Venus Makes Way For Mercury In The Sky

Clocks are moving forward on March 12 at 2 a.m. to begin daylight saving time. For those who feel sad about losing an hour of sleep, there are other great things to look forward to in the next few months. For instance, Venus will sink into the sunset by the third week of March. But as the bright planet dwindles further into the sky, Mercury is expected to take its place.

The elusive planet is expected to be seen to the left of Venus just half an hour after sunset on March 19. After that, Venus will leave Mercury to shine alone in the western part of the night sky. It will be somewhere around the lower right of the crescent Moon on March 29, about 40 minutes after the Sun sets.

According to Brain Nerd Dispatch, Mercury will be seen coming out behind the Sun and making its way to Venus. Soon, however, both will be seen between the Earth and the Sun. Venus will be around during daylight on March 25 and Mercury less than a month after on April 20.

In between are other celestial events to look forward to. As listed by The Washington Post, the Moon, Mercury and Mars will grace the skies on March 29 to March 31, with the crescent Moon expected to form a triangle with Mercury and Mars on March 29, while a slightly thicker Moon will be seen above both planets the night after.

Jupiter is also easily seen mid-month, as the planet rises in the east-southeast part of the globe. The giant planet has been traveling with the bright star Spica for the past few months, but they will be separating slightly later on.

Saturn will also be seen high in the south-southeast area before sunrise on March 20. It is best seen before daybreak, just in time for the Vernal Equinox on the same date, which will come at 6:29 a.m. as the Sun appears to cross the equator from the human-centric perspective of Earthlings.