Sunrise Sunset

Fri., Feb. 19 6:32 5:19

Sat., Feb. 20 6:30 5:20

Sun., Feb. 21 6:29 5:22

Mon., Feb. 22 6:27 5:23

Tues., Feb. 23 6:26 5:24

Wed., Feb. 24 6:24 5:25

Thurs., Feb. 25 6:23 5:26

Fri., Feb. 26 6:21 5:28

On Sunday night the first quarter moon appears high in the eastern sky after sunset. The moon is in the zodiacal constellation Taurus and near the star cluster Pleiades. Also called Seven Sisters, the Pleiades is a small star cluster that is easy to spot; it looks like a tiny dipper and is not much bigger than the moon.

On Monday night the moon is gibbous and appears near the bright red planet Mars; both are in the constellation Gemini. If you haven’t seen Mars yet, Monday night offers an excellent opportunity. The moon is the perfect guide to finding the planet. The two celestial objects appear high overhead.

Mars is getting farther away. The Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor is 65 million miles away, four million miles more distant than last month.

The ringed-planet Saturn rises in the eastern sky a few hours after sunset. Saturn is in the zodiacal constellation Virgo, a constellation we usually associate with spring and summer. Seeing Saturn in our night sky tells us spring is near. Even though snow is on the ground, the starry skies overhead are moving through the seasons.

M.A.L.