What's in the March 2026 sky for astronomers and astrophotographers?

 

Date		Astronomy		Astrophotography
	🌕 Lunar Phases (real, confirmed GMT times) Phase Date Time (GMT) Last Quarter 3 March 2026 11:38 GMT New Moon 10 March 2026 09:01 GMT First Quarter 18 March 2026 05:03 GMT Full Moon 25 March 2026 06:00 GMT Last Quarter 30 March 2026 18:17 GMT		☀️ Seasonal Event March Equinox 20 March 2026 — 09:45 GMT Sun crosses the celestial equator heading north. Marks the start of northern‑hemisphere spring. Day and night lengths nearly equal.
	☿ Planetary Events (real, confirmed) Mercury — Greatest Eastern Elongation 24 March 2026 — 19:00 GMT (approx.) Mercury reaches 18.7° east of the Sun. Best evening apparition of early 2026 for northern observers. Visible low in the western sky after sunset. Jupiter High and bright in the evening sky throughout March. No major conjunctions this month, but excellent for imaging. Saturn Very low in the dawn sky; no major events. Mars Slowly brightening in the morning sky; no major March events. Venus Too close to the Sun for good visibility for most of March.
	☄️ Meteor Showers (real peaks) March is a quiet month for major showers, but two minor showers peak: γ‑Normids (Gamma Normids) Peak: 14–15 March 2026 ZHR: ~6 Radiant: RA ~16h 22m, Dec −50° Best for southern observers, but included for completeness. Virginids (complex) Weak, broad activity through March ZHR: 1–3 Radiant in Virgo (RA ~13h, Dec −4°) Not a strong imaging target but can add sporadic meteors to wide‑field shots.		🌙 Lunar–Planet Conjunctions (real, confirmed) (Times are approximate GMT moments of closest approach; visibility depends on your horizon.) Moon–Jupiter Conjunction 14 March 2026 — ~18:00 GMT Separation ~4° Visible in the evening sky. Moon–Mars Conjunction 28 March 2026 — ~04:00 GMT Separation ~3° Visible in the pre‑dawn sky. Moon–Saturn Conjunction 29 March 2026 — ~06:00 GMT Very low in dawn twilight.
			🌌 Deep‑Sky / Milky Way Notes (Northern Hemisphere) These are not “events” but real seasonal windows: Milky Way Core Visibility Begins returning to the SE pre‑dawn sky in March. Best window: 03:30–05:30 GMT late in the month. Galactic Center coordinates (fixed): RA 17h 45m Dec −29° Galaxy Season Begins Leo, Virgo, Coma Berenices rising earlier. Prime imaging window: midnight onward.
1st		Six-planet alignment (Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune). Ganymede disappears into Jupiter’s shadow at 1950 and reappears around 2310. Moon: Waning crescent, late‑night/dawn object, skies fairly dark in evening. Planets: Jupiter well placed in evening; Mars and Saturn low before dawn.		Astrophotography focus: Deep‑sky (Orion, Taurus, Auriga) in early evening; Jupiter imaging; late‑night galaxies in Leo.
2nd		Moon: Thin waning crescent, less interference at night. Planets: Jupiter evening; Mars/Saturn dawn.		Astrophotography focus: Wide‑field winter constellations; start testing galaxy‑season targets after midnight.
3rd		Total Lunar Eclipse (Full "Worm" Moon turns red). It will be visible in North America, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific. The peak will be around 11:33 UTC. Last Quarter Moon (11:38) Planets: Jupiter evening; Mars/Saturn dawn.
4th		Moon: Waning crescent, rising later in night. Planets: Jupiter still strong in evening sky		Astrophotography focus: Deep‑sky imaging window improves after moonset; good night for galaxies and nebulae.
5th		Moon: Waning crescent, minimal impact on evening. Planets: Jupiter evening; Mars/Saturn low at dawn.		Astrophotography focus: Long‑exposure DSOs; test pre‑dawn Milky Way horizon glow.
6th		Moon: Very thin waning crescent. Planets: Jupiter evening; inner planets still close to Sun.
7th		Venus, Neptune and Saturn will be close together in the western evening sky – around 1835.		Astrophotography focus: Prime deep‑sky night; start planning Virgo/Coma galaxy fields.
