The thin waxing crescent moon appears by Mercury low on the western horizon a short while after sunset on February 22.
Bruce McClure has been a writer and editor for the wildly popular EarthSky Tonight feature since early 2004. If you ask a sky question on our site, it’s likely to be Bruce that answers it. He says his "number one passion"- besides his wife Alice - is stargazing. Bruce writes sky articles, gives planetarium shows and hosts a wide assortment of public astronomy programs in and around his home in upstate New York. His love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, and he has sailed the North Atlantic, earning his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. Bruce is also a sundial aficionado. He believes the scroll of the lore-laden heavens, written in a language universal and more enduring than any human artifice, is our shared heritage. And he shares EarthSky's vision for stewardship, hoping future generations will enjoy uncontaminated air, soil and water, and a clear window to the universe.
Posts by Bruce
Feb 15, 2012
Tonight
7 Comments
Mars swings to aphelion – its farthest point from the sun in its orbit – on February 15.
Feb 11, 2012
Astronomy Essentials
15 Comments
Saturn is easy to find in 2012, near the bright star Spica in the constellation Virgo. See two bright starlike objects close together? It might be them!
Feb 11, 2012
Tonight
18 Comments
Our chart shows the eastern sky for mid to late evening tonight. The moon, Saturn and Spica will travel westward across the sky from then until dawn.
Feb 09, 2012
Tonight
11 Comments
Mars is less than one month away from its March 3, 2012 opposition when it will be best for this two-year period. Let the moon show you Mars tonight!
Feb 08, 2012
Tonight
6 Comments
Saturn begins its retrograde or westward motion today. That means the best months of 2012 for seeing Saturn have arrived.
The almost-full moon puts the constellation Cancer the Crab in the spotlight – but out of view – on the night of February 6.
Feb 05, 2012
Constellations
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February is an excellent time of year to see the constellation Gemini the Twins in the evening sky.
Feb 05, 2012
Tonight
4 Comments
On February 5, the moon is close to the two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini. In Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux are often portrayed as twins.
Feb 04, 2012
Tonight
11 Comments
These next two evenings, the moon passes in front of the constellation Gemini the Twins and resides close to its mean distance from Earth.
