Observing the night sky from southern latitudes this month with a good pair of binoculars will give you plenty to see, including the open cluster known as the Southern Pleiades (IC 2602). Its brightest member, the star Theta Carinae, can be seen with the naked eye. If you turn binoculars on the cluster, you can see about 24 other sparkling stars. Just north of the Southern Pleiades is the glowing region NGC 3372, visible to the naked eye. Also known as the Carina Nebula, it is beautiful when observed through a small telescope.

Looking south is the False Cross, which is formed by four stars in the constellations Carina and Vela. The False Cross asterism resembles the constellation Crux, the Southern Cross, but is somewhat larger. Still looking south you’ll find the globular cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139), the largest globular cluster in the Milky Way and a must-see object. A large telescope shows many of its stars, while binoculars show the cluster as a bright patch of light. In the west, the Jewel Box open cluster (NGC 4755), in Crux, is a nice target for small telescopes and binoculars.

Meanwhile Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, twinkles away in the east, with the blazing Canopus in Carina taking centre stage in the south-west sky. The constellation Orion is gradually sinking out of view, so make the most of it before it disappears.

This month’s conjunctions, which is when two astronomical objects appear close to each other in the sky, include the moon and Mercury on March 1, the moon and Venus on March 2, Mercury and Neptune on March 3, the moon and Jupiter on March 6, the moon and Mars, and Venus and Mercury, on March 9, and the moon and Saturn on March 28. On March 24 is the Saturn ring plane crossing, which occurs when Earth or the sun pass through the plane of Saturn’s rings. This happens every 13 to 15 years and allows us to see the rings edge-on.

By Nerida Langcake
This article appeared in the March 2025 issue of the Mornington Peninsula Magazine.