Exciting February sky events include Venus at its brightest and closest to Earth, the moon occulting the Pleiades, and a parade of planets in the post-sunset sky.

A shortcut for New Yorkers to spot some of the planets is to look for them when they are near the moon. On Feb. 1, Venus will appear just above the crescent moon. On the third day of the month, Neptune will appear under Venus. Mars will appear near the moon on Feb. 9.

Look up this week for February’s full snow moon and to catch the last glimpse of a visible parade of planets in the night sky before they fade from view. This phase of the moon will peak at 8:53 a.m.