What’s Up: March 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - UNIVERSE

 

A total lunar eclipse glows red, Venus and Saturn get close, and we ring in the vernal equinox

A total lunar eclipse blood moon takes centre stage, Venus and Saturn cozy up for a conjunction, and we celebrate the vernal equinox. 

Skywatching Highlights

• March 3: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
• March 8: Venus + Saturn Conjunction
• March 20: Vernal Equinox

Transcript

A total lunar eclipse blood moon takes center stage, Venus and Saturn cozy up for a conjunction and we celebrate the vernal equinox.

That's What's Up this March.

Is it Mars or is it the Moon? On March 3rd, a total lunar eclipse will turn the Moon bright red.

Photograph showing a full lunar eclipse progression across the night sky over a city skyline.

Trevor Dobson via Flick_CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

During a lunar eclipse, which can only happen during a full Moon, Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow on the lunar surface.

During a partial lunar eclipse, the Moon moves only partially into the dark shadow, or umbra, cast by Earth. 

But, during a full lunar eclipse, the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly aligned, leaving the Moon completely enveloped in Earth's shadow.

When this happens, the Moon actually turns blood red. 

While you might imagine a full lunar eclipse would leave the Moon completely dark, Earth's atmosphere scatters the light, illuminating the Moon in this orange-reddish hue. 

So look up and bask in the red glow of our lunar companion.

This full lunar eclipse will be visible from eastern Asia and Australia in the evening, from the Pacific at night, and from most of North and Central America as well as western South America in the early morning. 

On March 8th, Venus and Saturn will cozy up for a conjunction in the evening sky.

Sky chart showing a conjunction between Saturn and Venus constellation on March 8, 2026. "Saturn" is labeled as well as "Venus."

NASA/JPL-Caltech

The pair will be about one degree apart, which is roughly the width of a single finger if you hold it at arm's length.

A conjunction happens when two objects in the night sky appear close together, even if they're far apart in space. In reality, Venus and Saturn are nearly a billion miles apart! 

But to see the pair get close in the sky from our perspective, look close to the horizon in the western sky just after sunset.

On March 20th, we ring in the vernal equinox, marking a transition into the next season.

An illustration of the March (spring) and September (fall or autumn) equinoxes. During the equinoxes, both hemispheres receive nearly equal amounts of daylight. (Image not to scale)

NASA/GSFC/Genna Duberstein

While this is colloquially known as the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere and the first day of autumn in the southern hemisphere, astronomically this equinox occurs when the Sun crosses above Earth's equator while traveling from south to north.

On this day, northern and southern hemispheres experience roughly equal amounts of sunlight and day and night are also about equal, each lasting almost exactly 12 hours. 

So enjoy the start of a new season with a day of perfectly balanced sunlight.

Here are the phases of the Moon for March.

The phases of the Moon for March 2026.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

You can stay up to date on all of NASA's missions exploring the solar system and beyond at science.nasa.gov.

I'm Chelsea Gohd from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that's What's Up for this month. 

Source: What’s Up: March 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA - NASA Science