Stargazing is a cool thing to do. It’s easy — all you have to do is step outside at night and look up. If it’s not cloudy or the Moon isn’t completely washing out the sky you should be able to see the stars and possibly a planet or two out there.

Tomorrow night — Wednesday, February 20 — observers in parts of the United States and easternmost Canada will be able to watch as the first quarter Moon slips between us and the planet Saturn. What it will look like to the uninitiated is the Moon covering up a very bright star for an hour or so. If you train a telescope on the sight, you can watch as the Moon seems to swallow up the planet, rings and all.

This is called an occultation and is one of those things that happens as the planets, the Earth, and the Moon go about their orbital business. There’s nothing magical about it — just as there’s nothing magical about watching the car in the next lane move past you, hiding the car in the outer lane of a 3-lane highway.

If you’re interested in seeing this event, go check out the map at Sky and Telescope’s web site for more detailed information on whether you can see this at your location. If you miss out on this sight — and I may very well be one of the folks in New England who will get clouded out — wait til Friday night, when the planet Jupiter will be very close to the Moon in the nighttime sky around 9 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time).

If you have a pair of binoculars, take them with you — you’ll be amazed at what you’ll spot in the sky!