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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through the period ending March 31, 2021. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.

Pacific Daylight Saving time (PDT) begins on Sunday, March 14, at 2:00 a.m. All clocks should be set forward one hour.

Spring begins on March 20 at 2:37 a.m., PDT. Autumn begins at the same time for the southern hemisphere. At this precise moment, the sun crosses the celestial equator as it moves along the ecliptic from south to north. This point and the time the sun meets it are called the vernal equinox. Spring ends with the summer solstice on June 20.

Copper-red Mars continues to recede from earth. It is shrinking slowly, from 6.3 arcseconds on March 1 to 5.3 arcseconds by March 31. Only a large telescope will show features on its small disk. For comparison, the Full Moon is generally 1,900 arcseconds wide. Mars starts the evening high overhead and sets at 12:03 a.m., PST, on the 1^st and at 12:30 a.m., PDT, on the 31^st. On the 4^th, Mars passes within 2.6 degrees south of the Pleiades star cluster in the constellation Taurus the Bull.

Jupiter rises in the east at 5:15 a.m., PST, on March 1 and at 4:36 a.m., PDT, on March 31.

Saturn rises in the east at 4:49 a.m., PST, on March 1 and at 4:00 a.m., PDT, on March 31.

Venus is close to the Sun and unobservable. It will remain so until April, when it starts to make its appearance in our evening sky.

Mercury rises at 5:04 a.m., PST, on March 1 and at 6:07 a.m., PDT, on the 31^st.  The Sun rises at 6:21 a.m., PST, and at 6:41 a.m., PDT, on the same dates. On the morning of the 4^th and 5^th, Mercury and Jupiter will be separated by half a degree. On the 4^th, they rise at 5:04 a.m., PST, and the Sun rises at 6:16 a.m., PST.

The Last Quarter Moon occurs on the 5^th. New Moon is on the 13^th. First Quarter is on the 21^st, and Full Moon is on the 28^th.

Measures intended to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus keep Griffith Observatory closed to the public until further notice. Please check the Griffith Observatory homepage for current information.

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