Looking southeast before dawn

The waning crescent Moon helps point the way to Mars, Venus, and Mercury before sunrise on Monday through Wednesday mornings. This diagram is drawn for the middle of North America, but the scene is similar throughout the continent. European skywatchers: move each Moon symbol a quarter of the way to the one for the previous date.

Sky & Telescope diagram.

Three planets currently grace the dawn skies, and at the end of the month the Moon joins the scene. As shown on the chart above, the waning crescent Moon shines close to orange Mars before dawn on the 27th. A day later the Moon passes by Venus. On Wednesday morning, use Venus and the Moon to guide your way to Mercury.

By using our
interactive sky chart, you can watch what happens to these three planets during the coming weeks. The chart is set to 40° North on January 31st at 6:00 a.m. local time. By pressing the "back to combined view" button, you can go to the main chart and use the "change" buttons to adjust your time and location.

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