Tonight – March 1, 2017 – look in your western sky for the waxing crescent moon and the dazzling planet Venus some 20 minutes (or less) after sunset. These two luminaries will pop out almost immediately after sunset because the moon and Venus rank as the brightest and second-brightest celestial bodies of nighttime, respectively. Then as dusk turns into night, seek out another bright planet, even closer to tonight’s moon than Venus. That second planet is Mars. A third planet, Uranus – a world barely within the limit for viewing with the eye alone – is very nearby.
