The planets continue to put on a good show this February. The Big Dipper returns to our evening skies, as it does every winter, and the Southern Cross brightens the predawn sky.

February begins as January did, with the beautiful sight of a slender crescent moon together with Venus and Mars in the west at dusk on Wednesday. Look west that night starting about 7 p.m.; the moon will be about halfway up in the west, and Venus will be the brilliant white-yellow dot below the moon. Once you find Venus, look just above it for the fainter, amber-colored dot of Mars, 100 times dimmer than Venus. As long as you have clear western skies, this should be a lovely sight from dusk until nearly 10 p.m., when Venus sets.

Through most of February, Venus continues to appear about one-third of the way up in the western sky as it gets dark, and continues to set around 9:30 p.m.; by the end of the month, it touches the horizon at 9 p.m. Venus, always bright, begins and ends the month at minus 4.5 magnitude, and hits its peak brightness in the middle of the month at minus 4.62.

While the moon moves away from Venus quickly after Wednesday, the planet Mars hangs above Venus in the west throughout the month. In early February, Mars is about five degrees above Venus, which is less than the width of three fingers at arm’s length. At the end of the month, the apparent distance between Venus and Mars has grown to the point where Mars is 12 degrees, or the width of an entire fist at arm’s length, above Venus.

Mars continues to fade in brightness as the Earth, on its faster track around the sun, pulls away from it. The planet hovers at first magnitude, but is about 100 times dimmer than Venus below it. Mars looks like a pale, amber-colored speck. Mars sets at 10 p.m. in early February and 9:30 p.m. at the end.

Jupiter, which has brightened the predawn skies for the last couple of months, rises in the east by 11:30 p.m. in early February. Early in the month Jupiter is high in the south at 5 a.m., just before the light of dawn washes it out. By late February the king of the planets rises in the east at 9:30 p.m., is due south at 3:15 a.m., and is working its way down the western sky when day breaks.

The planet, which appears distinctly white, starts the month at minus 2.15 magnitude, and brightens to minus 2.33 by the end of February. The only dot in the sky that’s brighter than Jupiter is Venus. At the end of February, if you want to compare the brightness of these two beacons, you’ll have to wait only 45 minutes between the time Venus sets in the west at 8:45 p.m. and the time Jupiter rises in the east at 9:30 p.m.

On the night of Feb. 14, look for the waning gibbous moon (that is, a moon that’s no longer full but not yet a half moon) next to Jupiter.

Saturn rises in the south-southeast about 4 a.m. in early February and is one-third of the way up in the east at daybreak. By the end of the month, Saturn rises just after 2 a.m. and is halfway up in the south at dawn. The planet shines at 0.5 magnitude, as bright as a good bright star, and has a distinctive yellow-white hue. Look for a slender waning crescent moon next to Saturn early on Feb. 20.

Since Saturn is not as brilliant as Venus or Jupiter, it does not pop out like they do. A good guide this year is Scorpius the Scorpion, known here as Maui’s Fishhook; if you find that big, bold constellation first, Saturn is to the left of the Scorpion. Saturn is in fact about 15 degrees (the width of 1.5 palms) to the left of the bright, ruddy star Antares, the heart of the Scorpion.

You might catch Mercury just at daybreak for the first week of February, but the viewing time is brief; Mercury rises in the east at 5:50 a.m. and fades into the dawn light by 6:30 a.m. It shines brightly at minus 0.2 magnitude, but you would need clear conditions and a dead-flat eastern horizon to spot the planet. After that, we lose the planet for the rest of the month.

SOUTHERN CROSS RETURNS

The Southern Cross, or Crux, missing as always from our skies from July through November, has returned to our morning sky.

This compact Roman cross of a constellation rises in the south at 2 a.m. in early February, is due south at 4 a.m. and sets at dawn. By month’s end, Crux rises at midnight, is due south at 2:30 a.m. and sets at 5 p.m.

The constellation hugs the horizon during its five-hour passage above the south horizon in the islands; make sure you have a flat horizon such as the sea to view it.