do not miss! The conjunction of the planet and the moon this weekend

Join time! This is the view of the northern hemisphere. Viewing the southern hemisphere, below, is better. The Moon, bright Venus, faint Mars, and Saturn cluster together in an 8-degree circle on March 27 and 28, 2022. Diagram by John Jardine Goss.

27 and 28 March in the morning

In the early morning sky on March 27 and 28, 2022, you can catch a waning crescent moon passing through the trio of planets. The planets are converged in a series of conjunctions. Venus is the brightest planet, near which there are two fainter planets, Saturn below and Mars to the west.

On the morning of Sunday, March 27, the moon approaches Mars on the sky’s dome. The moon that morning will be about 25% lit and bound toward a new moon on April 1.

But the scene on March 28 is the real stunner. Then the moon, bright Venus, dim Mars, and Saturn come together in an eight-degree circle on the sky’s vault. Because it is the profile of the waning moon, its phase will be thinner than the previous morning, only about 16% illuminated. Quadrilateral makes for a beautiful photo capture. And you get a great picture, send it to us!

Note to telescope users: A faint comet, 22P/Kopf, is near the planets on March 27 and 28. But, at magnitude 11 and as the dawn breaks, you’ll need your telescope to catch it, as well as the darker skies, and the experience of seeing fainter objects.

Conjunction time: planets and moon

The planets are in association with the waning moon on March mornings. In addition, there is a conjunction between Venus and Saturn on March 29th. And in all of these conjunctions, at the times below, the two objects have the same right ascension (as the celestial meridian on an imaginary grid of sky surrounding the Earth). Details here:

Mars 4 degrees north of the moon at 3 UTC on March 28
Venus is 7 degrees north of the moon at 10 UTC on March 28.
Saturn 4 degrees north of the moon at 12 UTC on March 28.
Venus is 2 degrees north of Saturn at 13 UTC on March 29.

The view from the southern hemisphere

The view is better than in the Southern Hemisphere, where the path of the ecliptic cuts at a steeper angle across the horizon. Not only will you see Venus, Mars, and Saturn alongside the Moon, but you can also spot Jupiter before sunrise.

Morning sky on March 28 for southern hemisphere sky watchers. I was lucky! Because eclipses—or the path of the sun, moon, and planets in our sky—make a steep angle with the dawn horizon on an autumn morning and the event happens to you directly above sunrise, rather than to one side as it does for people in the northern hemisphere. Diagram via John Jardine Goose.

Bottom line: See the morning planets — Venus, Mars, and Saturn — side by side, as well as the Moon joining the scene on March 27 and 28, 2022. In the Southern Hemisphere, you might see Jupiter, too.

Read: EarthSky Night Sky Guide for March and April 2022

Kelly Keizer Weight

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