THE MOON AND MARS: Mars is approaching Earth for a close encounter in March. Start looking for the Red Planet now: Tonight it is shining brighter than a 1st-magnitude star beside the waning full Moon. The view through a backyard telescope is supposed to be dynamite!
Feb. 20 to March 12: Best evening apparition of Mercury
In February and March, the "elusive" Mercury moves far enough from the glare of the sun to be readily visible soon after sunset. Its appearance will be augmented by two other bright planets (Venus and Jupiter), which also will be visible in the western sky during this same time frame.
Mercury will arrive at its greatest elongation from the sun March 5. It will be quite bright (-1.3-to-0 magnitude) before this date and will fade rapidly to +1.6 magnitude thereafter. Astronomers measure the brightness of objects in terms of magnitude, with lower numbers corresponding to brighter objects.
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