[Engergetic music]
[Preston Dyches] What's Up for March
A good time to catch Mercury,
an eclipse approaches,
and the dark side of the Moon.
March begins with Venus still hanging out low
in the west after sunset, but it quickly drops out of the sky.
By mid-month, it's getting lost in the glare of sunset.
Once it gets dark, you'll find Jupiter and Mars high overhead,
keeping you company through the evening.
Mars sets a couple of hours after midnight this month,
leaving the morning sky
“planet free” for the first time in a year.
March also has the best opportunity
this year for trying to spot fast-moving Mercury.
If you're in the Northern Hemisphere.
It's only visible
for a few weeks at a time every 3 to 4 months.
This is because the speedy planet
orbits the sun in just 88 days,
so it quickly shifts its position in the sky
from day to day.
It's always visible either
just after sunset or just before sunrise.
On March 7th through 9th,
look for Mercury beginning about 30 minutes after sunset
in the west, about ten degrees above the horizon.
You'll want to ensure your view isn't blocked by trees,
buildings, or other obstructions.
Observing from a large open field
or the shore of a lake or the seaside can be helpful.
Spying Mercury isn't always easy,
but catching the fleet-footed planet
is a worthy goal for any skywatcher.
There's a total lunar eclipse
on the way this month visible across the Americas.
Lunar eclipses can be viewed from anywhere the Moon is above
the horizon at the time.
The show unfolds overnight
on March 13th and into the 14th, depending on your time zone.
Check the schedule for your area for precise timing.
Now, during a total lunar eclipse,
we watch as the Moon passes through Earth's shadow.
It first appears to have a bite taken out of one side,
but as maximum eclipse nears,
the Moon transforms into a deep crimson orb.
That red color comes from the ring
of all the sunsets and sunrises you'd see encircling our planet
if you were an astronaut on the lunar surface right then.
Afterward, the eclipse plays out in reverse, with the red color
fading and the dark bite
shrinking until the Moon looks like its usual self again.
And here's an interesting pattern:
eclipses always arrive in pairs.
A couple of weeks before or after a lunar eclipse,
there's always a solar eclipse.
And this time, it's a partial solar eclipse that will be
visible across Eastern Canada, Greenland and Northern Europe.
The Moon has a dark side,
but it may not be what you think.
As it orbits around Earth each month,
the Moon is also rotating or spinning.
So, while we always see the same face of the Moon,
sunlight sweeps
across the lunar surface every month as it rotates.
This means there's no permanently “dark” side.
The Moon's dark side faces Earth when the Moon passes
between our planet and the sun each month.
This is the moment when the Moon is said
to be “new,” as in a fresh start for its changing phases.
The new moon is also located
quite close to the sun in the sky,
making it more or less invisible
unless there's a solar eclipse.
Nights around the new moon phase provide
excellent opportunities for observing the sky,
especially if you're using a telescope
or doing astrophotography.
Without moonlight washing out the sky.
You can better see faint stars,
nebulas, the Milky Way, and distant galaxies.
So next time someone mentions the “dark side of the Moon,”
you'll know there's more to the story...
and you might even discover some deep-sky treasures
while the Moon takes its monthly break.
Here are the phases of the Moon for March.
Stay up to date on all of NASA's missions
exploring the Solar System and beyond at science.nasa.gov.
I'm Preston Dyches from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
and that's What's Up for this month.