EarthSky

Zodiacal light over the Faulkes Telescope, Haleakala, Maui. Via Wikimedia

Moonless February and March evenings present the best time of year to see zodiacal light in the northern hemisphere evening sky. The light appears when all traces of twilight have left the sky. It looks like a hazy pyramid of light in the west after true darkness falls. This light can be noticeable and easy to see from latitudes like those in the southern U.S., up to one hour or so after evening dusk leaves the sky. In that case, the zodiacal light can resemble the lights of a city or town just over the horizon. Meanwhile, skywatchers in the northern U.S. or Canada sometimes say, wistfully, that they’ve never seen it.

Tonight, the moon, Mars and the constellation Leo the Lion are seen together over the eastern horizon about three hours after sunset. However, Leo’s stars rise four minutes earlier each day, or two hours earlier with each passing month. Sometime in March, watch for Leo to light up the eastern sky as soon as darkness falls – a sure sign that spring is about to return to the Northern Hemisphere.

You can see the planet Saturn now from very late evening until dawn. It’s highest in the southern sky near 5 a.m. It’s rising earlier in the evening every day. As a general rule, Saturn travels eastward in front of the stars. But in 2012 – from February 8 to June 26 – Saturn will be moving in retrograde (westward) in front of the constellation Virgo the Maiden. Note Saturn’s position relative to Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. At the end of Saturn’s retrograde, you’ll see Saturn in a different position in front of the backdrop stars.