February 28, 2025: The thin crescent moon appears below Mercury, joining the planet parade that includes Venus, Jupiter, and Mars. Seven planets are not visible simultaneously.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:27 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:40 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
As the second month of the year ends, daylight is 11 hours, 13 minutes long, gaining 70 minutes during the month.
Moon Joins Planet Parade
A planet parade continues after sunset that includes Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars. Contrary to some sources, seven planets are not visible. Saturn and Neptune are bathed in bright evening twilight, while a binocular is needed to see planet Uranus from suburban backyards.
This evening the crescent moon, 1% illuminated, is below Mercury. Step outside 45 minutes after nightfall, or earlier if you need to travel for a better view to the west. Brilliant Venus is over 20° above the western horizon. The planet is overtaking Earth and it sets earlier compared to sunset each evening.
Mercury is nearly 6° up in the west, gaining setting time each evening until its greatest elongation on March 8th. Use a binocular to initially locate it.
Use the binocular to look for the lunar crescent, 3.2° below Mercury. Once Mercury is viewed, place it above the center of the field. The crescent moon is below center.
Jupiter and Taurus
Farther eastward, bright Jupiter is high in the south-southwest, 5.5° above Aldebaran, Taurus’ brightest star. It rambles eastward compared to the starfield, opening a wider gap with Aldebaran and toward the Bull’s horns, Elnath and Zeta Tauri.
Mars
Mars is the eastern planet in this nightly planet parade. It is over halfway up in the east-southeast, to Jupiter’s lower left. It slowly marches eastward in front of Gemini, 7.1° to Pollux’s upper right and 7.4° to Castor’s lower right.
Planets Parade Westward
During the night, Earth rotates with the moon and planets setting in the western sky. The moon sets only 64 minutes after sunset, followed by Mercury 15 minutes later. Venus sets less than three hours after sundown. Jupiter sets about 90 minutes after local midnight, while Mars dips below the horizon before the beginning of morning twilight.
Tomorrow evening, the planet parade continues. The lunar crescent is higher in the sky and near Venus.
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