March 2025 Note​s

★  About 90 minutes after Sunset ★

Planets
Look straight up, at the top of the sky to see a fairly bright reddish star—that’s Mars. It has faded a lot since January when it was as bright as Sirius (see Constellations below). Now, there is a “bright” reddish star not far from Mars, Aldebaran. Follow Mars down and due west and you will see a very bright “star” that is actually Jupiter, the reddish star is nearby.

Constellations
The brightest star in the whole sky, Sirius, is due south and not too far up—you can’t miss it. To its right and higher up is Orion. Its three belt stars point downward to Sirius. 
Face East and all of Leo the Lion is above the horizon. More vertical with its head, the backward question mark, on top. 
Face North and a little to the right is the whole Big Dipper with the Bowl on top and the handle hanging down. It is always fun to follow the two end stars of the Bowl to Polaris, the North Star. Remember, Polaris is a bright star but it is not the brightest star in the sky—that is reserved for Sirius.