For planet hunters Venus is easy to spot, It’s the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon. Just look towards the south west after sunset and the most prominent star you can see is not a star at all, It’s our nearest planetary neighbour, Venus.

Higher in the sky, dominating the constellation of Cancer is a bright star with a red hue. You are looking at the next nearest planet to us, Mars. Known in the past as the God of War due to it’s connotations with blood. Mars is larger than Venus, but it is further away from the Sun, and is not therefore quite as bright as Venus.

None of the planets or satellites such as the Moon have there own light source, they merely reflect back the intense light from our Sun, acting like mirrors. Venus has a cloudy white atmosphere so is able to reflect the suns light more effectively.

Saturn, the ringed planet is visible the whole of March in the constellation of Virgo. You can find Saturn by following the curved handle of the Plough. The Plough is almost directly overhead at this time of year. Follow the line of the Plough’s handle through Arcturus and on to Spica, which is low in the southeast. Regulus is almost due South of Spica, and Saturn lies midway between them.

Constellation watchers can still enjoy Orion which dominates the Winter night sky, with the small Pleiades cluster nearby. The ‘Seven Sisters’ are hard to spot. You need to let your eyes adjust to the night sky, and you will see them as a small faint cloud, which seems to shimmer in and out of your vision.

Happy sky watching. I’ll be back for another update in April.

John McNally