What’s New in February | Weather Blog

As we move further into the month of February, the night sky begins to show us some interesting features! Over the next few days, you may see Mercury, Mars, and Venus in the pre-dawn sky. Venus will be the brightest; in fact, it’s so bright you might be able to see it after sunrise for the next few days! Venus will be low in the sky and crescent-shaped because the sunlit side is mostly facing us.

Mars becomes brighter and brighter in our eyes throughout this month and is roughly in the same zone as Venus. Mercury will be the hardest to see. After this week it will be so faint in the brightening morning sky that you may not be able to find it. Look east (where the sun will rise) lower near the horizon to try to spot one of these three planets. Thanks to EarthSky for these helpful images!

So far, all of the planets we’ve covered here can be seen in the early morning sky. Jupiter is the only one you would want to look for in the evening this month. Look west (where the sun sets) just after sunset. Jupiter is currently the second brightest planet (behind Venus), so you should be able to see it even in the twilight sky.