The National Weather Service has hoisted a string of sun and moon icons across the five-day forecast today. It's a reminder that there is plenty to see up there if we would just lift our eyes above the grimy snow piles and glaring street lights.

The weather forecast looks pretty good, right through the middle of next week. Sterling is looking for sunny days in the 50s by this weekend, and partly cloudy to mostly clear nights.

It's an opportunity to get reacquainted with the night sky after a month of cold and snow and ice.

On the way home the other night I noticed that Venus has returned to the evening sky. It's still very low in the west, setting about an hour after the sun. And it's not yet as brilliant as it will be by the end of March, when it will set more than an hour and a half after sunset.

But it's been quite a while since we've had Venus (left, in ultraviolet) as our evening star, and it will be a welcome sight for commuters and evening dog-walkers. Late in March we'll get a chance to see Mercury rise out of the sun's glare and get pretty close to Venus prior to a nice conjunction in early April.

Mars (right) is fading this month, but it remains a prominent presence high in the eastern sky each evening. Look for it just below the twin stars of Gemini - Castor and Pollux. It is noticeably redder than the bright stars of the winter constellations, and hard to miss.

And in case you missed Thursday's night's flyover by the International Space Station, the ISS will make a very similar pass on Saturday evening. Thursday's appearance was notable for the station's ability to gleam right through the scattered thin clouds that spread over much of the Baltimore area.

Look for the ISS again Saturday evening as it rises above the southwest horizon at 6:08 p.m. This pass will be nearly as bright as Thursday's, but probably with fewer clouds. The station will climb  even higher - to within 3 degrees of the zenith at 6:11 p.m. From there it will slide off toward the northeast, disappearing from view at 6:14 p.m.

Saturn, too, is visible in the evening sky this weekend as it nears opposition on the 22nd. Look for it low in the east southeast later in the evening, say, 10 p.m. It has a steady light and a slightly yellowish tint compared with the stars.  

Clear skies!