The moon was new on February 15, and it’s now back in the evening sky. This weekend, we received various photos of what astronomers call a young moon, that is, a waxing crescent moon visible in the west after sunset. February’s young moon was particularly fun to see. That’s because – as it swept along in its orbit day by day, getting increasingly farther from the sunset – it pointed the way toward the sky’s brightest planet, Venus, which has also just now returned to the evening sky.
In the days ahead, the moon will wax larger. You’ll surely notice it. And Venus? It’s much harder to spot than the moon, but, in the weeks ahead, Venus will climb higher in the evening twilight sky. One of these evenings – soon – you’ll spot Venus, too!
In the meantime, enjoy these moon photos – and Venus photos – from people in the EarthSky community who spotted the moon, or the moon with Venus, this past weekend.
Bottom line: February, 2018 photos of the young moon and Venus.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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