Astroblog: Thursday March 19 to Thursday March 26

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Thursday March 19 to Thursday March 26

The First Quarter Moon is Thursday March 26. Earth is is at its autumnal equinox on the 21st.Venus begins to emerge from the twilight and is near the thin crescent moon on the 20th and 21st.. Jupiter dominates the northern sky. It forms a broad triangle with the bright stars Betelgeuse and Procyon, and a narrower triangle with the stars Castor and Pollux. On the 26th Jupiter is close to the First Quarter Moon. In the morning Mars and Mercury are visible low to the horizon.

The First Quarter Moon is Thursday March 26. Earth is is at its autumnal equinox on the 21st. The Moon is at perigee (when it is closest to Earth) on the 22nd.

Eastern horizon on the morning of Saturday, March 21 as seen from Adelaide at 6:40 ACDST (45 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Mars and Mercury are visible low to the horizon.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (45 minutes before sunrise).

Western sky on the evening of Saturday, March 21as seen from Adelaide at 19:51 ACDST ( 30 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Venus is visible just above the western horizon, you will need a level, unobscured horizon to see it. The thin crescent Moon is nearby.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (30 minutes after sunset).

Northern sky on Thursday, March 26 as seen from Adelaide at 20:43 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Jupiter was at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on January the 10th, but will be bright for many months. Jupiter forms a broad triangle with the bright stars Betelgeuse and Procyon, and a narrower triangle with the stars Castor and Pollux. Jupiter is close to the First Quarter Moon.

The inset shows the telescopic view of Jupiter at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Whole sky on Saturday, March 14 as seen from Adelaide at 20:50 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Jupiter is prominent in the north.

Bright Canopus and Sirius are near the Zenith. Orion is now in the north-western sky.

The Southern Cross is rising in the Southern sky. The moon is waxing and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming hard to see.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury returns to the morning twilight.

Venus returns to the evening twilight. The thin crescent Moon is nearby on the 20th and 21st

Mars is low in the twilight below Mercury.

Jupiter is seen throughout the evening, setting after midnight. Jupiter was at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on January the 10th. Jupiter forms a broad triangle with the bright stars Betelgeuse and Procyon, and a narrower triangle with the stars Castor and Pollux. Jupiter is close to the First Quarter Moon on the 26th.

Saturn is lost in the twilight

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky