The sky in February

Natural History, Feb, 2004 by Joe Rao

Mercury is unfavorably placed this month for observers in midnorthern latitudes. It is a "morning star" in February, rising in the southeastern part of the sky an hour before the Sun as the month begins. By the 13th, though, it rises only half an hour before sunrise. Farther south, the planet will be higher--and your odds of seeing it, better. Binoculars will certainly help.

The "star" of the evening is Venus, which, as February passes, grows ever brighter. It is readily visible at sunset, if not before, and becomes ever higher in the sky at sundown as the month goes on--reaching 41 degrees above the horizon in the twilit west-southwest by month's end. At that point, Venus sets three and a half hours after the Sun. Seen through a telescope, Venus gradually swells in apparent size. A beautiful early-evening configuration in the western sky awaits you on February 23, when a crescent Moon approaches to within less than 3 degrees south of Venus.

Fading Mars speeds eastward into the constellation Aries, the Ram, at the beginning of February. On the 1st the planet is roughly 130 million miles from Earth, and it shines at magnitude 0.7. By the 29th it has receded to 154 million miles and dimmed to magnitude 1.1. Through a telescope this month, Mars appears rather small. Throughout most of the month Mars sets between 11:30 P.m. and midnight local time. It hovers just above a fat crescent Moon on the evening of the 25th.

Jupiter, centered in Leo, the Lion, shines well to the east of Regulus, the constellation's brightest star. The planet rises several hours after dark at the beginning of February, but by month's end it is shining very low in the east as twilight fades to night. Jupiter stands high in the south in the middle of the night, and low in the west at dawn. Good binoculars are all it takes to reveal Jupiter as a disk; a small telescope shows Jupiter's most prominent cloud belts.

Saturn, in the western part of the constellation Gemini, the Twins, is well up in the east-southeast during the early evening hours. At the beginning of February it sets after 5 A.M., but by month's end it sets two hours earlier. Shining at magnitude -0.2 at midmonth, Saturn continues to put on a grand show in a telescope; the great ring system is still broadly tilted toward Earth.

The Moon is full on February 6 at 3:47 A.M. It wanes to last quarter on the 13th at 8:40 A.M., and becomes new on the 20th at 4:18 A.M. The Moon waxes to first quarter on the 27th at 10:24 P.M.

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