Not counting on getting a valentine this month?

That's ok; the moon could be sending you a late one on February 20th during a total eclipse.

That is, if there's enough dust in the atmosphere.

Here's how it happens…

As the moon moves into earth's shadow, the sun's light shines through earth's atmosphere.

If there's the right amount of smoke, ash, or other dust in the air, the light is bent and shows up red on the surface of the moon.

It's like all of the sunrises and sunsets on earth shining onto the moon.

Sometimes, it'll look more orange, and sometimes, if there aren't enough pollutants in the atmosphere, you won't notice much of a color change.

But it's still worth taking a look, because the next total lunar eclipse won't take place until December of 2010.

(Play the video at the top of the page to watch Chris Janssen, director of Wausau West High School’s planetarium, demonstrate why we don’t see lunar eclipses more often.)

The eclipse will begin at 7:43 p.m., and the whole thing will be visible from Wisconsin.

The moon will be fully eclipsed at 9:00 p.m. and it will remain that way until 9:51.

The eclipse will end at 11:09 p.m., so there will be plenty of time to sit back and enjoy this one, weather permitting, of course.

So if the weather doesn’t permit that night, what else is there to see in February?

Mars, for one thing.

“Mars is going to be the planet of choice for the evening viewing. It’s not as bright, of course, as [it was in] January, but it is still quite nice to look at,” says Janssen.

Mars will be high in the southern sky in the evening.

If you’re an early riser, no problem!

Venus and Jupiter will be up low in the southeastern sky shortly before sunrise.

Orion will be very easy to see in the evening, and right near Orion, you can see some other beautiful winter constellations.

If you face south, Taurus (the bull) will be on Orion’s right, and Gemini (the twins) will be on Orion’s left.

Riding Taurus’ back will be the Pleiades, the twinkling star cluster also known as the seven sisters.

If you’d like a star map so that you can find some of these things, click on the link below this article, and you’ll be taken to the Wausau West High School Planetarium page.

Once you’re there, click on “star map” in the left-hand column on that page.