The sky in February

Mercury shines low in the east southeast at mid-dawn for much of February. It is at its highest and easiest to see during the third week of the month, when it rises only a few minutes after the start of morning twilight. On February 21, this zero-magnitude planet will stand at its greatest elongation, 27 [degrees] west of the Sun.

Venus sets in the west about half an hour after sunset by mid-February. Even skilled observers, however, may be unable to spot the planet until late in the month, when it sets forty-five minutes after sunset.

Mars, in Pisces, moves ever farther from Earth during February, dimming from magnitude +1.0 on February 1 to magnitude +1.3 by the 28th. It sets within a few minutes of 10:00 P.M. local time all month. A four-day-old crescent Moon sits some 6 [degrees] below and to the left of Mars on the evening of the 16th.

Jupiter shines a brilliant silvery white at magnitude -2.5 amid the stars of Gemini. Lying almost directly overhead during early evening, it doesn't set in the west-northwest until several hours after midnight. Jupiter and a waxing gibbous Moon make for an eye-catching pair on February 22: over most of North America, the Moon appears to pass just above Jupiter, but observers in Arctic Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and western Europe get to witness the Moon's occultation of Jupiter--at about 10:00 P.M. local time that evening.

Saturn glows at magnitude 0.0 close to the Hyades star cluster in Taurus. High up and near the meridian at dusk, the planet is well placed for observation during the first half of the night. Without question, February's highlight comes on the evening of the 20th, when much of North America will be able to watch a spectacular occultation of Saturn by the Moon. Across the central and eastern United States, the event occurs during early evening and should be easily seen by the unaided eye. Farther west, unfortunately, the disappearance and, in some places, reappearance of the planet takes place before local sunset. Saturn becomes obscured by the Moon's dark portion and reappears about an hour later from behind its bright limb. Depending on one's location, the Moon takes between 90 and 120 seconds to completely cover, and then uncover, the ball and rings of the planet. For those with good telescopes, the view of Saturn disappearing behind the Moon's dark edge will be an unforgettable sight. Here are local times for the disappearance and reappearance of Saturn in selected U.S. cities (disappearances before sunset are indicated by dashes): New York: 7:26 P.M./8:45 P.M. Boston: 7:33 P.M./8:47 P.M. Washington, D.C.: 7:18 P.M./8:41 P.M. Atlanta: 6:56 P.M./8:28 P.M. Miami: 7:05 P.M./8:29 P.M. Chicago: 6:05 P.M./7:17 P.M. St. Louis: 5:54 P.M. (right at sunset)/7:14 P.M. Dallas: --/6:58 P.M. Denver: --/5:34 P.M.

The Moon is at last quarter on February 4 at 8:33 A.M. New Moon falls on the 12th at 2:41 A.M., first quarter is on the 20th at 7:02 A.M., and full Moon comes on February 27 at 4:17 A.M.

Unless otherwise noted, all times are given in Eastern Standard Time.

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