For guidance on reading the tables for beginners – please go here
NOTABLE EVENTS
4 1st quarter Moon
9 Constellation Leo is on the meridean at 10pm
12 Full Moon
18 Sun enters Aries
20 Last Quarter Moon
21 Mercury at greatest morning elongation
27 New Moon
The springtime sky does not have bright stars. Indeed most of these stars are denied urbanites by the city sky glow. You need to travel out from under the urban light dome to be able to see what the spring-sky has to offer. The Moon and brighter planets provide a focus for urban stargazers whom can’t make that journey.
The month begins with the crescent Moon entering our evening sky and joins Jupiter for a day or so before climbing up to its full phase in mid month. Mars is about to leave the constellation Gemini as the 1st quarter moon passes it in the first week.
Dates for the Phases of the Moon
Entries are in Eastern Time and only require time zone correction. Do not use the correction from the “Ottawa-Time” table. Saskatchewan and parts of BC and Ontario do not use daylight savings. In these regions, subtract 1-hour from these times from March 10 to November 3.
Planetary Configurations
When at Opposition, planets will appear on the opposite side of the sky from the Sun – very roughly on the meridian at midnight. Conjunctions are when the planet has the same “longitude” as the Sun. A Superior Conjunction is when the planet is on the other side of the Sun, and an Inferior Conjunction is when it is between the Earth and the Sun. Only Mercury and Venus can be at Inferior Conjunction. Maximum elongation is when Mercury and Venus appear farthest from the Sun in our sky. This occurs either in our morning eastern sky (mor.) or our western evening sky (eve.). Do not apply the Ottawa-correction times to the times in this table.
Prominent Constellations by Seasons
Brightest Stars
One of Canada’s foremost writers and educators on astronomical topics, the Almanac has benefited from Robert’s expertise since its inception. Robert is passionate about reducing light pollution and promoting science literacy. He has been an astronomy instructor for our astronauts and he ensures that our section on sunrise and sunset, stargazing, and celestial events is so detailed and extensive it is almost like its own almanac.
