Since Venus has moved to the morning sky, Jupiter stands unchallenged as the most brilliant dot in March’s evening sky.

The planet shines at minus 2.3 magnitude. Look for it at dusk in early March about two-thirds of the way up in the east. Jupiter will be high overhead around 8:40 p.m. in early March and will set around 3:15 a.m. By the end of March, Jupiter will be almost exactly overhead at dusk and will work its way down the western sky throughout the evening, setting in the west just after 1 a.m. Jupiter remains in the constellation of Gemini and shines about 25 times brighter than Pollux, Gemini’s brightest star.

Look for a waxing gibbous moon close to Jupiter on the evening of March 9-10.

Venus is spectacular in the predawn sky. Venus shines at minus 4.5, which is bright even for the brightest planet. The planet does not change much in its appearance all month; it rises in the east southeast around 4 a.m. and will be about one-third of the way up in the east at daybreak. Look for a waning crescent moon close to Venus in the predawn skies of March 26 and 27.

In early March, Saturn rises in the east around 11:45 p.m., crosses the meridian (when it’s due south) about 5:15 a.m. and vanishes into the breaking day soon afterward. By the end of the month, the ringed planet is up by 9:45 a.m., crosses the meridian at 3:15 a.m. and is about halfway down in the west at daybreak.

Look for the waning gibbous moon next to Saturn on the nights of March 19-20 and March 20-21.

The good news is that it’s just possible to catch Mercury in March. The bad news is that it’s a narrow window all month. Look east around 5:45 a.m. throughout March and search for a dot of light about 4 degrees (two fingers at arm’s length) above the east horizon. It’s helpful to find brilliant Venus first, above Mercury, and then look for the only other bright light low in the east; that’s Mercury.

The brightness of Mars changes dramatically. Normally it’s not a very bright object. That said, every two years the planet does draw relatively close to earth and becomes spectacular for a few months. This is the case in March. Mars starts the month at an impressive minus 0.5 and increases to a brilliant minus 1.3 by March 31, almost as bright as the brightest star, Sirius.

Mars rises in the west at 9:30 p.m. in early March, crosses the meridian at 3:30 a.m. and is high in the west at daybreak. By the end of March the planet rises at full dusk (7:30 p.m.), crosses the meridian at 1:20 a.m. and sets in the west at daybreak. Throughout March, the red planet appears close to Spica, the bright star in Virgo; Mars is slightly reddish, Virgo slightly bluish.

Mars will hit peak brightness in early April; from April 7 through 10 it will shine at minus 1.47, exactly as bright as the brightest of all stars, the Dog Star Sirius.

Look for the just-past full moon next to both Mars and Spica on the night of March 17-18.

EVENTS IN MARCH

» March 9: Start of daylight saving time for most of continental U.S. and Canada. As of this day, the East Coast will be six hours ahead and the West Coast three hours ahead of Hawaii, which does not observe daylight saving time.

» March 15: The Ides of March. The ancient Roman calendar had one day in the middle of each month that was called the "ides." Depending on the month, the ides occurred either on the 13th or the 15th of the month. Back in early Rome, when the Romans still used a lunar calendar, the ides marked the day of the full moon. While every month of the Roman calendar had its ides, only the ides of March has survived the march of time; it’s famous for being the day on which Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C.

» March 20: Spring begins at 6:58 a.m. Hawaii time (16:58 Universal Time).

MARCH SKY MAP

This map is good for 11 p.m. in early March and 9 p.m. at the end of the month.

Most of the great winter constellations are still visible in the west, including Taurus, Orion, Canis Major, Auriga, and the Gemini.

High in the northeast, the Big Dipper is a handy guide to locate both the North Star (by using the pointer stars, the two stars in the cup that don’t have the handle attached) and Arcturus.

The handle of the Big Dipper points to Arcturus, which is just rising in the east in this map. Arcturus is known in Hawaiian as Hokulea.

Leo the Lion is high in the east in our March sky, and you can also spot the False Cross in the south. The official Southern Cross comes up a little later; the Southern Cross is up in the South southeast up by midnight in early March and by 10 p.m. at the end of the month.

Jupiter remains brilliant amid the stars of the Gemini. Mars is rising in the east, close to the bright blue star Spica.

Mike Shanahan is director of Education, Exhibits and Planetarium. For more information, go to www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium/planetarium.html