March 2027 sky guide: Mercury returns to the dawn
March 2027 is the month the evening sky stays planetary. Jupiter and Mars, fresh from their February oppositions in Leo, still dominate from dusk to dawn-shift, while Venus holds the sunrise. The headline event belongs to the innermost planet: Mercury swings 27.6° west of the Sun on March 17 — its best morning elongation of this season and a genuinely easy catch for once. Meteor watchers get a quiet month; galaxy watchers get the year's best stretch of new-Moon nights as spring spirals return.
Key takeaways
- Mercury at greatest western elongation Mar 17 (27.6°) — look low east 40–60 minutes before sunrise.
- Mars, past its Feb 19 opposition, is up all evening in Leo; its retrograde loop continues toward an end in early April.
- New Moon Mar 8; full Moon Mar 22 — a dark-sky run Mar 4–15 for the galaxy season.
- No major meteor shower peaks in March 2027 (the IMO working list has none between the α-Centaurids and the April Lyrids).
- Saturn is lost in evening twilight all month ahead of its April 7 solar conjunction.
Moon phases: March 2027
Principal phases, computed with our validated engine (USNO agreement within 2 minutes — methodology):
| Phase | Date | Time (UT) |
|---|---|---|
| New Moon | 2027-03-08 | 09:29 |
| First Quarter | 2027-03-15 | 16:25 |
| Full Moon | 2027-03-22 | 10:44 |
| Last Quarter | 2027-03-30 | 00:53 |
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 42% | 2 33% | 3 24% | 4 16% | 5 10% | 6 5% | 7 2% |
| 8 0% | 9 0% | 10 2% | 11 7% | 12 13% | 13 21% | 14 31% |
| 15 42% | 16 54% | 17 66% | 18 76% | 19 86% | 20 93% | 21 98% |
| 22 100% | 23 100% | 24 97% | 25 93% | 26 86% | 27 79% | 28 70% |
| 29 60% | 30 50% | 31 41% |
With new Moon on Mar 8 and last quarter on Mar 30, the darkest whole-evening windows fall Mar 4–15 — prime time for the Leo-Virgo galaxy fields while Mars and Jupiter light the same constellations. The Mar 22 full Moon rides high for northern observers; around it, swap the eyepiece target from galaxies back to the lunar surface, or try photographing the Moon with last month's eclipse techniques.
Meteor showers in March 2027
March is the quietest shower month on the IMO's working list: between the α-Centaurids of February and the April Lyrids, no major shower peaks. The antihelion source keeps a ZHR of 2–3 through the month, with video and visual data hinting at a slight uptick around March 15/16 (solar longitude 355°), and the sporadic background holds steady. It's a fine month to learn why showers cluster the way they do — and to bank dark, moonless nights before the Lyrids return in April. Verified: 2026-11-16 — IMO 2027 Meteor Shower Calendar.
Planets this month
| Planet | Where to look | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mars | Leo, evening to pre-dawn | Still retrograde and large after its Feb 19 opposition (13.8″ at peak); surface features keep improving for patient observers. Mars reaches aphelion Mar 19. |
| Jupiter | Leo, evening | Past its Feb 11 opposition but commanding: high by nightfall, setting after midnight, disc ~44–40″ shrinking slowly. |
| Mercury | Low east before sunrise | Greatest western elongation Mar 17 (27.6°) — its best morning showing of the season, a binocular-friendly beacon in twilight. |
| Venus | Southeast before dawn | The morning star all month, slowly lower as its long morning apparition matures (superior conjunction comes in August). |
| Saturn | Not observable | Swamped by the Sun; conjunction Apr 7. Returns as a morning object in late spring. |
Planet events (Mercury greatest elongation west Mar 17; inferior conjunction Feb 18; Mars aphelion Mar 19; Saturn solar conjunction Apr 7; Venus superior conjunction Aug 11) — Verified: 2026-11-16 against the AstroPixels 2027 almanac.
A beginner's star atlas for galaxy season
The Mar 4–15 dark run points your scope at the Leo–Virgo clusters. A good pocket atlas turns "smudges" into named galaxies.
Check price →The month in three appointments
- Mar 4–15 (dark run): galaxy season opens under new Moon with Jupiter and Mars as guides.
- Morning of Mar 17 (Mercury): 40–60 minutes before sunrise, low east — the innermost planet at its most cooperative.
- Evenings of Mar 19–25 (Mars + waxing Moon): watch the gibbous Moon sweep past Mars and the winter Milky Way's last stand.
Related reading
- February 2027 sky guide — the double opposition that set up this month
- How to start stargazing — your first dark-sky run
- Moon-phase calculator — plan any night ahead