Sydney Observatory night sky map

A map for each month of the year, to help you learn about the night sky

March 2012
www.sydneyobservatory.com.au

This star chart shows the stars and constellations visible in the night sky for Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart and Adelaide for March 2012 at about 9 pm (summer time) and at about 8 pm (local standard time) for Perth and Brisbane. For Darwin and similar locations the chart will still apply, but some stars will be lost off the southern edge while extra stars will be visible to the north. Stars down to a brightness or magnitude limit of 4.5 are shown. To use this star chart, rotate it so that the direction you are facing (north, south, east or west) is shown at the bottom. The centre of the chart represents the point directly above your head, called the zenith point, and the outer circular edge represents the horizon.

Star brightness
Zero or brighter 1st magnitude 2nd 3rd 4th

LYNX

Gemini (the Twins)

LEO MINOR

Leo (the Lion)

Pollux GEMINI CANCER

First Quarter Moon on 1st

COMA BERENICES

LEO Regulus

First Quarter Moon on 31st CANIS MINOR

CANIS MINOR Procyon Betelgeuse ORION

TAURUS Aldebaran

Venus on 15th
ARIES

NW
Canis Major (the Great Dog) ORIONS BELT MONOCEROS Orion (the Hunter) M42
Rigel Sirius

Mars

SEXTANS HYDRA SEXTANS

CRATER

HYDRA PYXIS ANTLIA

VIRGO CORVUS

PUPPIS

COLUMBA CAELUM

Spica

CORVUS

FALSE CROSS Saturn Eta Carina SOUTHERN CROSS

VELA Canopus CARINA VOLANS

Canopus PICTOR

FORNAX

CETUS

DORADO

CENTAURUS Zubenelgenubi

LMC
CRUX MUSCA CHAMAELEON Hadar MENSA

ERIDANUS HOROLOGIUM

Gamma CrucisMimosa Beta Crucis

RETICULUM

HYDRUS

Achernar PHOENIX SCULPTOR

POINTERS Alpha Centauri

CIRCINUS APUS

South Celestial Pole SMC

OCTANS TUCANA

Chart key

LUPUS

TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE NORMA

Bright star Faint star Ecliptic Milky Way Celestial Antares Equator P Planet SCORPIUS LMC or Large Magellanic Cloud SMC or Small Magellanic Cloud

SW
PAVO ARA INDUS GRUS

South
PISCIS AUSTRINUS

The best time to view the Moon with a small telescope or binoculars is a few days either side of the first quarter Moon on the 1st or 31st. Low in the east is Saturn, visible as a faint star-like object in Virgo. Mars is located in Leo towards the north-east. Jupiter and Venus are low in the west during the early evening and are close to each other on the 15th. On the 26th at 8 pm Jupiter, the crescent Moon and Venus are located next to each other low in the western sky. The Autumn Equinox occurs on the 20th. The word equinox is Latin meaning equal night, and is one of two days (usually 21st March and 21st September) when the Sun spends an equal amount of time above and below the horizon for every place on Earth. Constellations visible this month include Canis Major (the Great Dog), Orion (the Hunter), Gemini (the Twins) and Leo (the Lion). Crux (the Southern Cross) is low in the south-east and is located just above the two bright Pointer stars.

2012 Australasian sky guide book

The 2012 Australasian sky guide has details on the sky for the whole year, including rise and set times for the Sun, Moon and planets, and tidal information for Sydney. Available from Sydney Observatory, the Powerhouse Museum and good bookshops (RRP $16.95); also via mail order (postal charges apply) at www.powerhousemuseum.com/publications/

Daily activities
Sydney Observatory is open for night and day visits every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Good Friday. Bookings are essential for night programs. View the stars through our telescopes at night and see the 3D space theatre. Watson Road, Observatory Hill, The Rocks www.sydneyobservatory.com.au Ph (02) 9921 3485

Sydney Observatory is part of the Powerhouse Museum. The Sydney Observatory night sky map is prepared by Dr M Anderson using the software TheSky. 2012 Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney.

West

North
Capella AURIGA PERSEUS

URSA MAJOR

Moon phase
First quarter: 1st Full Moon: 8th Last quarter: 15th New Moon: 23rd First quarter: 31st

NE

P P Jupiter

Sirius
LEPUS ERIDANUS

CANIS MAJOR Adhara

East

SE