There has been plenty to observe in the night sky in recent days and the show will get better towards the end of the month and into early March.

In the evening sky the planets Jupiter and Venus are both very bright and visible in the west at sunset and for several hours afterward. Over the next several days, Jupiter and Venus will move closer together creating a beautiful pair in the sky. Add in a crescent moon which will pass near the two planets (Feb 25 and 26) and it just gets better. (See the full story from NASA.)

This image was taken during the evening of 21 February 2012. Also visible — faint and located just above the telescope dome — is the Andromeda Galaxy (also known as M31). The telescope dome is located on Anderson Mesa and is part of the Anderson Mesa Station — a collection of telescopes and other astronomical instruments including the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI).

A few nights earlier were two good satellite flares. The first is one of the Iridium series; the second is part of the Cosmo SkyMed series. Both went from very dim spots of light traveling across the sky to exceptionally brilliant points — albeit for only a few seconds.

The SpaceWeather and Heavens-Above web sites both provide great information on when and where to look for these bright objects in the sky.