Orlando night skies in March are gonna be lit.
Like, literally lit with stunning celestial sights and another rocket launch off the East Coast as SpaceX prepares to add to its Starlink satellite project.
The end of the month marks the third full moon of the year, but in between the launch and the filling of the moon is a stunning array of astronomical sights. There’s also the unpleasant loss of sleep provided by the start of daylight saving time, but it comes at the cost of more daylight.
The following is a forecast of events Orlandoans can look forward to during March’s twilight, evening and early morning hours.
Mar. 2
SpaceX will be launching its 20th batch of 60 satellites for its Starlink broadband network using its Falcon 9 rocket. The launch is now scheduled for 7:53 p.m. Tuesday after a Sunday night launch attempt was scrubbed at Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A launch pad.
Mar. 1-2
At the start of the month, Jupiter will shine brightly in the night sky above the horizon as morning twilight begins at 5:42 a.m. The gas giant will be seen in the east-southeast to the lower left of Mercury, with Saturn to the upper right. Also, from Monday night and into Tuesday morning, the bright star Spica will appear on the moon’s lower right as it rises in the southeast. It will be below the moon as the night stretches into the 3 a.m. hour.
Mar. 2
On Tuesday evening, stargazers will be able to catch the Near-Earth Object “2016 DV1,? which is between 96 to 214 feet long as it passes Earth.
Mar. 3
On Wednesday morning, residents will be treated to another NEO visitor; “2021 DE1,? this one measuring in between 28 to 62 feet long at around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday night, the red planet, Mars, will appear from the Seven Sisters star cluster.
Mar. 5
On Friday morning, the bright star Antares will rise after the moon in the southeast at 1:17 a.m. and will appear to the moon’s lower left. Also in the morning twilight, Jupiter and Mercury will make their closest passing to each other, appearing in the east-southeast horizon.
Mar. 6
Early Saturday morning, the moon will be half full, or half empty, if you’re not really feeling happy about it. Also, Mercury will reach its greatest elongation from the sun as seen from Earth. It will appear highest above the horizon in the east-southeast as morning twilight begins.
Mar. 7
SpaceX’s second launch of the week is scheduled for 10:41 p.m. at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s SLC-40 launch pad. The Falcon 9 rocket will transport the 21st batch of 60 Starlink satellites.
Mar. 10
The moon will be a waning crescent and appear to have shifted below and halfway between Jupiter and Saturn in the east-southeast. Another NEO, “2021 CF6,” will pass the Earth. The object is a quick one, moving at 18,700 mph.
Mar. 11
This will be the last morning Mercury will appear above the east-southeastern horizon during the morning twilight.
Mar. 13
A new moon will occur as the moon escapes from vision, passing between the Earth and the Sun. The day of or the day after the new moon is important to several cultures as it is the second month in the Year of the Ox, according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, it marks the start of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and in the Islamic Calendar this marks the start of the eighth month of the year known as Sha’ban, which is the month of fasting before Ramadan, according to NASA.
Mar. 14
Remember to move your clocks an hour forward as it is the first day of daylight saving time. Yeah, we lose an hour of sleep, but there’s also a waxing crescent moon in the night sky also known as the “Wet Moon” or the “Cheshire Moon.” So, it’s not all bad.
Mar. 18
The moon will appear at its apogee, or its farthest orbital point from the Earth in this orbit cycle.
Mar. 19
A triangle will form in the sky from the appearances of the waxing crescent moon, Mars, and the bright star Aldebaran during the evening.
Mar. 20
The morning marks the spring vernal equinox — what is astronomically considered the end of winter and the beginning of spring. During the evening, Mars and Aldebaran will appear close together.
Mar. 21
Starting Sunday morning, the moon will appear half full.
Mar. 23-24
From the evening of the 23rd to the early morning of the 24th, the star Pollux; known as the the brighter of the twin stars in the Gemini constellation, will appear above the waxing gibbous moon. It will be seen to the upper left of the moon as the evening’s twilight fades at around 8:20 p.m. but will appear to the moon’s upper right by 4:10 a.m. on the 24th.
Mar. 25-26
There will be a bright red star seen in the night sky, not to be confused with the red planet, Mars. This is the presence of the star Regulus, appearing below the waxing gibbous moon at around 8:23 p.m. in the evening’s twilight. On the morning of the 26th, Venus will be passing on the far side of the sun as seen from the Earth in a process called called superior conjunction.
Mar. 28
The last celestial sight in the night sky to catch is the emergence of the third full Moon of the year, known as the Worm Moon, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. The name was given due to the appearance of earthworms in the warm soil marking the spring season. Other March full moon names include the Sugar Moon and the Wind Strong Moon. According to Christian tradition, if the full moon appeared after the equinox, as it does this year, it is known as the Paschal Full Moon. If not, it is a Lenten Moon.
