Groundhog Day and along with it the start of February has significance for anyone who enjoys milder starry nights. While there is still plenty of energy left in Old Man Winter, there is reason to enjoy what lies ahead. Daylight, along with the night time, are about to change dramatically in the days ahead.

There is more daylight and less night between sunset and sunrise. Each day we can be gaining as much as three minutes of additional daylight. Daylight is gaining every day by at least a minute in the evening and a minute or more in the morning.

The canopy of stars overhead are changing almost as quickly. The spring constellations are rising in the east in the evening. If you step outside around 10 p.m., Orion which dominates our winter sky is appearing more noticeably in the west. The zodiacal constellation Gemini is right overhead.

Leo, the lion, is a spring constellation. It is above the eastern horizon by 10 p.m. And the zodiacal constellation Virgo is right behind.

The Big Dipper, which spent the coldest part of the winter under Polaris, the north star, and near the horizon, due north of us, is moving. The dipper is rising in the eastern sky, carrying a scoop of something magical to dump into the spring skies.

No matter what Mr. Groundhog discovers when he awakes on Tuesday morning, a change of season is afoot and overhead.