April 23, 2021: Evening Star Venus and Mercury are entering the evening sky. They are found very low in the west-northwest after sunset. The bright moon is in the southeastern sky during the early evening. Mars is moving toward the star cluster Messier 35.
April 22, 2021: Brilliant Evening Star Venus is making its first appearance in the western sky after sunset. Look just above the horizon at 20 minutes after sunset. The bright, gibbous moon is in Leo. Mars approaches the star cluster Messier 35 in a darker sky.
April 21, 2021: Evening Star is making its first appearance in the west-northwest shortly after sunset. The gibbous moon is near Leo, while Mars is near the foot of Castor.
March 25, 2021: Jupiter and Saturn continue to climb into the morning sky. Find them above the southeastern horizon before sunrise. The bright moon is in front of the stars of Leo after sunset, while Mars marches eastward in Taurus
Still low in the sky during brighter twilight, brilliant Venus moves through Cancer and Leo. Mars enters the scene (within 10°) as it moves toward its solar conjunction. As the ecliptic’s angle with the western horizon decreases, the Venusian setting time interval shrinks several minutes until late August. Venus passes the Red Planet (July 12) and Regulus (July 21). A binocular is needed to make observations of conjunctions with the dimmer stars.
March 24, 2021: Jupiter and Saturn continue to slowly climb into the morning sky. Find them in the southeastern sky before sunrise. The bright, gibbous moon is high in the southeastern sky, near Regulus. As night falls the third bright planet, Mars, is in front of the starry background of Taurus.
February 26-28, 2021: The bright moon appears with the stars of Leo at month’s end.
January 15, 2021: Leo the Lion is tilted westward before sunrise during mid-January mornings.
