March 2026 Calendar
At any moment of the day, countless awe-inspiring celestial events are unfolding in the sky. With a universe of options, it can be hard to pin down what to observe. The purpose of this calendar is to provide a peek into what’s happening in the sky and in the world of astronomy in general and provide a quick list of highlights that can jump start your own explorations.
March 1 – Moon near Regulus
The waxing Moon begins its busy month by meeting up with Regulus — the brightest star in the Leo constellation. Boasting an apparent visual magnitude of 1.35, this blue-white beauty anchors the sickle-shaped asterism that defines the head of the lion and is said to represent the beast’s heart. Although it appears as a single point of light to the unaided eye, Regulus is a multiple star system that can be at least partially resolved with large aperture binoculars. Since the pairing occurs so close to the Moon’s full phase, the usually brilliant may be a bit harder to spot in the strong lunar glow. If you miss seeing the two together, look for a rematch shortly after nightfall on March 28 and 29.
Astrophotographer Larry Byrge captured this stunning image of a total lunar eclipse in May 2022 with the aid of an Explore Scientific ED102 Triplet Refractor.
March 2/3 – Total lunar eclipse
The marquee event for March is definitely the total lunar eclipse, which is set to begin (depending on location) in the late evening hours of March 2nd or early morning hours of March 3rd. Some portion of the event will be visible for observers in most of the Americas, a large swath of Asia and all of Australia and New Zealand. This will be the last total lunar eclipse until December 31, 2028! A total lunar eclipse occurs when a perfect alignment of the Sun, Earth and Moon causes the full moon to be shrouded by Earth’s shadow. During the event, the same phenomenon that gives our sunsets their beautiful, colorful glow will cast the Moon in some shade of burnt reddish-orange. How red the Moon will appear depends on Earth‘s atmospheric conditions, such as dust levels and humidity, which affect the way sunlight is filtered and refracted to light the lunar surface. How much of the event any individual observers may get a chance to see will be dependent on their location, and we recommend consulting a resource like timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2026-march-3 to get specifics. The total phase of the eclipse will last for 58 minutes beginning at 5:04 a.m. CST. The partial phase, which bookends totality for a combined period of 2 hours and 29 minutes, begins at 3:50 a.m. CST.
March 7 & 8 – Venus and Saturn Get Cozy
Just after sunset on March 7th and 8th will be a great time to try and catch the always-brilliant Venus and the ringed-wonder Saturn close together low on the western horizon in the Pisces constellation. Positioned visually within about 1 degree of each other, the planets will be easily observable in the same binocular field if you can spot them before they dip out of sight.
March 10 – Moon and Antares
The waning gibbous Moon and the red supergiant Antares will be making a close pass on March 10 in the Scorpius constellation. Even though they do not really share celestial real estate, it will seem like they do as they appear less than a degree apart in the night sky. Antares, which means “Rival of Mars” in Greek, is often mistaken for Mars due to its similar reddish hue. Generally identified as the 16th brightest star in the sky, Antares is an irregular variable with a red-orange glow that makes it truly pop. Closer observations with a moderate telescope could reveal its blue companion star, which can be highly challenging to discern.
March 20 – March Equinox
A welcome sign of changing seasons for many, the March equinox is set to occur at 14:46 Universal Time on March 20. For those in the Northern Hemisphere, this event is a harbinger of spring, while in the Southern Hemisphere, it heralds the arrival of autumn. The March equinox occurs when the Sun passes from south to north across the celestial equator, which lies directly above its imaginary counterpart - Earth’s equator. No matter where you are located, on this date, the Sun rises due east and sets due west, and day and night are almost equal in length.
March 20 & 21 – Moon and Venus Share a Moment
As the third brightest object in the sky, Venus is consistently an inspiring celestial target for both casual and avid sky watchers. Around March 20, a barely-there Moon will share some sky time with the brilliant planet in the Pisces constellation. So if you're out celebrating the equinox, you might want to try to catch the meet-up.
March 25 and 26 – Moon, Jupiter, Castor and Pollux
The Moon closes out its busy month by having a close call with Jupiter. The two will visibly occupy the same slice of celestial real estate in the Gemini constellation in the evenings of March 25th and 26th. With the naked eye, Jupiter will manifest as a bright point of light, but a modest telescope may reveal the giant planet’s impressive cloud belts, its turbulent Great Red Spot or any of the four Galilean moons. As an added treat over the two-day period, the twin stars Castor and Pollux will also be hanging out nearby. These stars are named for the mythological twins the Gemini constellation represents. In one of Greek mythology‘s most common versions of the fated duo’s tale, Castor and Pollux were twin brothers with different fathers - King Tyndareus and Zeus - which meant one brother was mortal while the other was immortal. As the story goes, when the mortal Castor was killed, the immortal Pollux begged his father, Zeus, to reunite him with his brother. Zeus granted his request and their reunion was reflected in the heavens. In their stellar form, Pollux, which is the brightest of the two, is an orange giant with an orbiting planet, and Castor is an impressive six-star system.
Astrophotographer Chris Sullivan captured this image of the Thor’s Helmet Nebula with the aid of an Explore Scientific HR Coma Corrector and Explore Scientific’s retired 208mm f/3.9 Newtonian.
Constellation spotlight: Canis Major
Visible from 60° North to 90° South, the Canis Major Constellation is an excellent stargazing target this time of year in both hemispheres. Channeling the Great Dog it represents, Canis Major bounds through the night sky on the heels of the Lepus or “Hare” constellation and stands as the faithful companion to Orion the Hunter, whose belt can be used to easily locate it. Although the constellation contains a number of notable sights, its most prominent celestial treasure is Sirius - the brightest star in the sky. Often called the Dog Star due to its prime spot in the Canis Major Constellation, Sirius is actually a binary star system. Sirius A is the domineering white main sequence star that has inspired centuries of lore and held cultural significance since ancient times. Sirius B, which was not discovered until 1862, is the dim white dwarf star that humbly orbits its brilliant companion. The constellation is also home to Adhara, a luminous blue star that has the unique honor of being the brightest source of ultraviolet light in Earth’s sky after the Sun. In addition to its stellar offerings, Canis Major also has its share of deep sky wonders – one of which is the Thor’s Helmet Nebula or NGC 2359. This emission nebula billows around a huge Wolf-Rayet star and is an excellent target for astrophotography. Other treats include the Messier 41 open cluster that has about 100 stars and the colliding spiral galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163.
WANT TO NAVIGATE THE NIGHT SKY WITH EASE?
The Tirion Double-Sided Multi-Latitude Planisphere is a comprehensive sky map for northern hemisphere stargazers located between the equator and latitude 60° north that makes it easy to identify what constellations and major celestial objects are up in your night sky based on the date and time.
This night sky guide, which features maps crafted by noted celestial cartographer Wil Tirion, uses a double-sided design to minimize the distortion that is inherent to any polar-centered projection. This design choice means observers can see truer representations of the constellations located outside the equator (noted by a green line) by simply flipping the planisphere over.
In addition to showcasing constellations, this planisphere indicates the location of notable variable stars, open clusters, nebulae and galaxies. Other features include a line representing the ecliptic, a faint blue band for the Milky Way and a magnitude scale that indicates the brightness of the stars that are shown.
This astronomy planisphere is made of durable plastic that easily wipes clean, and the rotating components are secured with sturdy brass rivets for smooth manipulation. Guidance for using your sky map is printed on the device for quick reference.