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Ephemeris: 03/10/2026 – Finding Cancer the crab

March 10, 2026 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 38 minutes, setting at 7:42, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:02. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 3:50 tomorrow morning.

The constellation of Cancer the crab is made of dim stars, which are generally connected, in constellation charts, with lines that make either the letter K or an upside down Y. It lies directly between the star pair Castor and Pollux in Gemini and Regulus in Leo. In the center of the constellation is, what to the naked-eye is a fuzzy spot called Praesepe, or the manger. The two nearby stars, one above left, and one below left are Asellus Borealis, and Asellus Australis, the northern and southern donkey colts feeding out of the manger. Viewing that fuzzy spot with a pair of binoculars will reveal that it’s not fuzzy at all. It resolves into a cluster of stars, which astronomers, over the years, have called the Beehive cluster.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Finding Cancer the crab in the southeastern sky at 9 PM around mid-March 2026 in five frames.
Finding Cancer the crab in the southeastern sky at 9 PM around mid-March 2026 in five frames. First the natural sky; second, with constellation art with Gemini and Leo; third, with constellation lines; fourth, showing an inset box; fifth showing a magnified view with the Beehive cluster. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Categories: Constellations, Ephemeris Program, Observing Tags: ,