The brightest planet in our evening sky, Jupiter is high in our sky, in the zodiacal constellation Taurus. You'll have no trouble finding it in the evening. Not far away is the bright red planet Mars, now in the zodiacal constellation Gemini. These two planets will remain with us for the weeks ahead and for most of spring.

The rest of the visible planets, Saturn, Mercury and Venus are making their way into our morning sky. Saturn is in the zodiacal constellation Aquarius and a challenge to spot just before sunrise. Wait a couple of weeks for Saturn to be joined by Venus, when they both can be visible.

Gibbous Moon

The waning gibbous moon spends the weekend moving through Virgo, the biggest constellations in the zodiac. The moon will be closest to Spica on Sunday night and into Monday morning. Spica is the principal star, the brightest in Virgo. Virgo is a favorite early spring constellation and it will dominate our evening sky well into summer.

Early Start to Spring

If you are looking for an advance to the first day of spring, consider Monday, March 17, St. Patrick's Day. Sunrise and sunset are at 6:50, meaning the length of the day and night are the same, 12 hours. Official start of spring is Thursday, March 20.