February Skies 2007

Each February day brings us more sunlight!  The Sun continues moving higher in the sky, as we approach the beginning of Spring next month.

As we reported in January, the Winter stars and constellations are well positioned for excellent viewing all this month.

The Sun:
The Sun begins February in the constellation of CAPRICORNUS.  It remains in Capricornus until February 16th, when it enters AQUARIUS. At that point, we will be less than five weeks from the date of the Vernal (or Spring) Equinox, when the Sun crosses the Celestial Equator and the lengths of day and night are equal.

The Moon:
February’s FULL MOON occurs the afternoon of the 1st in CANCER.  A very full and round Moon rises just before sunset and rides very high in the sky that night.
The 3rd QUARTER Moon occurs the morning of February 10th in LIBRA.
NEW MOON occurs the morning of the 17th in Aquarius.
The 1st QUARTER MOON occurs the morning of February 24th in TAURUS.

In February the Moon will be seen near four naked-eye Planets:
SATURN: The Moon is near Saturn in LEO the night of February 2nd. The Moon will also eclipse Saturn for persons in Asia and Northern Europe when the Moon has not yet risen in AZ).
JUPITER is near the crescent Moon the morning of the 12th in OPHIUCHUS.
MARS is North of a very thin Moon in SAGITTARIUS the morning of the 14th.
VENUS: Seen in PISCES below the Moon the evening of the 19th.

January’s Moon can also be seen near these Bright Stars:
The waning gibbous Moon approaches Regulus in Leo overnight the 2nd – 3rd. The Moon then occults (eclipses) Regulus the morning of the 3rd between sunrise and moonset.
A waning gibbous Moon passes by Spica in Virgo overnight the 6th – 7th.
The waning crescent Moon is fairly far from Antares in Scorpio the mornings of the 11th and 12th.
The 1st Quarter Moon is near the Pleiades in TAURUS the evening of the 23rd.
The waxing gibbous Moon lies north of Castor and Pollux in GEMINI the evening of the 27th.

The Evening Sky
Sunset on February 1st occurs at 6p.m., and each following evening’s sunset happens a bit later.  On February 28th, sunset will occur at 6:24p.m.

Evening Planets: MERCURY, VENUS & SATURN.
Mercury begins February fairly far from the Sun in Aquarius and so will be an easy binocular object low in the southwest after sunset through about the 15th. (Binoculars are the surest way to observe Mercury since it is easily overlooked in the sunset glare!)  Mercury then reverses direction and moves back toward the Sun, entering Capricornus on the 28th. It will become lost to view by the 18th, passing the Sun and entering the morning sky on February 22nd.  When it returns to the evening sky in May, Mercury will be higher in the sky, set even later than it does now and will be much easier to observe.
For the first few days of the month, Mercury and Venus will stand low in the Southwestern sky less than 10 degrees of arc apart. (10 degrees is about the width of your closed fist at arm’s length.)  However, Mercury is MUCH fainter than outstanding Venus.

Venus begins the month in Aquarius as an extremely bright (-4 magnitude) object in the southwestern sky. On the 1st, Venus sets in a dark sky at 7:50p.m. Moving rapidly away from the Sun, Venus enters Pisces on the 16th, then skirts just into a corner of the constellation of CETUS the Whale on the 26th, and moves further East again into Pisces on the 28th.  Even though on the far side of the Sun, Venus is by far the brightest object in the night sky but for the Moon. When seen through a telescope, the planet shows a nearly “Full” appearance. As the Sun-Venus-Earth angle changes, Venus will slowly approach Earth and change its appearance, successively, from today’s nearly “Full” planet a “Half Moon” shape in to early-June and then into a crescent Moon shape in July and August. Overall, the brightness remains at about the same level until summertime, when the planet again races toward the Sun and back into the morning sky.

Saturn, in Leo all month,  rises about one-half hour after sunset on the 1st.  Rising earlier each night, Saturn breaks the horizon at 4:35p.m. by month end.  In February, Saturn is very well placed for telescopic observing. Viewed through at least a 4-inch diameter telescope, Saturn will display its signature ring system and perhaps several of its moons (Titan being the brightest).  On the 19th, the Moon joins Saturn and the bright stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini.

