Clocks go forward an hour to BST on Sunday, March 30, when sunset will be at 7.30pm.
On Saturday, March 29 a partial eclipse of the sun takes place.
At 10am, the moon will begin to pass over the sun, with maximum eclipse at about 11am, when 30 per cent of the sun’s surface will be hidden by the moon.
The eclipse then reduces to end at about 12 noon. The best way to observe will be at organised events run by local astronomy groups who will have safe equipment.
No one should try to observe the eclipse without proper safety precautions as direct vision of the sun can cause eyesight damage.
Full moon is on March 14, when there will also be an eclipse. But this one will not be at a good time for observing, taking place just before dawn.
Early risers on the 14th may see the event, which starts at just after 5am when the moon will be fairly low down in the west.
The moon will have set by the time it is fully eclipsed by the earth’s shadow at 6.30am.
Having been a bright beacon in the evenings over recent months, Venus becomes lost in twilight as the month progresses, so early March is the best time to see it.
The young crescent moon will be nearby Venus on the evening of the 2nd, best seen from 6.30pm onwards.
Mars is still a bright object in Gemini near the twin stars, but becomes slowly less bright through the month as its distance from Earth increases.
Jupiter remains prominent in Taurus, best seen during mid-evening as the gas giant planet will be getting low in the west after 11pm.
The first quarter moon will pass above Jupiter on the evening of the 6th.
In the darker moon-free evenings of late March, looking due south at 10pm is the constellation of Leo.
Its brightest star is Regulus, which also marks the bottom of a distinctive ‘backwards question mark’ shaped pattern of stars, known as the Sickle (see map).
Regulus is about 80 light years away and is part of a multiple star system. Regulus rotates quickly, causing it to be egg-shaped rather than round like our sun.
