Astronomy tonight combines a planetary parade, a spectacular view of five planets in the evening sky and a super-close encounter between our Moon and an orange-red Mars. There’s also a chance to spot the Leonid meteor shower and the Quadrantid meteor shower. And the waxing gibbous Moon is quite bright, making it a fine stargazing object, too.
A planetary parade in the night sky, where Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus and Mars align in the western horizon for a spectacular view after sunset. It will be visible in almost every part of the world on Tuesday, March 25.
The parade will begin around 10 p.m., and it will last just a few minutes. This is one of the most beautiful shows in the sky, and it will be seen by people with westerly views and clear skies.
It’s possible to see this planetary parade through your own eyes, though you’ll need binoculars or a telescope to get a good look at the brightest of the five, Venus. That’s why you should wait until the sun sets and then go out to watch it with a pair of binoculars.
This planetary parade will be best seen near the crescent moon, on the west side of the sky, according to Fienberg. As a result, it will be easier to see Jupiter than Mercury and harder to spot Uranus, which will appear faint and obscured by the setting sun.
If you don’t have binoculars, the parade is still possible in a darkened location with a clear, south-westerly horizon. It should be visible throughout the day in the southern United States and Australia, but not in the north.
The Moon is at its most brightest and highest in the eastern southeastern sky after dark, but it is still low in the south-southeast before dusk. It will move lower and farther north as the Moon moves through its waning phase, which will continue until April 27.
A few faint constellations are visible in the south-southwest at nightfall, based on the high-tech devices of the 18th century: Pyxis, a compass, and Antlia, a pump. The lion in Leo is prominent, as is the brighter star Regulus, which marks its heart.
There are several other prominent stars and a handful of open clusters in Taurus this month, including the Pleiades star cluster and Aldebaran, the bull’s eye. The horns of the bull are prominent, but their appearance will gradually disappear as the month progresses.
This is a lovely month to look at Venus, the Evening Star. It slides close to the shoulder of the bull a third of the way through the month, and will join it in teaming up with Aldebaran by month’s end.
Likewise, this is a fine time to look for the brilliant orange-red Mars, still very bright since its opposition and closest-approach to our Earth-facing Moon in early December. It will be higher and closer to the open cluster M35 in early March, but will fade and shrink later on as it continues to recede from our Earth-facing Moon, as its distance increases.