February Night Sky

There's a bunch of things going-on in the February night sky tonight and tomorrow that are stargazer-worthy.

First-off is the New Moon.

Several years ago I published a post about the problem of light pollution and how it can mess-up your viewing of the celestial bodies on a dark night.  The next few nights present a terrific opportunity to venture outside for what might be a great opportunity to catch some familiar planets.   This is because it will be extra dark.  The darkness is a consequence of the new moon.  

With this new moon, the earth, moon and sun will align with one another in a straight line.  The moon will fall between the earth and the sun and with this alignment the moon 'disappears' because the side we see is not illuminated.  Word to the wise - never observe anything in the direct path of the sun.  Doing so may damage your eyes and cause permanent blindness. 

On the subject of what to look for, Venus, the brightest planet, will be rising higher in the western sky after sunset.  It also will be moving closer to the second brightest planet which is Jupiter.  Watch for these two bright planets in the western sky after sunset.  Between now and the end of February they'll become even more noticeable.

Mars is visible high in the evening sky.  It's past its best but noticeably red in color and brighter than most stars.  Look for it in the constellation Taurus (above Orion) in the south southwest.

Edit to add:

Sunday evening was socked-in by overcast so there was nothing to view.

Here's a helpful hint to help you locate Mars.

Locate Orion in the southern sky and then Taurus just above.  Mars is circled in this star map.  Both constellations are visible as soon as the darkness begins to descent and will rotate west all evening.  

Dark skies are on top.  Good luck!