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    Stargazing Tips for the week of February 18-24, 2014

    February 18: Moon and Spica

    The Moon is passing through a busy section of sky this week. It will snuggle close to two bright stars and two brighter planets. The action tips off tonight with Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, which is just below the Moon.

    February 19: Moon and Mars

    Mars is in great view tonight. The planet rises above the Moon in late evening and sticks close to the Moon as they climb across the south in the wee hours of the morning. It looks like a brilliant orange star.

    February 20: Moon and Saturn

    Saturn is in fine view early tomorrow. The planet stands to the left of the Moon at first light, looking like a bright golden star. A telescope will reveal the planet’s magnificent rings.

    February 21: Moon and Companions

    The last-quarter Moon has a couple of bright companions in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. The planet Saturn is close to its upper right at first light, with the star Antares a little farther to the lower left.

    February 22: Lynx

    An obscure cat pads through the northern sky at this time of year. Known as Lynx, it stands high in the northeast in early to mid evening, about halfway between the outer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper and the bright “twins” of Gemini.

    February 23: Zeta Cas

    Cassiopeia, the queen, is in the northwest at nightfall. Its brightest stars form an easy-to-spot letter W. Another bright star is stands below the lower right point of the W: Zeta Cassiopeia. The star is much bigger, hotter, and heavier than the Sun.

    February 24: Moon and Venus

    Look for Venus to the lower left of the crescent Moon beginning a couple of hours before sunrise tomorrow. The beautiful pairing will be even tighter the next day, with the “morning star” to the upper right of the Moon.
     
    Stargazing Information from StarDate Online (http://stardate.org) 
     
     
    Venus, Mercury and the Moon  
    A picture of Venus, Mercury and the Moon taken on 4/15