What To See In March 2024What astronomers can see in the March night sky including moon phases, penumbral lunar eclipse in March 2024 and how to see the planets.
Moon Phases in March 2024
March's full moon is called the Worm Moon after the worm trails that would appear in the newly thawed ground. Other names include the chaste moon, death moon, crust moon and sap moon, after the tapping of the maple trees.
| March 2024 Moon Phases | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
| 1st | 2nd | |||||
| 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th |
| 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th |
| 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23rd |
| 24th | 25th | 26th | 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th |
| 31st | ||||||
Eclipses in March 2024
On March 25th we get the chance to observe a penumbral lunar eclipse. The eclipse will be visible across North America, Mexico, Central America, and South America.
A penumbral lunar eclipse is a celestial phenomenon that occurs when the moon passes through the penumbra, or the dim, outer part of Earth's shadow. The moon does not entirely darken during this sort of eclipse, as it does during a total lunar eclipse. Instead, it merely dims slightly and generally goes unnoticed by the untrained eye. It's subtle and difficult to notice, which makes it appealing to astronomers and stargazers who appreciate the challenge of finding elusive occurrences.
Visible Comets in March 2024
March will probably be the last time to view comet 12P/Pons–Brooks this year which is approaching magnitude 5 in the NE skies just after sunset. The comet is getting closer and closer to the sun making viewing tricky towards the end of the month.
The Planets in March 2024
Mercury at greatest eastern elongation on March 24th and will be 18.7 degrees from the sun. Mercury will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky, making this the best time to observe it. Just before sunrise, look for the planet low in the eastern sky.
On March 21, at 22:06 GMT Venus will pass near Saturn in the constellation Aquarius. This will be a relatively close conjunction: the planets will be only 0°18' apart, while other conjunctions typically occur at a separation of 30 to 78 arcminutes.
March 2024 Deep Space Objects
In this table, the observation month represents the month in which the object reaches its highest point in the sky. It can also be viewed a few months before and after depending on your location. Direction is the compass direction in which the object is located, with Z meaning Zenith or overhead.
| # | Image | Common Name | Constellation | Coords | Direction | Mag | Size (arcmin) | Type | Star Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 NGC 1952 |  | The Crab Nebula | Taurus | 05h 34.5m RA 22° 01m Dec | S/SW | 8.40 | 4 | Supernova Remnant | 🔍︎ |
| M40 |  | Winnecke 4 | Ursa Major | 12h 22.4m RA 58° 05m Dec | N | 9.60 | 0.86 | Double Star | 🔍︎ |
| M44 NGC 2632 |  | Praesepe | Cancer | 08h 40.1m RA 19° 59m Dec | S | 3.70 | 95 | Open Cluster | 🔍︎ |
| M51 NGC 5194 |  | The Whirlpool Galaxy | Canes Venatici | 13h 29.9m RA 47° 12m Dec | NE | 8.40 | 11x7 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ |
| M53 NGC 5024 |  | Coma Berenices | 13h 12.9m RA 18° 10m Dec | SE | 8.30 | 13 | Globular Cluster | 🔍︎ | |
| M58 NGC 4579 | Virgo | 12h 37.7m RA 11° 49m Dec | S | 10.50 | 5.9x4.7 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | ||
| M59 NGC 4621 | Virgo | 12h 42.0m RA 11° 39m Dec | S | 10.60 | 5.4x3.7 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | ||
| M60 NGC 4649 | Virgo | 12h 43.7m RA 11° 33m Dec | S | 9.80 | 7.4x6 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | ||
| M61 NGC 4303 | Swelling Spiral Galaxy | Virgo | 12h 21.9m RA 04° 28m Dec | S | 10.18 | 6.5x5.8 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | |
| M63 NGC 5055 |  | The Sunflower Galaxy | Canes Venatici | 13h 15.8m RA 42° 02m Dec | Z | 9.30 | 12.6x7.2 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ |
| M64 NGC 4826 |  | The Blackeye Galaxy | Coma Berenices | 12h 56.7m RA 21° 41m Dec | Z | 9.36 | 10.7x5.1 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ |
| M65 NGC 3623 | Leo Triplet | Leo | 11h 18.9m RA 13° 05m Dec | S | 10.25 | 8.7x2.4 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | |
| M66 NGC 3627 | Leo Triplet | Leo | 11h 20.2m RA 12° 59m Dec | S | 8.90 | 9.1x4.2 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | |
| M67 NGC 2682 |  | Golden-Eye Cluster (Pac-Man Cluster) | Cancer | 08h 50.4m RA 11° 49m Dec | S | 6.10 | 30 | Open Cluster | 🔍︎ |
| M68 NGC 4590 | Hydra | 12h 39.5m RA -26° 45m Dec | S | 9.67 | 11 | Globular Cluster | 🔍︎ | ||
| M84 NGC 4374 | Markarian's Chain | Virgo | 12h 25.1m RA 12° 53m Dec | S | 10.10 | 6.5x5.6 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | |
| M85 NGC 4382 | Coma Berenices | 12h 25.4m RA 18° 11m Dec | S | 10.00 | 7.1x5.5 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | ||
| M86 NGC 4406 | Markarian's Chain | Virgo | 12h 26.2m RA 12° 57m Dec | S | 9.80 | 8.9x5.8 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | |
| M87 NGC 4486 | Virgo A | Virgo | 12h 30.8m RA 12° 24m Dec | S | 9.59 | 7.2x6.8 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | |
| M88 NGC 4501 | Coma Berenices | 12h 32.0m RA 14° 25m Dec | S | 10.40 | 6.9x3.7 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | ||
| M89 NGC 4552 | Virgo | 12h 35.7m RA 12° 33m Dec | S | 10.73 | 5.1x4.7 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | ||
| M90 NGC 4569 | Virgo | 12h 36.8m RA 13° 10m Dec | S | 10.26 | 9.5x4.4 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | ||
| M91 NGC 4548 | Coma Berenices | 12h 35.4m RA 14° 30m Dec | S | 11.00 | 5.4x4.3 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | ||
| M95 NGC 3351 | Leo | 10h 44.0m RA 11° 42m Dec | SW | 11.40 | 3.1x2.9 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | ||
| M96 NGC 3368 | Leo | 10h 46.8m RA 11° 49m Dec | SW | 10.10 | 7.6x5.2 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | ||
| M97 NGC 3587 | The Owl Nebula | Ursa Major | 11h 14.8m RA 55° 01m Dec | Z | 9.90 | 3.3x3.4 | Planetary Nebula | 🔍︎ | |
| M98 NGC 4192 | Coma Berenices | 12h 13.8m RA 14° 54m Dec | SE | 11.00 | 9.8*2.8 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | ||
| M99 NGC 4254 | Coma Pinwheel Galaxy | Coma Berenices | 12h 18.8m RA 14° 25m Dec | SE | 10.40 | 5.4x4.7 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | |
| M100 NGC 4321 | Blowdryer Galaxy (Mirror Galaxy) | Coma Berenices | 12h 22.9m RA 15° 49m Dec | SE | 10.10 | 7.4x6.3 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ | |
| M102 NGC 5866 |  | Spindle Galaxy | Draco | 15h 06.5m RA 55° 45m Dec | NE | 10.70 | 4.7x1.9 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ |
| M105 NGC 3379 | Leo | 10h 47.8m RA 12° 35m Dec | SW | 10.20 | 5.4x4.8 | Galaxy | 🔍︎ |
