If you managed to see the seven-planet parade – or even one or two of the visible planets in the night sky – last weekend, you may be itching to get back outside and see what else is 'up' this week.
Here we'll look at the easiest, most impressive stargazing events that can be seen with the naked eye, and how to see them.
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Complete newcomer? Read our beginner's guide to astronomy
In our guide we'll refer to magnitude (mag.) and degrees (°). These are handy stargazing terms to know.
Magnitude is the word in astronomy used to describe how bright something appears, and degrees are used to measure the apparent distance between objects in the sky.
1° is about the width of a finger held out at arm's length.
Night sky this week
On Tuesday 4 February, Mercury reaches its closest point to the Sun, also known as perihelion, and it will be at a distance of 0.31 AU away from the Sun.
You can see Mercury with the naked eye just above the western horizon from about 18:10 UTC, before it sets around 19:40 UTC.
On Wednesday 5 March, take a look at Venus shining brightly at magnitude -4.3 in the west.
At 18:30 UTC, Venus is 20° above the western horizon, with Mercury located 10° below it.
If you do have a telescope, get it out and observe Venus. You'll see it's lit as a crescent, just like a crescent Moon.
Speaking of the Moon... On 5 March, Jupiter is near the Moon. Look in the southwest around 20:00 UTC and you'll see Jupiter to the left of the Moon.
On the evening of Thursday 6 March, look in the southwest again around 20:00 UTC. You'll see Jupiter in the same position, but the Moon is now above it.
On Friday night, 7 March, Jupiter is again in the southwest around 20:00 UT. Now the Moon is above and to the left of Jupiter, and Mars is above and to the left of the Moon!
Like Venus, Mercury also exhibits phases. On 7 March, Mercury is half-lit when observed through a telescope, and shining brightly at mag. –0.5.
It will be around 13° above the western horizon, visible from sunset until just after 19:50 UTC
If you are intending to observe Mercury through a telescope, you need to wait until the Sun has set, in order to do so safely. If in doubt, don't try it!
Saturday 8 March is the best time to see Mercury. It's at its highest, 15° in the evening sky above the western horizon.
It's also at its furthest distance from the Sun (known as eastern elongation).
On Saturday evening, Mercury is visible 30mins after sunset and sets just before 20:00 UTC.
Later on Saturday 8 March, there's a chance to see Mars very close to the Moon. See the Red Planet below and to the left of the Moon in the south around 20:00 UTC.
They'll be heading west as the night rolls on, getting closer together as they do so, and will set beneath the northwest horizon just before dawn on Sunday 9 March.
A great way to round off the week.
Thanks to Mary McIntyre for providing the dates and timings for these stargazing events.
Share your stargazing images and adventures with us by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
