Look toward the east at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5, to see the nearly 11-day-old moon just east of the twins Castor and Pollux (closest to the moon) in Gemini the Twins. To the right (south) of the moon 17 degrees is Procyon in Canis Minor the Lesser Dog.
Friday at 5:30 a.m., look toward the southeast. Bright Jupiter is readily evident 20 degrees above the horizon. To the right (west) of Jupiter 7 degrees and higher above the horizon is Mars. To the left (east) of Jupiter 8 degrees and closer to the horizon is Saturn. These planets form a nearly straight line. Jupiter is bright white, and Saturn is yellow white. Mars is distinctly red providing a nice contrast with the colors of Jupiter and Saturn.
Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are outer planets, further from the sun than the Earth. Do your best to follow these three morning planets for the next month. Over that time, they will dramatically change their relative positions and grow closer together. This close grouping of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn is somewhat rare, though of no astronomical importance.
