Sky Tour Astronomy Podcast for March 2026
This month’s episode is sponsored by Celestron, manufacturer of high-quality telescopes and an industry leader in developing exciting optical products with revolutionary technologies.
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I’m Kelly Beatty of Sky & Telescope magazine, and tonight we’re going on a tour of the stars and planets that you’ll see overhead during March. First we’ll witness a total lunar eclipse; celebrate the equinox; track down the bright planets; check in with Sirius and its celestial neighbors; and dabble in some citizen science. So grab your curiosity, and come along on this month’s Sky Tour.
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March starts off with a celestial “bang,” because a total lunar eclipse occurs on March 3rd. Technically, this event is visible all across North America, but it’s not particularly favorable for those on the East Coast. Here’s why: Although it takes the Moon about 3½ hours to slide completely through Earth’s core shadow, called the umbra, for this event it will be completely covered for just 59 minutes. The “total” part of the eclipse starts at 6:04 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, and mid-totality is at 6:34. 
The problem is that by then dawn twilight will be well under way along the East Coast. So the Moon will truly disappear from the sky. Here in Boston, for example, sunrise occurs just 12 minutes after totality begins. The situation is better farther west, though you’ll need to be a very early riser. Totality begins at 5:04 a.m. in the Central time zone, 4:04 Mountain time, and 3:04 Pacific time.
Now if you don’t get to see this eclipse — and of course it’s too late to plan if you’re listening to this podcast after March 3rd — you can look forward to a not-quite-total lunar eclipse in late August with much more favorable geometry for the Americas. By the way, the Moon won’t be completely immersed in shadow again until New Year’s Eve 2028.
Meanwhile, that big bright orb is called the Full Worm Moon in Native American lore. That refers to the casts left on the ground by earthworms moving up through the softening soil. Another name, used by other tribes, is the Full Crow Moon, because the cawing of crows was thought to signal the end of winter. Other variations are the full Crust Moon, as in snow cover with a crusty top, or the Full Sap Moon. Since we’ve had a particularly brutal winter here in the Boston area, I have a new one to add: the Full Thawing Out Moon! Last quarter follows early on March 11th, new Moon on the 18th, and First quarter on the 25th. 
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When I hear “March,” I automatically think of two events related to the nighttime sky. The first is “Daylight Saving Time.” Those of us in the U.S. and Canada will make that annual adjustment, “springing ahead,” on March 8th. However, in Europe, the switch isn’t until March 29th. I guess this must be a tough time of year to set up airline schedules! There are all kinds of arguments for and against having daylight time, but for astronomers the upshot is this: Once daylight or summer time kicks in, it won’t get dark after sunset until the clock time is an hour later in the evening. 
The other March astro-event is the “equinox.” This month it occurs on the 20th at 10:46 a.m. Eastern Time. Maybe you’ve heard this called the vernal or spring equinox, because, well, it signals the beginning of astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere. But likewise, it’s the start of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. If you’ve listened to these monthly Sky Tours for a while — and I hope you have! — then you know that I sidestep this problem by always referring to “the March equinox,” “the June solstice,” and so on. Problem solved!
Now you’ve maybe noticed that the equinoxes and solstices don’t happen on the same date each year. For example, the March equinox can fall on the 19th, 20th, or 21st. Why is that? Well, a calendar year is 365 days long. But actually it takes our planet 365¼ days to circle the Sun — 365.256363 days to be exact — and so those residual few hours add up. In any given year, the March equinox occurs 5 hours 49 minutes later than the previous year’s. But during a leap year, such as 2024, it occurred 18 hours 11 minutes earlier than the previous year, and that’s why that year it fell on March 19th. Kind of makes my head hurt just thinking about it. 
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One other thing that makes my head hurt is all of the overblown, once-in-a-lifetime “planet parades” and “planet alignments” that you’ll find all over the internet. Honestly, I have no idea who makes this stuff up. The most recent one, you surely heard about, was on February 28th. Why that date? No one knows! But it is true that in late February most of the planets were in the evening sky. The trouble is that Mercury, Venus, and Saturn were all frustrating low in the west. Meanwhile, Uranus and Neptune — also part of the ubiquitously promoted alignment — weren’t visible except with optical aid, and Neptune was pretty hopelessly lost from view low in the west.
So here’s what you can really expect this month. First, Jupiter continues its dominance in the evening sky. Look for it very high up, almost overhead, at nightfall. It makes a nice trio with Castor and Pollux in Gemini, and it’ll pair nicely with the first-quarter Moon on the 25th and 26th.
