On Monday night look for the familiar waxing crescent moon as ut appears in the southwestern sky near the red planet Mars. The two are in the zodiacal constellation Taurus, an area of the sky we associate more with winter. If you’ve never seen Mars, use the moon as the easy guide.

Spring is truly around the corner when we see Taurus well in our west, soon after dusk. Earlier this year Taurus was high in the evening sky. But now, the constellation is a friend to the western sky. Taurus sets only a few hours after the sun.

Look above the moon and Mars for the large star cluster Pleiades, also called Seven Sisters. The sky in the west is colored by twilight and still that tight group of stars can be found.

Even without the moon in that area of the sky later in the week, or this weekend, use Mars to find the Pleiades. The star cluster is just above the red planet.