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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the period between March 1 and March 31, 2022. Here are the events happening in the sky of southern California.

Mercury is in the morning sky. On the 1^st, Mercury rises at 5:20 a.m., PST, and the sun rises at 6:22 a.m., PST. By the end of March, Mercury is close to the sun and not observable. Do not observe any planet when it comes close to the sun, for the danger to the eyes is great.

Venus is in the morning sky, low in the southeast. On the 1^st, Venus rises at 3:48 a.m., PST., and the sun rises at 6:22 a.m., PST. On the 31^st, Venus rises at 4:34 a.m., PDT, and the sun rises at 6:42 a.m., PDT. On the 1^st, Venus is a crescent that is 38-percent illuminated and 31 arcseconds wide. On the 31^st, Venus is 55-percent illuminated but is reduced in size to 22 arcseconds.

Mars starts March in Sagittarius the Archer.  On the 6^th, Mars moves into Capricornus the Seagoat.  On the 1^st, Mars rises at 4:09 a.m., PST, and on the 31^st the planet rises at 4:26 a.m., PDT. Mars is south of Venus for most of March.  The disk of Mars is only five arcseconds wide and will not show any surface features through a telescope.

Jupiter starts March close to the sun and is unobservable. On the 31^st, Jupiter rises in the morning sky at 5:55 a.m., PDT, and the sun rises at 6:42 a.m., PDT. A telescope capable of magnification 50x will show the Red Spot, and the four bright Galilean moons may be seen moving back and forth, roughly in a line centered on Jupiter.

Saturn rises in the morning sky at 5:23 a.m., PST, on the 1st. On the 31^st, Saturn rises in the morning sky at 4:34 a.m., PDT. The rings and Saturn’s largest moon Titan may be seen with a telescope capable of magnification 50x.  Between the 27^th and the 31^st, Venus passes south of Saturn.

Uranus sets at 10:33 p.m., PST, on the 1^st, and at 9:42 p.m., PDT, on the 31^st. On the 15^th, Uranus is at Right Ascension 2^h 38^m 0^s with a declination of +15° 1ʹ 30ʺ. Uranus is only 3.5 arcseconds wide, and so a telescope with a magnification of 150x is needed to show its diminutive disk.

Neptune is close to the sun all March long and is unobservable.

New moon occurs on the 2^nd, first quarter occurs on the 10^th, full moon on the 18^th, last quarter on the 24^th, and new moon again on the 31^st. We didn’t have any new moons in February because the month was too short. In March, we have two new moons.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 a.m. on March 13. All clocks must be set forward one hour in accordance with the phrase, “Spring forward, Fall back”.

Spring begins at 8:33 a.m., PDT, on March 20, signaling the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere, which ends on June 21 with the summer solstice. The sun reaches the point where the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator. This point is called the vernal equinox.

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