Saturn is up all night, Venus and Uranus get together, and the Moon makes close encounters with star clusters.
February opens with the Moon and M44, The Beehive Cluster, making a close pairing in the evening sky. On February 1, the star cluster at the center of the constellation Cancer receives a visit from a nearly full moon. Check out the view through binoculars, and see how much of the cluster is washed out by the bright moon and which stars hold their own.
The next day, February 2, is Ground Hog Day, also the date of February's Full Moon. Full Moon occurs at 12:45 a.m. EST, accompanied very closely by Saturn, shining at -0.14 magnitude. Saturn is a great observing target for the entire month of February. It rises around sunset and sets around sunrise. On February 10, Saturn reaches opposition. Opposition is the point at which a planet is seen opposite the Sun in our sky. Therefore opposition is considered an excellent time in which to view a planet, because it is up all night long. Saturn's rings will appear 13.9 degrees from edge-on. Saturn's rings are tilting until they will be "closed," or seen as edge-on, in 2009. They won't be fully tipped into our view again until 2016.
On February 7, Mars, which is rising in the East before sunrise, experiences its autumnal equinox in its Northern Hemisphere. Mars undergoes seasonal changes too, from dust storms to the lifting of its polar ice cap and the transference of frozen carbon dioxide from one pole to the other.
Also on February 7, Venus and Uranus get cozy in the sky. If you have never seen Uranus before, now is a great time to look. Venus will be in the west southwest after sunset. At magnitude -3.9, it is a bright beacon above the horizon. You may also spot Mercury at magnitude -0.5 to the lower right of Venus. Use binoculars or a telescope to target Venus as it gets darker. Uranus is 0.7 degrees to the right of Venus. It will be possible to put both planets in one telescopic field of view. See if you can spot any color in Uranus. It is a blue-green world.
For deep-sky observers, find the Heart Nebula, IC1805, on Valentine's Day. IC 1805 lies in Cassiopeia the Queen. At magnitude 6, it should not be too challenging to find. First find the M (or W) shape of the constellation Cassiopeia high in the north in the evening sky. The Heart Nebula is off the right side of the M (or if you view it as a W, off the left side of the W). As long as you are being romantic, find the Double Cluster in Perseus not far from the Heart Nebula. NGC 869 and NGC 884 are a pair of beautiful star clusters just south of the Heart Nebula. At magnitude 4, they should be a snap to find.
February 15 begins the time to search for the old and young moon. A slender moon rises before sunrise on the 15th in the east southeast to southeast, below Mars. Jupiter has been hanging out in the morning sky also, shining at magnitude -2 in the constellation Ophiuchus. Observers in the southeastern US will get another chance on February 16 to spot the old moon before sunrise. New Moon occurs on February 17 at 11:14 am EST. The next evening, on November 18, Chinese New Year, the young moon shows itself after sunset between Venus and Mercury. By the next evening, November 19, the moon has climbed above Venus and makes a pretty pairing after sunset.
On February 23, the moon meets the gorgeous Pleiades star cluster, M45. M45 lies in the constellation Taurus, above its V-shaped head. The moon danced with the Beehive star cluster at the beginning of the month, moved to Pleiades late in the month, but returns to its first partner by February 28. On this date, the moon and the Beehive Cluster get even cozier than before, and the moon will be less full, giving the Beehive more of a chance to shine.
Don't miss next month when a total lunar eclipse occurs in early March!
Back to The Night Sky for January 2007
