If the sun was to disappear we wouldn’t know about it until eight minutes later

DURING March the bright stars of winter give way to the inexorable lengthening of the day as the sun rises higher in the sky. On March 20, the day and night are of equal length, the so-called spring equinox (‘equal night’).

For March, the planet Jupiter is an easy target for the naked eye observer, rising around 7pm almost due east.

It is the brightest object in the night sky, apart from the moon.