Posted by on Jan 21, 2024 in Main |

David Bell doing a great job pointing out the Orion nebula to stargazing newbies, at Heaton Park Astronomy Group, Manchester (Image thanks to Pete Collins @Diamond Skies)

On February evenings, our sky is filed with more brilliant stars than we can see in any other month.

The first signs of spring are now on the way, well as far as the night sky in concerned. The winter star patterns, Orion, Taurus and Gemini, are drifting westward as a result of our annual orbit around the Sun. Leo and Bootes are rising higher in the east.

The Plough is now higher in the north east, with its handle pointing in the general direction of the horizon. If you follow the curve of the handle you will come to a bright orange star low in the sky. This is Arcturus in the constellation of Bootes. Arcturus is the brightest star in the spring sky.

The ‘W’ of Cassiopeia is high in the north west.

Orion still dominates the southern part of the sky. However, as Orion is a little to the west of south, now is the best time to see Sirius the Dog Star. This is the brightest star in the sky. Using the three stars that form Orion’s belt to form a line, continue down that line and you will reach Sirius.

The stars are a very long way away. Sirius, although the brightest, is in fact very close to us, at around 8.5 light years away.

The other winter stars, Aldebaran and the Seven Sisters in Taurus are now starting to get lower in the west, while Castor and Pollux together with Procyon are now at their highest points. Capella is still high, being just past the overhead position. However, while Capella is very high, Vega, which occupied the overhead point in summer, is now at its lowest, close to the northern horizon.

The Planets:-

MERCURY
The innermost planet will be lost in the Sun’s glare this month.

VENUS
At the beginning of the month you can find the morning star very low down in the south east in the constellation of Sagittarius before dawn breaks. With a magnitude of –3.9 brilliant Venus rises around 6am, but by the end of February it will be overwhelmed by the glow of dawn. On the morning of the 7th of this month the crescent moon will be close by just to the right of Venus.

MARS
Like Mercury the red planet is too close to the Sun for observation this month.

JUPITER
Brighter than any of the stars at magnitude – 2.5, Jupiter can be found in the constellation of Aries. It sets around midnight. The almost half moon with be close by on 14th and 15th of the month.

SATURN
Located in the constellation of Aquarius, the ring world starts February low in the west after sunset. At magnitude +1.0 Saturn will be falling below the horizon by 7pm. As the days lengthen and Saturn moves, by the middle of this month it will have disappeared into the twilight glow.

URANUS
This distant world is just on the edge of naked eye visibility at magnitude +5.9. It is usually difficult to identify among the background stars. This month Uranus lies at the left side of the constellation of Aries. It sets bellow the horizon around 1am.

NEPTUNE
The outermost planet can be found in the constellation of Pisces this month, at a dim magnitude of +7.8. On the opening days of the month Neptune will be falling below the horizon about 8pm. And by the months end it will have disappeared from view.

PLUTO
This distant planet is located in the constellation of Capricornus. At magnitude +14.5 it will be low in the southern dawn sky from 6.40am

CERES
The largest body in the asteroid belt can be located in the constellation of
Sagittarius. At magnitude +9.1, it rises above the horizon just after 4.40am.

Highlights of the month:-

1) 16th February – Between 7pm and 10pm, the first quarter Moon passes just below the centre of the Pleiades star cluster, occulting some of its fainter outlying stars.

2) February is the month most favoured for the appearance of the rare type of cloud known as nacreous or ‘mother-of-pearl’. Although not strictly an astronomical phenomenon, it can provide a spectacularly beautiful sight for sky-watchers.

Cold polar air is forced into layers of the atmosphere between 8km and 12km high giving rise to colourful and impressive clouds that are seen at their most vivid around the time of sunset. Observers should be alert on all clear days, and keep the sky under regular scrutiny.

Phases of the Moon this month are:-

Last quarter 2nd February

New Moon 9th February

First quarter 16th February

Full Moon 24th February