March 2024 will be an excellent month for astrophotographers to image the solar system and beyond. As well as perfect seasonal views of constellations, including Cassiopeia and Cancer, and the Big Dipper, as the month begins the moon quickly wanes, darkening the skies to create a window for astrophotography.
You’ll also see the crescent moon glide gracefully past both Jupiter and the Pleiades. There’s also a frantic post-sunset session to be had, imaging Mercury then swiveling to capture the rising full moon before a slight lunar eclipse strikes. March is also the last month until September when the nights are longer than the days — and when the northern lights can be at their most intense.
If skies are clear and magnetic activity is high, the hunt for aurora is another reason that March 2024 could have much to offer astrophotographers.
Monday, 4 March: dark sky window opens
Tonight, the moon reaches its last quarter phase, rising after midnight to leave the night sky virtually moonless. That makes the next seven nights through the new moon on 10 March perfect for dark skies and deep-sky astrophotography.
Read: Astrophotography: How-to guides, tips and videos
Monday, 11 March: ‘Ramadan moon’ emerges post-sunset
Just after sunset today, you can make the first sighting of the crescent moon and record the moment that signals the beginning of Ramadan, the holy fasting month in the Islamic calendar. The prize for astrophotographers is an image of an incredibly slim crescent moon (about 4% lit) in the southwestern sky. If you fail to find it, return tomorrow when it will be much easier to see.
Read: When to photograph the moon
Wednesday, 13 March: Jupiter and a crescent moon
Visible in the southwestern sky just after sunset will be the gorgeous sight of a crescent moon beside bright planet Jupiter. Tonight — and the nights immediately on either side — are perfect for capturing ‘Earthshine’, a faint glow visible on the dark limb of the moon. It’s sunlight reflected by Earth onto the lunar surface. This conjunction will be best photographed using a tripod, a mirrorless or DSLR camera and a 300mm lens.
Read: The best star tracker camera mounts
Thursday, 14 March: Pleiades and a crescent moon
Tonight the best astro-image will be of a waxing crescent moon shining beside the most beautiful open cluster of stars in the night sky — the Pleiades or “Seven Sisters,” also known as M45. The moon will be 27%-illuminated and shine in the southwestern sky for a few hours after sunset.
Wednesday, 20 March: spring equinox
Today at 3:06am Universal Time is the spring equinox, which marks the exact moment that the sun is above the equator somewhere on Earth, meaning night and day are the same lengths across the globe. That’s not something you can capture, but this is a good day to photograph the sunrise and sunset on the equinox, events that have been meaningful to humans for many thousands of years. A global event, it occurs at 11:06pm EST in North America.
Read: The best cameras for astrophotography
Astrophotography session of the month: Mercury, the ‘Worm Moon’ and a lunar eclipse
You might want to keep Sunday, 24 March, free because there are a few notable sights to capture in the skies above. The session will begin frenetically because two sights will be visible almost simultaneously. Find out the time of moonrise where you are and be in a position to capture the appearance of the “Worm Moon,” March’s full moon. It will appear in muted orange and look beautiful as it rises in the east. However, just after sunset in the west, you’ll have the best opportunity of all of 2024 to spot Mercury as it reaches its greatest distance from the sun. It will be about 10 degrees above the southwest horizon 30 minutes after sunset, but it won’t hang around – you need to get your timing right. You’ll need to find a location with a good view of the horizon. Mercury will look like a reddish star.
Read: How to photograph a lunar eclipse
Later that night – depending on your location (04:53-09:32am UTC) – the full moon will drift through Earth’s outer shadow in space to create a penumbral lunar eclipse. This won’t be a major event, but the full Worm Moon’s bright disk will dim significantly, and a strange, incredibly photogenic terminator – Earth’s huge shadow – will gradually move across the lunar surface over 4.5 hours. It’s a much more photogenic event than most astrophotographers would have you believe. For a close-up of the moon, you’ll need a DSLR or mirrorless camera with a 300mm telephoto lens on a tripod – but ideally, one with an effective focal length that's at least 600mm long.
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Astrophotography: How-to guides, tips and videos
