Mercury - Mercury is at greatest elongation west on March 21. It will be visible in the eastern sky just before sunrise for a few days on either side of this date. This is an unfavorable apparition of Mercury for observers in the northern hemisphere, but an excellent one for southern observers. It begins the month in Capricornus and moves into Aquarius on March 14.

Venus - visible in the evening sky. Look for it about 30 degrees up in the west just after sunset. Venus will be magnitude -3.9. Through a telescope, the planet will have an apparent diameter of 12 to 14 arc-seconds and appear gibbous.

Mars - located in Capricornus. Look for it 8 degrees up in the SE about 45 minutes before sunrise. Mars will be magnitude 1.2 and have an apparent diameter of only 4.7 arc-seconds. The "red" planet will have a diameter of 16 arc-seconds when it reaches opposition in December.

Jupiter - located in Ophiuchus. The "King" of the planets rises by 2:00 am EST at the beginning of March and by 1:30 am EDT at the end of the month. Jupiter is near the meridian (due south) just before sunrise, when it will be 26 degrees above the horizon. Jupiter will be magnitude -2.2 with an apparent diameter of 37 to 40 arc-seconds. Jupiter's Great Red Spot, a large anti-cyclone, can be seen centered on the planet's disc at the following times (EST):

03/03/2007, 03:50 am; 03/05/2007, 05:28 am; 03/07/2007, 07:07 am; 03/10/2007, 04:36 am

and (EDT): 03/12/2007, 07:15 am; 03/13/2007, 03:06 am; 03/15/2007, 04:44 am; 03/17/2007, 06:23 am; 03/20/2007, 03:52 am; 03/22/2007, 05:31 am; 03/24/2007, 07:09 am; 03/25/2007, 03:00 am; 03/27/2007, 04:38 am; 03/29/2007, 06:17 am

For detailed postions of Jupiter's Moons try this interactive javascript utility.

Saturn - located in Leo, the ringed planet is a month past opposition and is still up for most of the night. The planet reaches the meridian by 11:30 pm EDT at mid-month and will then be 64 degrees above the horizon. Saturn will be 0 magnitude during March with an apparent diameter of 20 arc-seconds. The rings will be 44 arc-seconds across and tilted 15 degrees to our line-of-sight. At least 6 of Saturn's many moons are bright enough to be seen with an 8" scope.

The Cassini spacecraft continues its observation of Saturn and its many moons and rings. For the latest images from Cassini, see:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm

For detailed postions of Saturn's Moons try this interactive javascript utility.

Uranus - Uranus is too close to the Sun to be readily observed.

A finder chart for Uranus can be found on page 66 of the May issue of Sky & Telescope.

Neptune - Uranus is too close to the Sun to be readily observed.

A finder chart for Neptune can be found on page 66 of the May issue of Sky & Telescope.

Lunar Eclipse Coming on March 3, 2007 - On Saturday, March 3, 2007, Skywatchers in Eastern North America, Europe, Africa and parts of Asia are about the be treated to one of the most beautiful events in the night sky: a total lunar eclipse. The eclipse gets underway on Saturday, March 3, 2007, and will last about 6 hours from start to finish.

For observers in Eastern North America, the eclipse will already be underway when the Moon rises, but observers East of the Great Lakes should be able to see the Moon completely obscured, and then exsit the Earth's shadow as the evening progresses.

If you want to know when to look, the greatest eclipse will occur at 23:20 UT (6:20pm EST).

Eris (pronounced "EE-ris") - formerly known as Xena, 2003 UB313, and "the tenth planet"  is magnitude 19 in central Cetus, high in the south during evening.

For detailed information please visitAstronomical Delights