There is a pretty sight in the southwestern sky tonight. A thin crescent moon appears under the brilliant planet Venus. The two are fairly close.

The sight isn’t that much different if you look tomorrow night, though the moon will be higher in the sky, above Venus.

The two are under the zodiacal constellation Taurus. The star cluster Pleiades, that small star cluster of stars in Taurus is nearby.

Tomorrow night the three form a triangle. The Pleiades is considerably fainter than the other two.

Venus is high in the sky. You can watch Venus for hours into the evening. The planet doesn’t set until late. Venus will command our attention well into April.

Mars, Jupiter and Saturn

The three planets Mars, Jupiter and Saturn appear close together in the morning sky in the weeks ahead. Mars is closest to Saturn on the last night of the month. The two are only one degree apart. Look more than an hour before sunrise. Jupiter is the brightest and can’t be missed. Mars is the reddish colored planet.