March brings some tempting targets for astrophotographers, chief among them a pair of eclipses. The first, a total lunar eclipse, hasn’t been seen anywhere on Earth since 2022. A partial solar eclipse will follow it, though both events are location-dependent, with only the nightside of Earth seeing the lunar event, with the solar eclipse visible only from a track across the northern hemisphere. Add some final views of Venus as a crescent, close to a crescent moon, and there’s no shortage of celestial wonders to capture this month.
Here’s everything you need to know about astrophotography in March 2025…
Sunday, 2 March: Crescent moon and Venus
Here's a final chance if you’ve meant to capture the pretty post-sunset sight of a crescent moon beside Venus over the past few months. Earth's sister planet is about to disappear into the sun’s glare, but before it does, it will appear shining at a brilliant magnitude of -4.8 alongside a 6%-illuminated waxing crescent moon close to the western horizon. You’ll need a tripod to capture it, with a 100-400mm lens offering many opportunities for creative compositions. Return tomorrow for a second go, this time with a 12%-illuminated crescent moon positioned higher above Venus.
Read: When to photograph the moon
Wednesday, 5 March: Pleiades and the moon
Arguably, one of the most beautiful objects for astrophotographers in the night sky is the Pleiades, an open cluster of stars in Taurus visible as a starry smudge to the naked eye. While it’s best images when the moon is down, here’s a chance to capture it with a 42%-illuminated waxing crescent moon close to it, with Jupiter also in attendance.
Read: The best star tracker camera mounts
Saturday, 8 March: Moon and Mars
When planets are visible in the night sky, the moon will pass close to it once per lunar cycle. Tonight, it’s the turn of Mars, now in the Gemini constellation of Gemini. Visible in the southeast after sunset, a 72%-illuminated gibbous moon will pass within a degree of the red planet.
Read: Astrophotography: How-to guides, tips and videos
Thursday, 13 March-Friday, 14 March: Total lunar eclipse
The first of two total lunar eclipses in 2025 will be best seen from North America overnight on March 13-14, 2025. Europe will get a brief view at moonset, but it’s not expected to be a significant — if even detectable — event. Better known as a “blood moon,” the event will see the full moon move through Earth’s dark shadow in space.
Although the entire event lasts about five hours, the absolute key time to image it is totality, which lasts for 65 minutes and sees the lunar surface bathed in ever-changing pinkish-reddish hues. For a close-up, choose a 500mm lens or thereabouts, experimenting with short exposures to retain sharpness.
What’s more, the night sky will briefly darken, making it possible to image stars around the moon. On either side of totality are the partial phases, which see Earth’s dark shadow drift across the lunar surface, a strange and impressive sight.
A global event, this event will happen between 03:57 and 10:00 UTC on Friday, 14 March 2025. Totality happens at 06:26 a.m. GMT (just before sunrise) in the U.K. and 02:26 a.m. EST in the U.S. For the exact schedule for where you are, consult timeanddate.
Read: How to photograph the full moon
Saturday, 22 March-Wednesday, 2 April: Dark sky window
Ready for some springtime deep-sky astrophotography? 22 March sees the moon reach its last quarter phase, and it rises around midnight, leaving a reasonably long period of dark evening hours to explore the night sky. The March-April window of darkness lasts about 10 nights, from the last quarter moon through the new moon and slightly beyond. It’s the perfect time to capture deep-sky objects and spring constellations and to go aurora-chasing.
Read: The best cameras for astrophotography
Saturday, 29 March: Deep partial solar eclipse
The first solar eclipse since October’s “ring of fire” will see as much as 94% of the sun blocked by the moon as seen from eastern North America. The best view, photographically speaking, could be had from that region, where those with a clear horizon in the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada see a partially eclipsed sunrise. In Europe, the sight will be less dramatic, with less of the sun’s disk covered (London will see 30% obscuration), but it will occur higher in the sky in mid-morning, which offers a better chance of clear skies. Any attempt to photograph any solar eclipse demands a solar filter.
The event will take place 08:50-12:43 UTC (4:50-8:43 a.m. EDT and 09:50-13:43 a.m. BST), but exact times differ significantly according to location, so check the schedules on Timeanddate.com.
Read: Astrophotography tools: the best camera, lenses and gear
Astrophotography Shot of the Month: Northern lights at equinox
Everyone knows the aurora is possible at the moment—we have the current “solar maximum,” the peak of the sun’s 11-year cycle, to thank for that. However, there’s something special about going on an aurora chase in March. The vernal equinox occurring on 20 March this month puts Earth’s axis perpendicular to the sun and its solar wind, with the alignment making chaos (read: aurora activity) in Earth’s magnetic field more likely.
There are two types of aurora to think about—strong displays at southerly latitudes (such as in the U.S. and the U.K.), which depend on an unusually strong geomagnetic storm, and the almost nightly displays that occur below the near-permanent auroral oval close to the Arctic Circle. Wherever you see them, take a tripod and manual camera — using high ISOs and short exposures to retain detail — and use a smartphone, the newer models of which can take terrific images in “night mode.
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