Look up! What's going on in the March sky?
Eyes to the sky! There's plenty to see throughout the month of March!
The six planet parade continues to shine in the evening sky, plus the Full Worm Moon will turn blood red, and the eastern half of Canada can see the New Moon partly blot out the Sun near the end of the month.
Whenever you have clear evening skies throughout the month of March, look to the south and southwest to see the persistent 'planet parade' shining overhead. Only four members of the 'parade' are visible to the naked eye — from east to west, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury. However, if you have a telescope, you can also find the planets Uranus and Neptune hanging out among the others.
The line-up of the 'planet parade' on March 2, 2025, just after sunset. (Stellarium)
Each night, expect this lineup to shift slightly farther to the west. Mercury defies this trend, though, by tracking farther to the east, and closer to Venus every night.
Watch for the Moon to join the parade throughout the first half of the month, hanging out between Venus and Mercury on the 1st, shifting over to near Jupiter by the 5th, and then next to Mars on the night of the 8th.
Meanwhile, Venus and Mercury should draw together night by night, until they reach their closest point around the 11th or 12th.
READ MORE: Look up! A six-planet 'parade' shines across the sky
The Moon
We'll be greeted by a Waxing Crescent Moon in the western sky to start off the month. Rising later each night, the Moon will pass through its First Quarter phase on the 6th, and into its Waxing Gibbous phase until the night of the 13th, when we see the Full Worm Moon.
Transitioning to Waning Gibbous afterward, it will pass through its Last Quarter on the 22nd, and we'll have a Waning Crescent Moon until the New Moon on the 29th.
Total Lunar Eclipse
This month's Full Moon is a special one.
On that night — the 13th to the 14th — the Moon will line up perfectly with the Sun and Earth in syzygy, so that it will pass right through Earth's shadow.
This will result in the first total lunar eclipse we've seen from Canada since November of 2022.
This particular astronomical event will occur at the same time for everyone, no matter where you are watching from.
Penumbra Eclipse Starts — 8:57 p.m. PDT / 11:57 p.m. EDT / 12:57 a.m. ADT
Umbral Eclipse Starts — 10:09 p.m. PDT / 1:09 a.m. EDT / 2:09 a.m. ADT
Total Eclipse Starts — 11:25 p.m. PDT / 2:25 a.m. EDT / 3:25 a.m. ADT
Total Eclipse Peaks — 11:59 p.m. PDT / 2:59 a.m. EDT / 3:59 a.m. ADT
Total Eclipse Ends — 12:31 a.m. PDT / 3:31 a.m. EDT / 4:31 a.m. ADT
Umbral Eclipse Ends — 1:47 a.m. PDT / 4:47 a.m. EDT / 5:47 a.m. ADT
Penumbral Eclipse Ends — 3:00 a.m. PDT / 6:00 a.m. EDT / 7:00 a.m. ADT
If you miss this one, or are trapped under cloudy skies, there won't be too long of a wait for the next one.
Another total lunar eclipse will occur on the other side of the planet in early September. However, Canada will have its next one on the night of March 2-3, 2026.
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Saturn Ring Crossing
There's a rare event happening in the latter half of March — Saturn's rings will appear to 'vanish' from our vantage point here on Earth!
These 'ring crossing' events happen every 13 to 15 years, when Earth and Saturn are at just the right points in their orbits that the rings of Saturn appear edge-on.
Saturn on Jan. 23, Feb. 23, and Mar. 23, 2025, showing how the angle of the planet's rings changes between each date until they appear edge-on in the last panel, on March 23. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
Unfortunately, it will be challenging to view the event at this time of year, simply because Saturn only appears above the western horizon for a very short period of time, just after sunset, before it disappears for the night.
The last ring crossing occurred in early September 2009. The next one will be in mid-October 2038.
Partial Solar Eclipse
Canada won't see anything like the spectacular April 8 total solar eclipse anytime soon. However, skywatchers throughout the eastern and northeastern part of the country that get up with the dawn on March 29 have the chance to see the Moon partly to mostly block the Sun, in a partial solar eclipse.
Atlantic Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Baffin Island will have the best views of this eclipse, where the Moon will cover over 90 per cent of the Sun's disk.
The farther east you are, the less of the Sun will be covered, with just the barest sliver of the Sun blocked for those observing from the eastern half of the Greater Toronto Area.
The Constellations
The Winter Constellations still feature prominently in the night sky during the month of March.
To the south, Orion dominates in the evening, crossing to nearly reach the western horizon by midnight, followed by Gemini, Cancer, Leo, and Virgo throughout the night.
The constellations in the southern sky at midnight on Feb 15, 2025. (Stellarium)
To the north, Cassiopeia, Ursa Major ("The Big Dipper"), and Ursa Minor ("The Little Dipper") tend to be the easiest constellations to pick out.
You can even use the Big Dipper to find the Little Dipper, as well as Polaris, the North Star.
Find the Big Dipper and concentrate on the two stars at the end of its "bowl". Then, draw an imaginary straight line between them, and keep following that line towards the north. The first bright star you come upon will be Polaris, which is located at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper.
The constellations in the northern sky at midnight on Mar. 15, 2025. (Stellarium)
We still need to wait until late April, for the Lyrids, to see the next meteor shower.
However, looking up on any particular clear night comes with the chance of spotting a random 'sporadic' meteor flashing overhead.
(Thumbnail image is a simulation of the path of the Full Worm Moon through Earth's shadow during the March 13-14 Total Lunar Eclipse.)