Thursday March 20 to Thursday March 27

The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday March 22. Jupiter and Mars are visible in the evening sky. Jupiter is past opposition and is visible all evening long. Mars is high in the early evening sky. Look for the constellation Corona Borealis in the morning skies, the blaze star T Coronae Borealis (TCrB) may go Nova soon.

The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday March 22.

Northern sky on the morning of Saturday, March 22 as seen from Adelaide at 05:56 ACDST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen)

If you look to the North at astronomical twilight (90 minutes before sunrise), you will see a prominent bright orange star, Arcturus, if you look downwards and to the right you will see a dainty circlet of stars. Corona Borealis, the northern crown. The blaze star T CrB is located on the right-hand side to the circlet, where the line of stars turns down, there are no other bright stars in the region, so when it erupts it will be easily visible.

 

 

 

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

 

North-western evening sky on Saturday, March 22 as seen from Adelaide at 20:49 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset), Jupiter is in the north-west near  the red star Aldebaran.

The inset is the telescope view of  Jupiter at this time.  (click to embiggen). 

 

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

Northern sky on Saturday, March 22 as seen from Adelaide at 20:49 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Mars forms a triangle with Castor and Pollux. 

 

The inset is the telescope view of  Mars at this time.  (click to embiggen).

   

 

 

 

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

 

Whole sky on Saturday, Saturday, March 22 as seen from Adelaide at 20:49 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Jupiter is in the north-west.  Mars is in the north. 

 

Orion  the hunter is high in the north-west.

 

The Southern Cross is rising in the Southern sky.  The moon is waning and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming easier to be seen.     

 

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

 

 

Mercury is lost in the evening twilight.

Venus is lost in the twilight. 

Mars is high in the evening sky. Mars was at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on January the 16th. 

Jupiter is high in the the north-western evening sky when the sky is fully dark. 

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/