Feb. 28: Moon And Mercury
The planet Mercury peeks into view above the western horizon the
next few evenings. It is so low in the sky that it’s hard to see
through the twilight.
Feb. 28: Moon And Mercury
The planet Mercury peeks into view above the western horizon the next few evenings. It is so low in the sky that it’s hard to see through the twilight.
Look for it beginning about a half-hour after sunset. Tonight, it’s just to the upper right of the crescent Moon.
March 1: Mercury in the Evening
Mercury stands low in the west just after sunset. Look for it well below the crescent Moon, and perhaps a little to the right. Binoculars will help you find the faint planet in the fading evening twilight.
March 2: M51
One of the prettiest spiral galaxies is in our northeastern sky during the evening hours. It has several names. One is M51, which is its designation in an astronomical catalog. A more poetic name is the Whirlpool galaxy.
March 3: Lunar Features
A thick crescent Moon descends the western sky this evening. If you look carefully, you can see a few dark markings on its surface. All of them are tens or hundreds of miles across. The Moon is so far away that you can’t see smaller features without optical aid.
March 4: Mars and Aldebaran
Two bright orange objects – Mars and the star Aldebaran – shine like a pair of bloodshot eyes in the western sky this evening. They are high in the sky at nightfall and set around 1am To make them a little easier to spot, the Moon is close by.
March 5: Moon, Mars and Aldebaran
The Moon lines up with a pair of colorful astronomical objects tonight – the planet Mars and the star Aldebaran. They are high in the sky as darkness falls, and set in the wee hours of the morning. Mars stands beside the Moon, with Aldebaran just to their south.
March 6: More Moon, Mars and Aldebaran
The planet Mars and the star Aldebaran, both of which show a bright orange color, line up below the Moon this evening. Mars is the one on the right, Aldebaran on the left.
