MARTIN Lunn MBE, of Earby Astronomical Society, tells us what to look out for in the skies in March.

MARCH, which marks the beginning of spring, is seen as a transition month for the stars. The spring constellations are now rising in the east. The winter constellations can still be seen, but you need to look for them towards the west, early in the evening, just after it gets dark.

The familiar shape of the Plough is now very high in the sky and will reach its highest point over the next couple of months. It is probably the best known of all the groups of stars in the sky. There are seven stars that form this group; three stars form a curved line which can be seen as the handle of the Plough, with four stars that form a rectangle shape which can be imagined as the blade of the Plough. If you locate the two stars furthest from the handle, they are referred to as ‘the pointers’. Draw a line from the right hand star through the left hand star and then continue for about five times the distance between these two stars and you will reach a star all on its own. It is not the brightest star in the sky but it is one of the most important: the North Star.

If you continue the line from the pointers past the North Star you will see a group of stars that is formed in the shape of a letter ‘W’ or ‘M’ depending on which way you are looking at it. This is the constellation of Cassiopeia. The Plough and Cassiopeia can be seen all year round, and when the Plough is high in the sky Cassiopeia will be low down and vice versa.

The Plough and Orion are what astronomers refer to as signposts in the sky because they are so well known that people can use them to identify other bright stars. Learning your way around the night sky might be thought of in the same way as trying to do a jigsaw puzzle. You will need some important stars to help you solve the jigsaw and the Plough and Orion can help you do just that.

Orion, which has dominated the winter skies, is now dropping west towards the horizon, but can still easily be found as soon as it becomes dark. The red star Aldebaran in Taurus, and the Pleiades or Seven Sisters are much lower down in the west and by the end of the month will be difficult to see. This will also apply to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, which is low down in the south west but can still be found during the first half of the month by using Orion’s belt and drawing a line down and to the left.

Of the other winter stars, Capella, which until recently occupied the overhead point, can now be found to the west of this point, while the star Vega in Lyra, which is part of the Summer Triangle, can now be seen rising low in the north east. The other bright winter stars, Procyon in Canis Minor and Castor and Pollux in Gemini, can still be found high in the south west but are now past their best.

The bright stars Arcturus in Bootes, Regulus in Leo and Spica in Virgo are all coming into view and will dominate the spring sky. They can easily be found by using the Plough to indicate their positions in the sky.

If you use the handle of the Plough and draw a line that follows its curve down you will see the bright orange looking star Arcturus in the constellation of Bootes the Herdsman. If this line is then continued further down and around you will see the bright white looking star Spica in the constellation of Virgo the Virgin. Another line drawn from the two stars closest to the handle in the blade of the Plough and drawn downwards will point to a star at the base of a backwards looking question mark. This star is Regulus in the constellation of Leo the Lion. If this line is then continued you will see a fairly bright red star very low in the sky in the south called Alphard in the constellation of Hydra the Water Snake. Alphard is often referred to as the solitary one because there are no other bright stars nearby.

The Planets in March

Viewing the planets in spring will not be as good as during winter. Mercury, which was visible last month, can be seen in the evening twilight for about the first week of March before it becomes too close to the Sun to be seen. Mars is still visible in the evening sky in the south west, and at the end of the month it will be very nicely placed just below the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. The morning sky hosts three planets; Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. Venus, which has been easily visible so far this year is now much lower in the sky and is drifting into morning twilight. Jupiter can be seen about an hour before sunrise while Saturn, which by the end of the month rises about an hour before the Sun, will be more difficult to see because it is not as bright as Jupiter.

Meteor Showers

There are no major meteor showers this month.

Phases of the Moon for March

New Moon 6; First Quarter 14; Full Moon 21; Last Quarter 28.

The Full Moon in March is called the Lenten Moon, as it has to fall in the religious period of Lent which lasts from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.

The Spring Equinox occurs on March 20, marking the point when spring starts in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn starts in the Southern Hemisphere. The word ‘equinox’ comes from the Latin words aequi, which means equal, and nox, which means night. At this instant the Sun lies above the equator and both poles of the planet are illuminated, meaning that on this day the length of daylight and night time are the same.

On March 27, British Summer Time or BST begins. The clocks will go forward an hour, though I have to say that astronomers are very scornful of this artificial manoeuvre, which makes for lighter nights so we have to stay up later to observe the night sky.

The next meeting of the Earby Astronomical Society will be on Friday March 1

at All Saints’ Church, Earby, from 7.30pm-9pm. The speaker will be Martin Lunn MBE FRAS, Earby Astronomical Society, and the title of the talk will be ‘The Spring Sky’.