be plenty of planets to admire visible in our skies on a week-by-week basis, as reported by Travel + Leisure.
So this week, watch for Venus and Jupiter who have been moving closer to each other all throughout February and now they’re about to kiss. On March 2, the distance between them should be about half of your thumb’s width if you hold it out at arm’s length, says Travel + Leisure—unless of course, you have an outlandishly sized thumb. Look for these planetary lovers in the west-southwest sky just after sunset.
Next week, on March 14, you’ll get to see Mars, Uranus, Venus and Jupiter all in a line like excellent schoolchildren queuing for lunch. They’ll be holding their trays in the western sky, near two great constellations: Taurus and Orion (and come to think of it, Orion himself has a lineup of stars for his belt). Mars is first, then in order Uranus and Venus with Jupiter at the end, close to the horizon.
On March 20, we’ll experience the March equinox at 5:24pm EDT to let us know that spring is officially here.
Next, we’ll get to see Saturn although not its rings unless if you have a telescope (which sounds like a good investment since the rings are disappearing, says Earthsky.org). On March 24, if you rise early in the morning (about 40 minutes before sunrise), you can catch a glimpse of the planet in the east-southeast sky near the horizon.
To close out the month, Mercury will show up near Jupiter. Look for it on March 27 and on into April; it will just look like a very bright star near the western horizon just after sunset. And another fun pairing will evidence itself, with Mars nestling close to the waxing moon in the morning sky, hopefully, a new enough moon with diminished light so that we can see the reddish tint of the planet. Have a great month with your head craned back to look!