We have a fantastic crossing of Venus between the Earth and sun this weekend! Venus reaches inferior conjunction – passing between Earth and sun – at 1 UTC on March 23, 2025. Read about the inferior conjunction of Venus. Or join EarthSky’s founder Deborah Byrd for a discussion, videos and more in the player above, or on YouTube.
Can you spot Venus both morning and evening around March 22?
On March 22 and 23, Venus – at inferior conjunction – will appear in the morning sky close to the eastern horizon about 15 minutes before sunrise, and in the evening sky very close to the western horizon about 10 minutes after sunset. It will be difficult to spot in the bright twilight on these occasions. Remember to wait until the sun sets – or watch before the sun rises – since Venus is close to the sun. Warning: Never look directly at the sun. Chart via EarthSky.
A mind-blowing perspective on the March equinox
Got a minute? Here’s a cool perspective on the March equinox straight from EarthSky’s founder, Deborah Byrd.
March 22 and 23 mornings: Moon and Teapot
On the mornings of March 22 and 23, 2025, the waning moon will slide past the asterism of the Teapot of Sagittarius the Archer in the morning sky. You can catch them before dawn. What’s so cool about the Teapot? It’s an easy-to-see pattern in our night sky, and it’s now coming back to the eastern sky before sunrise. And this pattern of stars on our sky’s dome marks the direction to the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Yes, the center of the galaxy is back in our morning sky! That means Milky Way season has begun for 2025. We’ll be talking lots more about the Milky Way in the months ahead. Chart via EarthSky. Chart via EarthSky.
On March 23, 2025, as seen from Earth, Saturn’s angle of tilt toward Earth places the rings edge-on from our vantage point. This happens approximately every 13 to 15 years. Saturn’s rings are remarkably flat. When they’re turned precisely edge-on to us, they’ll seem to disappear! Unfortunately for observers, Saturn is too close to the sun right now to see.
March 24 and 25 mornings: Can you still see the moon?
On the mornings of March 24 and 25, 2025, can you still see the waning crescent moon? It’ll be low in the sky shortly before sunrise. If your sky is dark enough, you might spot the famous Teapot of Sagittarius. It resembles an old-fashion teapot. Look for them about an hour before dawn. If you do see the moon, watch for a lovely glow on its unlit portion. That’s earthshine, light bounced from Earth. Chart via EarthSky.
It’s zodiacal light time
Look west when true darkness falls each evening from the Northern Hemisphere. Look east before dawn begins to break in the Southern Hemisphere. You’ll find a hazy pyramid of light – huge – and milkier in appearance than the Milky Way. For the northern part of the globe, the zodiacal light is most visible in the evenings around the March equinox. You need a dark sky to see this eerie light. Read more about the zodiacal light. Or watch the video in the player above or on YouTube.
Late March evenings: Jupiter and Mars
At the end of March, after Venus and Mercury have slipped away from the evening sky, there are now 2 bright planets in the evening sky. They will lie along the path the sun travels in daytime (the green line on our chart). You’ll spot bright Jupiter and red Mars high overhead in the sky. Jupiter will set after midnight and Mars will set before dawn. Chart via EarthSky.
March 29: New moon and partial solar eclipse
The moment of new moon will fall at 10:58 UTC (5:58 a.m. CDT) on March 29, 2025. New moons rise and set with the sun. It’s the second of five new supermoons in a row for 2025. Plus, observers in northeastern North America, Greenland, Iceland, the north Atlantic Ocean, most of Europe and northwestern Russia can see a deep partial solar eclipse. Nights around the new moon are perfect for stargazing. See EarthSky’s best places to stargaze.
On the evenings of March 30 and 31, 2025, a slender waxing crescent moon will float in the western evening sky as darkness falls. Watch for a lovely glow of earthshine on the unlit portion of the moon. That’s reflected light off the Earth. Chart via EarthSky.
The moon will reach perigee – its closest point to us in its elliptical orbit around Earth – at 21 UTC (4 p.m. CST) on March 1, 2025, when it’s 222,530 miles (358,128 km) away.
March evening stars
If you’re out stargazing on any March evening, look for these stars and constellations overhead in the sky.
On March evenings, the Big Dipper is ascending in the northeast. The famous double-star Mizar and Alcor is the 2nd star to the end of the Dipper’s handle. Look closely, and you’ll see the 2 points of light. Mizar is the brighter one, and Alcor is the fainter one. The Big Dipper is an asterism – a well know pattern of stars – in the constellation of Ursa Major the Great Bear. It’s handy to locate the North Star, Polaris. Image via EarthSky.Almost overhead in the March evening sky, you’ll find the bright star Capella in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer. It’s a flashy star when close to the horizon because it’s bright at magnitude 0.24 and its light dances around when looking through our thick atmosphere. To be sure you’ve found Capella, look for a little triangle of stars nearby. Capella is sometimes called the Goat Star, and the little triangle of stars is an asterism called The Kids. It’s high overhead in March evening skies. Image via EarthSky.On March evenings, look overhead for the constellation Gemini the Twins. The twin stars are Castor and Pollux. However, in March 2025, there’s a trio of bright lights in Gemini. That’s because the the planet Mars is near the twin stars. Image via EarthSky.
Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.
March morning planet
Venus will pass between the Earth and sun on March 23, and move to the morning sky. Venus will lie immediately above the eastern horizon about 15 minutes before sunrise starting about March 20. Then it will climb higher each morning, making it easier to spot in the bright morning twilight. From March 20 to 23, you MIGHT be able to see Venus about 10 minutes after sunset and about 15 minutes before sunrise. Fun! Image via EarthSky.
March evening planets
Brilliant Venus will lie far above the much dimmer Mercury in early March. Then, every evening, Venus will drop a little closer to little Mercury. Mercury will reach its greatest distance from the sun on March 7-8, 2025.In the 2nd week of March 2025, brilliant Venus will lie close to the horizon near bright – but elusive – Mercury. By mid-March, both planets will soon be lost in the bright twilight. Venus passes between us and the sun at 1 UTC on March 23. Venus will emerge in the morning sky in April. It’ll reach its greatest distance from the morning sun on May 31-June 1, 2025. Mercury will pass between us and the sun at 20 UTC on March 24. Chart via EarthSky.In March 2025, bright Jupiter will lie high in the evening sky. It will shine near the Pleiades, the Hyades and Aldebaran. Aldebaran is the fiery eye of Taurus the Bull and is a foreground star of the V-shaped Hyades star cluster. Jupiter outshines even the brightest stars. Jupiter will rise before sunset in March and set after midnight by month’s end. It’ll remain in the constellation of Taurus the Bull until it passes behind the sun – in its solar conjunction – in June. Chart via EarthSky.In March 2025, the red planet Mars will lie near the twin stars of Gemini: Castor and Pollux. The trio will form a triangle – changing from day-to-day – this month. It’ll be fun to keep an eye on how Mars moves relative to the twin stars. Mars will remain visible in the evening sky through November but continue to fade the rest of the year as it recedes from Earth. However, this month Mars will shine a bit brighter than the twin stars. Chart via EarthSky.
Where’s Saturn? It’s too close to the sun to be visible this month. It’s in conjunction with the sun on March 10.
Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.
Sky dome map for visible planets and night sky
Here is the sky dome view for March 2025. It shows what is above the horizon at mid-evening for mid-northern latitudes. The view may vary depending on your location. Image via Guy Ottewell’s 2025 Astronomical Calendar.
Attention amateur astronomers! Guy Ottewell’s popular and informative Astronomical Calendar for 2025 is available in both electronic and printed versions.
Bottom line: Visible planets and night sky guide. It’s a big weekend for the planet Venus! Our sky’s brightest planet is now shifting from evening to morning.
Meet Marcy Curran, our voice of the night sky on EarthSky YouTube. Check out her popular short videos in the Sky category on our YouTube channel. When she’s not making videos, Marcy is an EarthSky editor, helping to keep our night sky guide up-to-date and just generally helping to keep the wheels turning around here. Marcy has enjoyed stargazing since she was a child, going on family camping trips under the dark skies of Wyoming. She bought her first telescope in time to see Halley’s Comet when it visited the inner solar system in 1986. She co-founded her local astronomy club and remains an active board member. Marcy taught astronomy at her local community college for over 20 years. She and her husband live in Wyoming, in a rural location, with an all-sky camera and super-good horizon views! And, their observatory will soon be ready to photograph the night sky.
“I can sometimes see the moon in the daytime” was a cosmic revelation that John Jardine Goss first discovered through personal observations at age 6. It shook his young concept of the universe and launched his interest in astronomy and stargazing, a fascination he still holds today. John is past president of the Astronomical League, the largest U.S. federation of astronomical societies, with over 24,000 members. He’s earned the title of Master Observer and is a regular contributor to the video series, “Global Star Party.” He has authored the celestial observing guides “Exploring the Starry Realm,” and “Carpe Lunam,” and “Take Your First Steps, an Introduction to Amateur Astronomy.” John also wrote for twenty years the monthly stargazing column, Roanoke Skies, for the Roanoke Times, and currently writes a bimonthly column, Skywatch, for Blue Ridge Country magazine. He has contributed to Sky and Telescope magazine, the IDA Nightscape, the Astronomical League’s Reflector magazine, and the RASC Observer’s Handbook.
Our Editor-in-Chief Deborah Byrd works to keep all the astronomy balls in the air between EarthSky’s website, YouTube page and social media platforms. She’s the primary editor of our popular daily newsletter and a frequent host of EarthSky livestreams. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. “Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers,” she says.
Kelly Kizer Whitt – EarthSky’s nature and travel vlogger on YouTube – writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories at EarthSky.org. She’s been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.
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