Venus blazes like a lighthouse in the west at dusk in February 2012,
as seen from all parts of Earth. In fact, all through February 2012,
Venus and Jupiter – the sky’s two most brilliant planets – are the first
“stars” to pop out at evening dusk, with Venus being the lower planet
and Jupiter the higher.
Use the moon to verify that you’ve found Venus in late
February 2012, as the thin lunar crescent passes close to Venus on the
evenings of February 24, 25 and 26.
Best yet, Mercury will be returning to the evening sky in this part of
February, so you can draw an imaginary line from Jupiter through Venus
to locate Mercury near the horizon about 45 to 75 minutes after sunset. We tell you more about Mercury below.
Use the moon to find Mars, for several nights centered on February 9.
Mars shines in front of the constellation Leo the Lion, but easily
outshines the Lion’s brightest star, Regulus. You can also distinguish
Mars from Regulus by color. Mars glowers in a ruddy hue while Regulus
sparkles blue-white. The moon will be shining close to the star Regulus
on February 8, and Mars on February 9.