What Else to See? The Winter Constellations and the Milky Way
During February be sure to choose a dark moonless night to view the spectacular winter Milky Way. February’s Milky Way crosses the sky from South to North.

High in the South, is easily recognizable Orion.  This constellation features a large rectangle of bright stars anchored at upper left by red Betelgeuse and at bottom right by white Rigel.  In-between are the 3 famous stars of Orion’s Belt.  Follow the line of these belt stars upward to Taurus and the red star Aldebaran, then beyond to the Pleiades (“Seven Sisters”).  Below Orion’s Belt is Sirius, the brightest star in our sky. To the upper left of Orion will appear the constellation of Gemini, mentioned earlier containing the bright stars Castor and Pollux and the planet Saturn.

Lower in the East the zodiac’s lion constellation, LEO, is rising, marked by Saturn, the brightest object in the Eastern sky. This large lion constellation extends from its “sickle” shaped head and mane, down to the bright star “Regulus” in its heart, and further East to a right large triangle of stars marking the lion’s hindquarters.  Here, Leo’s 2nd brightest star, “Denebola” literally and figuratively brings up the rear.

The Morning Sky
Sunrise on February 1st occurs at 7:25a.m. but the month-end 28th sunrise happens about a half-hour earlier at 6:58a.m., as we approach March and springtime.

The waning MOON is visible in the morning sky through February 15th, after which time it is lost in the Sun’s glare.  Watch for the Moon to pass Saturn on the 2nd , Jupiter on the 12th , and Mars on the 14th.

Morning Planets:  JUPITER, MARS, and (late in February) MERCURY.
JUPITER spends the entire month of February in Ophiuchus, the zodiac constellation of the serpent handler. It rises at 3:35a.m. on the 1st and progressively earlier each day until the end of the month sees it rise just after 2:00a.m.  Bright Jupiter may be comfortably viewed all month by observers with binoculars or telescopes, which show Jupiter’s four Galilean Moons (named after the famous astronomer Galileo). An observer with binoculars or a small telescope could make a nice science fair project by recording the distinctly periodic orbits of Jupiter’s bright moons. Jupiter’s motion through the background stars takes it past at least two 6th magnitude stars which are of approximately the same brightness as the four bright moons.

MARS begins the month moving eastward in Sagittarius; it enters Capricornus on the 25th, where it remains until early April. Mars starts the month rising shortly after 5:30a.m., but will be somewhat easier to spot by month-end, when it rises at 5:10a.m. To find the red planet, look low in the Southeast at least an hour before sunrise.  Since the Red Planet is on the far side of the Sun, it is fairly faint this month (at magnitude +1.3). Nevertheless, it is by far the brightest object in Sagittarius, and should be quite easy to spot. in February telescopic observers will see the planet’s disk as very small and unremarkable. However, Sagittarius is in the Summer Milky Way and Mars passes by several stars this month, including a close approach to 6.6 magnitude SAO187729 between February 6th and 8th.

Mercury enters the morning sky on February 22nd, will be too close to the Sun to spot until about the 27th , when it rises at 6:15a.m. (about 40 minutes before the Sun). Mercury will be easy to spot though in the morning sky in March.

What Else to See? Some Moon-Planet close approaches are mentioned above.  But observers with binoculars or small telescopes may want to watch the Moon occult (eclipse) or approach the 1st magnitude star Regulus the morning of the 3rd and the 5th magnitude star Tau Leonis just after midnight on the morning of February 5th. This latter occultation starts at about 12:40a.m. and the star remains behind the Moon until about 1:30a.m.

There are no impressive Meteor Showers or (as of the time of writing this column) any bright comets scheduled to be visible in February.  But, this should not detract morning observers from viewing the summer Milky Way before dawn, or evening observers from enjoying the Winter Milky Way after dark.

On Friday, February 9th from 6:30 – 10:00 p.m., the East Valley Astronomy Club will be hosting a Free Public Star Party at their observatory site East of the Gilbert Public Library.  Several telescopes will be available for public viewing of wintertime astronomical objects.

Good Luck Observing!