Moon 10 degrees south of Venus, early evening of
Tueday, Feb. 28.
Moon southeast of Mars, evening of March 1.
Moon at perigee, closest to Earth by 5.5 percent from
average, Friday, March 3.
The Planets
Mars half a degree north of Uranus, Friday, Feb. 27.
Neptune in conjunction with Sun, Wed. March 1.
Venus begins retrograde (westerly motion against the
stars) Thurs., March 2, and will rapidly disappear. It will
quickly reappear in the morning sky.
Mars sets just before 9:30 PM.
Saturn (in Sagittariius) rises
around 2:30 AM about as Jupiter (in Virgo) transits the meridian, the giant planet dominating
the sky
Mercury in superior conjunction with Sun, Monday March
6.
The Sky
In the early evening great Orion dominates the winter sky, the seven-star
outline and three-star belt
unmistakable. Below him to the left twinkles Sirius, the brightest star in the sky as
seen from Earth. Almost all the bright blue-white stars of Orion
are related by birth. Up and to the left shine Castor and Pollux (the brighter one) of Gemini. Note the color contrast, Pollux
a "red giant," the white
stars (it's multiple) of Castor relatively unevolved. With the
Summer Solstice (in Gemini) near the
meridian, the Vernal Equinox in Pisces is setting, while the Autumnal Equinox in Virgo is rising. Meanwhile, the "W" of Cassiopeia goes over the top of the North Celestial Pole, which is marked by
Polaris.
