Explore a stellar tribute, some usually hidden areas of the Moon and the unassuming constellation Pictor
With Glenn Dawes
When to use this chart
1 Mar at 00:00 AEDT (29 Feb, 13:00 UT) 15 Mar at 23:00 AEDT (12:00 UT) 31 Mar at 22:00 AEDT (11:00 UT)
The chart accurately matches the sky on the dates and times shown for Sydney, Australia. The sky is different at other times as the stars crossing it set four minutes earlier each night.
MARCH HIGHLIGHTS
The Moon slowly wobbles on its axis, allowing us to see slightly more than half of its surface. However, those revealed areas are often still in shadow. The two maximum librations in March are both visible. One occurs during the last quarter Moon on 5 March, where the western limb shows the dark crater Grimaldi more face-on. The other, on 17 March, has the first quarter Moon displaying great views of Mare Crisium, with Mare Marginis now peeking over the eastern limb.
STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS
Argo, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts fame, and one of Ptolemy’s original 48 constellations, today exists as Vela, Puppis and Carina. They retain many links to Argo, including Arabic star names, but Gamma Velorum (in Vela) is also known as ‘Regor’, which is Roger backwards. Gus Grissom inserted this into NASA’s star charts as a joke on his fellow astronaut Roger Chaffee. When they were both killed in the Apollo 1 fire, the name remained to honour their memory.
THE PLANETS
You need to start early to see planets this month, for Jupiter and Uranus are setting around 21:00 (mid-month). A drought then sets in until Mars arrives in the predawn. This is followed by brilliant Venus, which quickly mo
