The brightest star in the evening sky is Sirius, which translates as “the scorching one.” Because it appears in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog, Sirius is commonly known as the “Dog Star.”

The Egyptians had a deep reverence for Sirius for its “heliacal” rising. This is when a star first appears briefly above the morning horizon before being obscured by the sun. For Sirius, the heliacal rising signaled the annual spring flooding of the Nile that deposited rich bottom soil to the Nile River delta, an event of vital importance to an agricultural society.

The Egyptians fixed their year as the period between successive heliacal risings of Sirius, and since this did not correspond to the true solar year, they had an intricate system to make the two match over a period of 1,460 years.

Sirius was revered as “the star of Isis,” a goddess said to give life through the Nile. On a more modern note, since Sirius is a red star, it was thought to be hot and able to add its heat to that of the sun. Thus, when Sirius is prominent, it helps to give rise to the “dog days of summer.”

Focus on the planets

The moon underwent a total eclipse on March 3, the first total eclipse of the moon for North American viewers since October 2004.

Mercury will barely peek over the eastern horizon about a half-hour before sunrise. Binoculars will be required to have any chance of glimpsing the elusive innermost planet this month.

Venus is about a third of the way up on the western horizon at sunset and remains in view from two to three hours as March progresses. On the 20th of the month, Venus is to the immediate upper left of the thin crescent moon.

Mars rises low in the southeast about an hour and a half before sunrise where its dim glow will be hard to spot in the morning twilight.

Jupiter rose in the southeast around 3 a.m. March 1 and will rise by midnight later in the month. Jupiter remains in the sky all night long, setting in the south at dawn. Its yellowish glow is in stark contrast to the red of Antares to Jupiter’s lower right.

Saturn is prominent in the east-southeast as darkness falls and remains in view for much of the night before setting in the west. Saturn’s fabled ring system and many of its moons will be easy to spot by telescope this month.

Uranus and Neptune are both lost to view during March.

March events

7 Moon at apogee, or farthest distance from Earth, today.

11 Daylight-saving time begins, and clocks must be set ahead one hour. This is the first year that the United States has commenced daylight-saving time on the second Sunday in March, and some confusion may occur with older materials that show it starting April 1. About an hour after sunset, the moon is situated on the southern horizon with Jupiter to its upper left and Antares to its immediate upper right.

12 Moon in last quarter, 11:55 a.m. The sun enters the constellation of Pisces on the ecliptic.

15 The ides of March, a bad day for Julius Caesar!

16 You may be able to spot Mercury and Mars on either side of the moon very low on the southeastern horizon just before dawn.

17 St. Patrick’s Day. Almanacs say it’s time to plant peas.

19 New moon, 10:43 p.m. The moon is at perigee, or closest approach to Earth, and these two facts may combine to produce abnormally high tides.

20 The vernal equinox occurs at 8:09 p.m. This is the first day of spring when the sun crosses the equator back into the Northern Hemisphere. Look to the west about an hour after sunset for brilliant Venus with a thin crescent moon to the lower right.

21 The sun enters the astrological sign of Aries but astronomically is still in Pisces.

25 Moon in last quarter, 2:16 p.m.

26 Look for the twins, Castor and Pollux, near the moon tonight.

31 Sunrise, 6:19 a.m.; sunset, 7:01 p.m. The March adage “comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb” may refer to stormy late-winter weather but more likely refers to the fact that Aries is setting in the west as Leo approaches the zenith.

Send astronomical queries to Clair Wood at cgmewood@aol.com or care of the Bangor Daily News, Style Desk, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402.