Then things get a little more challenging, as a planetary transition is taking place very low in the west. How low? Hold out your arm and clench your fist. That fist is about 10° high, and everything I’m about to tell you happens within one fist of the western horizon. So you’ll need a clear view in that direction, and you’ll want to be looking 30 to 45 minutes after sunset. You’ll most likely spot very bright Venus, which is emerging from the twilight glare as it starts a terrific evening appearance that will last until September.
Another planet is lurking nearby. Saturn starts the month nearly one fist to the upper left of Venus. But Saturn is shining just 1% as bright as Venus, so it’ll be challenging to spot. Your best chance might come on March 7th and 8th, when the two will be just 1° apart. After that, Saturn soon sinks from view and Venus climbs a little higher. Mercury and Mars are both near the Sun in the sky right now, hopelessly lost in its glare.
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As the twilight fades, turn left, away from the sunset point, until you’re looking south. There in the deepening blue, you’ll find the first true star of the evening: brilliant Sirius. How early in twilight can you pick it up? Anytime during the first days of March, before the switch to daylight time, make note of the horizon point directly below this beacon at 8 p.m. — that’s very nearly due south. Or look in the star’s direction around 9 p.m. after the time switch. Sirius is the brightest star in the entire sky by a large margin (aside from our own Sun, of course), in part because it’s a close neighbor in space — just 8½ light-years away — and in part because it shines 25 times brighter than our Sun.
And here’s something extra for those of you who live in the southern tier of the United States — from LA to Albuquerque to Oklahoma City to Memphis to Charlotte, and anywhere south of that. Find Sirius in early evening, and look directly beneath it, close to the southern horizon. What is that bright star, you’re wondering? It’s called Canopus, and it ranks second, after Sirius, in the which-star-is-brightest competition. It’s much farther away than Sirius — 310 light years, to be exact — but it outshines the Sun by more than 10,000 times. Canopus is always below the horizon for folks like me, who live farther north. So for you southern listeners, consider yourself lucky to be able to see it.
After twilight ends, look to the upper right of Sirius to spot the mighty constellation Orion, the Hunter. Its two brightest stars are white Rigel, which marks Orion’s lower-right foot, and orange-red Betelgeuse, his upper-left armpit. Midway between them, look for the three-star row of Orion’s Belt. Draw a line through the Belt and follow it toward the right by about three fists, past the bright star Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus, until you reach a fuzzy little cluster of stars. That’s the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, and they look fantastic through binoculars.
Now head back to Betelgeuse, and look to its left for Procyon, which sits in 8th place in the list of brightest stars. Procyon and Betelgeuse, together with Sirius, form a big, equilateral triangle in the sky — known as the Winter Triangle to skywatchers.
Let your eyes drift leftward, four fists toward the eastern horizon. In the hours after sunset, that’s where you’ll find the constellation Leo, the Lion. The Lion’s alpha star, Regulus, sits at the bottom of a backward question mark that stretches toward upper left. Can you see it? That’s the lion’s head and mane. His hindquarters and tail are marked by a triangle of medium-bright stars to the lower left of Regulus. 
At this time of year, I think of Leo rising up in the east as a harbinger of spring — just like Orion’s climb a few months ago told me winter was coming. Look well to the upper left of Leo by about four fists, and you’ll spot another welcome sight in the early spring sky: the Big Dipper, seemingly balanced on the end of its handle.
Here’s one last star-hunt. Look above Orion by about four fists. You’ll skirt past Jupiter, Pollux, and Castor in Gemini and end up at the very bright star Capella, that’s nearly overhead. Hey, after all that, give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve found Sirius, Capella, Rigel, Procyon, and Betelgeuse — 5 of the 10 brightest stars in the night sky — and 6 out of 10 if you spotted Canopus.
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Since you now know how to find Orion and Leo, I’d like you to make a special effort to view the mighty Hunter and Lion during the middle of this month, March 10th to 19th. Why these particular dates? Well, for one thing the Moon won’t be in view — and so you’ll see the evening starry sky at its best. But it’s also when thousands of skywatchers around the world will be using the stars of these constellations to gauge how much light pollution they’ve got. It’s quick, easy, and fun — no telescope or special equipment is needed. Just go to the website globeatnight.org, download the handy star charts found under the “Observe” tab, match your view to the charts, and log in to record your observation.

That’s about it for this month. If you want more tips for viewing the night sky, including a free, interactive star chart for any time or date, check out our website, SkyandTelescope.com.
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Sky Tour is a production of Sky & Telescope, a division of the American Astronomical Society, and is produced by me, Kelly Beatty. 
Next month I’ll introduce you to twin brothers who’ve really made a name for themselves in the sky. Until then, I wish you clear skies.