At the opening of this month the great planets will have disappeared, and will not again visit our evening skies until May. Venus alone will still be seen in the west, and she disappears early in the month, coming up with the sun on the 14th.

Mercury will reach his greatest distance east from the sun on the 2d, when he may possibly be seen ; at sunset he will be nearly west, but when the sky becomes dark enough for him to be distinguished, he will have moved a little northward. Look for him near the horizon, a little north of due west.

At the beginning of the month the moon will have just passed its first quarter; it is new on the 8th, comes to its first quarter on the 15th, and is full on the 22d.

There will be two occultations this month of stars bright enough to make them interesting to our readers. The first is of the third magnitude star Lambda Geminorum, and the time of the star's disappearance is about two in the morning at Washington, on February 19. On the morning of the 26th the first magnitude star Spica (Alpha) of the constellation of the Virgin is occulted, passing behind the moon at about 4 a. m. Both these disappearances will be at the bright edge of the advancing moon. Perhaps the best way to observe these is to look for the star quite near the front edge of the moon, about half an hour before the predicted time, and keep an eye on it every few minutes until it comes quite close into the edge, and then keep it constantly in view until it disappears. A field-glass should be sufficient to show both of these occulta-tions well.

The first of this month the summer constellations will all be gone.

On the other hand, the Great Bear will have swung eastward and higher, so that in the early evening it will be prominent in the northeast. The Lion will be just rising at 8 o'clock; its first-magnitude star Regulus, being at that time well above the eastern horizon. This star forms the jeweled end of the handle of the great "Sickle," which is the distinguishing group of this constellation, and which will appear in the east with its edge and point forward, about the time indicated. Above it, and between it and the twins, is Cancer, the Crab, the northernmost of the constellations of the Zodiac. It is not conspicuous, containing no bright stars; only the cluster Praesepe (the Beehive) can be easily seen, and is the landmark for this asterism. It is a beautiful object for a field-glass or small telescope.

Vega.