The Moon cozies up to Jupiter Wednesday evening.

Look west Wednesday night for the two-day-old waxing crescent Moon just a degree away from Jupiter. The trio are bright and easy to spot, even from downtown skies.

The Moon continues it's journey through the sky, meeting up with Mars on Monday February 27, separated by about 2 degrees.

Continue to watch Venus and Jupiter as they continue to draw closer over the remainder of February. On March 1 the pair will be separated by less than half a degree.

Also notice the line formed by Venus, Jupiter and the Moon. You are looking at the ecliptic, or the plane of the solar system that planets orbit along.  The also follows this line as it makes its monthly journey through the sky.  

That line is not because the Earth's axis is tilted but more because of our latitude. Here in Raleigh the ecliptic angles to the left.  That angle is smaller the further north you are.  Viewed from the North Pole and the planets and Moon move across the sky parallel ot the horizon.