You Can See Mars Near the Moon Tonight! Here's Where to Look.

Mars and the moon will team up in a delightful celestial sight tonight (Feb. 10) and NASA has some tips to help you spot the Red Planet inthe night sky

If your weather is clear, Mars will shine about 6 degrees below and to the right of the crescent moon in the western sky just after sunset (Your closed fist held out at arm's length covers about 10 degrees of the sky.) 

"On the 10th, the crescent moon pairs up with Mars," officials with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a video guide. "Look for them in the west about an hour after sunset." [The Brightest Planets in February's Night Sky!]

Mars will shine near the crescent moon in the western night sky on Feb. 10, 2019. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Mars is actually a great planet to see in the night sky all month, according to NASA.

"Look west in the first couple of hours after sunset all month long to spot reddish Mars," agency officials said.

This isn't the only close encounter Mars will appear to share with another celestrial object. On Valentine's Day (Feb. 14), Mars can be found near the position of the asteroid Bennu, where NASA's OSIRIS-REx sample-return probe is currently in orbit. Bennu is too small to see without a telescope, but at least you'll know where it is, NASA said.

"So on the 14th give a little wave to Bennu — and OSIRIS-Rex while you're at it," JPL officials said.

Mars will shine about a fist's width away from the asteroid Bennu on Valentine's Day 2019 (Feb. 14). Bennu is not visible to the naked eye, so telescopes are required to spot it. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share with us and our news partners for a possible story or gallery, send images and comments to spacephotos@space.com.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Original article on Space.com.

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Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.