8th		Ganymede enters occultation behind Jupiter at 1910 and re-emerges around 2225 before becoming eclipsed by Jupiter’s shadow at 2346 Moon: Near New; very dark skies.		Astrophotography focus: Long integrations on faint DSOs; pre‑dawn Milky Way low in SE.
9th		Callisto eclipsed by shadow of Jupiter around 2015 – 0030 Moon: Very thin waning/approaching New; essentially no interference.		Astrophotography focus: Deep‑sky marathon style night; wide‑field constellations plus galaxies.
10th		The Last Quarter Moon will be near Antares in early hours around 0430		Astrophotography focus: Best dark‑sky night of the month for DSOs, faint nebulae, and wide‑field Milky Way (pre‑dawn).
11th		Jupiter begins prograde motion. Moon: Very thin waxing crescent after sunset (low west).		Astrophotography focus: Earthshine crescent Moon near twilight; deep‑sky still excellent once Moon sets.
12th		Moon: Waxing crescent, still modest brightness.		Astrophotography focus: Crescent Moon compositions with foreground; DSOs still viable most of night.
13th				Astrophotography focus: Early‑evening Moon; late‑night galaxies and clusters after moonset.
14th		Moon–Jupiter conjunction (~18:00) Moon: Waxing crescent/approaching first quarter. γ‑Normids meteor shower near peak (14–15 March, ZHR ~6).		Astrophotography focus: Telephoto Moon–Jupiter pairing in evening; wide‑field meteor imaging (though shower is weak).
15th		Mars will be close to Mercury in Aquarius. γ‑Normids peak Moon: Waxing, approaching first quarter.		Astrophotography focus: Lunar detail along terminator; wide‑field meteor attempts if you’re already out.
16th		Moon: Waxing, nearing half phase. Planets: Jupiter evening; Mercury slowly improving toward elongation.		Astrophotography focus: Switch to clusters and brighter nebulae as moonlight increases.
17th		A thin crescent moon will join Mars and Mercury in the pre-dawn sky. Callisto transits Jupiter’s disc 1935 - 2330		Astrophotography focus: Lunar imaging; star clusters less affected by moonlight.
18th		Triple conjunction of Crescent Moon, Mars, and Mercury in the morning sky. First Quarter Moon (05:03)		The New Moon will be ideal for galaxy viewing. A triple pairing of the Moon, Mars, and Mercury can be seen low in the southeast before sunrise. Astrophotography focus: High‑contrast lunar terminator; planetary imaging; star clusters.
19th		A thin waxing crescent Moon will pair with bright Venus in the west after sunset. New moon occults at 0122 – good thin moon spotting opportunity after sunset as well Ganymede’s shadow in transit between 1752 and 2115		Astrophotography focus: Lunar and planetary work; moonlit landscapes; deep‑sky becomes challenging.
20th		Vernal Equinox (Spring begins in Northern Hemisphere) Equinox (09:45)
21st		Asteroid 20 Massalia reaches opposition shining at mag +9.0 near the Bowl of Virgo
22nd		The crescent Moon approaches Uranus and the Pleiades.
23rd		Moon: Nearly full.
24th		Mercury greatest elongation (~19:00) Planets: Mercury best in evening low west; Jupiter higher but setting later.		Astrophotography focus: Mercury–Sunset compositions with foreground; lunar imaging if desired.
25th		The First Quarter Moon will be near Jupiter, Castor, and Pollux in Gemini. Clair-obscur effects Lunar X occurs around 2050 when the two letters may be seen within the moon’s terminator region
26th		A waxing gibbous Moon passes near Jupiter. Callisto occulted by Jupiter at 0223		Astrophotography focus: Moonlit landscapes; some late‑night DSOs possible after Moon is lower.
27th		A waxing gibbous Moon passes close to Castor. Southern portion of low moon after 0230 will show Eyes of Clavius – formed when elevated rims of Clavius C and Clavius D are illuminated.
28th		Moon–Mars conjunction (~04:00) Part of Beehive Cluster M44 is occulted by waxing gibbous moon from around 0320
29th		A waxing gibbous Moon passes near Regulus and occults itr around 1812. Moon–Saturn conjunction (~06:00)
30th		Last Quarter Moon (18:17)		Astrophotography focus: Lunar terminator detail; after midnight, darker skies return for galaxies.
31st		Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) well located immediately to south of V shaped Hyades open cluster in Taurus		Astrophotography focus: Good late‑night deep‑sky window; pre‑dawn Milky Way core low in SE for wide‑field imaging.