For guidance on reading the tables for beginners – please go here
Daylight saving time begins for most Canadians at 2 am on March 9. The morning hours will be darker for your daily commute and stargazers will need to stay up an extra hour to observe under dark skies.
Mercury (relatively faint at magnitude 1.3) is about 6° left of Venus (very bright at magnitude –4.2) in the western sky. Use binoculars to get a good view.
The spring equinox is at 05:01 on Thursday morning of March 20. Welcome to Spring!
Notable Events
Mar 6 1st quarter Moon
Mar 8 Mercury at greatest evening elongation
Mar 9 Daylight Saving begins at 2am local time
Mar 12 Sun Enters Pisces
Mar 14 Full Moon, Lunar Eclipse
Mar 20 Spring Equinox at 05:01
Mar 22 Last Quarter Moon
Mar 29 New Moon, Solar Eclipse
Monthly Table
Eclipses
Lunar Eclipse
There will be a Lunar Eclipse during the night of March 13-14.
We list Ottawa times (Daylight Saving) to align with the general practice of referencing events to the Nation’s capital.
Since lunar eclipses are visible from anywhere as long as the Moon is above the horizon, you only need to correct
the times for the difference of your time zone from EDT. Then you need to hope for clear skies.
For more specific information on your location visit www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2025-march-14
Solar Eclipse
When the Moon orbits around the Earth it will pass between the Sun and Earth creating a Solar Eclipse. However this year the line up of celestial bodies does not create a very favourable solar eclipse. This year we will get a “Partial” eclipse on March 29 where the Moon will cover only a portion of the Sun. The Sun will appear like a “bite” has been taken out of it.
How much of the Sun will be covered depends on your location. Quebec and Labrador are favoured with almost 90% of the Sun covered. Back in Ottawa, we will only see about 30% of the Sun covered but there will be nothing to see in Toronto.
Visit www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2025-march-29 for more specific information for your location.
Dates for the Phases of the Moon
Entries are in Eastern Time and only require time zone correction. Do not use the correction from the “Ottawa-Time” table. Saskatchewan and parts of BC and Ontario do not use daylight savings. In these regions, subtract 1-hour from these times from March 10 to November 3.
Planetary Configurations
When at Opposition, planets will appear on the opposite side of the sky from the Sun – very roughly on the meridian at midnight. Conjunctions are when the planet has the same “longitude” as the Sun. A Superior Conjunction is when the planet is on the other side of the Sun, and an Inferior Conjunction is when it is between the Earth and the Sun. Only Mercury and Venus can be at Inferior Conjunction. Maximum elongation is when Mercury and Venus appear farthest from the Sun in our sky. This occurs either in our morning eastern sky (mor.) or our western evening sky (eve.). Do not apply the Ottawa-correction times to the times in this table.
Prominent Constellations by Seasons
Brightest Stars
One of Canada’s foremost writers and educators on astronomical topics, the Almanac has benefited from Robert’s expertise since its inception. Robert is passionate about reducing light pollution and promoting science literacy. He has been an astronomy instructor for our astronauts and he ensures that our section on sunrise and sunset, stargazing, and celestial events is so detailed and extensive it is almost like its own almanac.
