THE daytime sky attracts our attention this month, because on March 20 there will be a stunning partial eclipse of the Sun visible over Britain.

The eclipse is total over the North Atlantic Ocean, so the people of the Faroe Islands will experience darkness.

Over the Dales 93 per cent of the Sun will be covered by the Moon, with maximum eclipse occurring at 09.32.

NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN, ESPECIALLY THROUGH A TELESCOPE OR BINOCULARS. ALTHOUGH MOST OF THE SUN WILL BE COVERED BY THE MOON THERE WILL STILL BE ENOUGH OF THE SUN VISIBLE TO CAUSE BLINDNESS.

The next partial eclipse as extensive as this and visible from the UK will not be until 2026, while the next total eclipse of the Sun visible over the UK will be in 2090.

The winter period of observing the night sky is coming to an end. The Plough is now almost overhead and if you follow the curve of the handle of the Plough, it points to the bright star Arcturus, which is the brightest star in the spring sky. The ‘W’ of Cassiopeia is getting lower in the North West. Of the winter stars, Orion and the Dog Star Sirius are now low in the west. Only Castor and Pollux in Gemini are still prominent in the sky.

Spring Equinox

The Spring Equinox occurs on March 20th. This marks the moment when the Sun crosses the celestial equator; the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator from south to north. The length of daylight hours will now increase.

Picture copyright Liverpool Astronomical Society

What’s up in the solar system?

The Planets in March

Jupiter can be seen throughout the night this month and is difficult to miss. It is the very bright white dot in the southern sky. Venus can be seen as a bright white dot in the western sky after the Sun sets. On the 22nd and 23rd Venus will be very close to the Moon.

Saturn is still visible in the morning sky at around 5am. Mercury and Mars are both too close to the Sun to be easily seen.

Meteor Showers

There are no major meteor showers during March.

Phases of the Moon for March

Full Moon 5th, Last Quarter 13th, New Moon 20th, First Quarter 27th

The full Moon this month is called the Lenten Moon. This full moon must always fall within the church season of Lent.

British Summer Time (BST)

BST starts on March 29th and the extra hour’s movement will significantly affect the night sky for next month. In addition, there will be fewer dark hours for astronomers to enjoy the stars.

The next meeting of the Earby Astronomical Society will be on Friday March 6th 2015 at All Saints’ Church, Earby from 7.30pm-9.00pm. The speaker will be David Clapham FRAS from the Astronomy Centre at Todmorden. The title of the talk will be ‘Choosing Your First Telescope’.