February Night Skies

A brief overview of what to see in the night sky with the unaided eye during February evenings:

Stars and Constellations

Some prominent constellations visible in the evening sky are Leo and Ursa Major (containing the Big Dipper star group)

● Leo, rising higher in the southeastern sky, is dominated by the bright star Regulus

● The Big Dipper and Ursa Major are rising high in the northeastern sky

● Two bright stars in Leo are Regulus, at the western end (and at the base of the backward “question mark”), and Denebola, at the eastern end of Leo

● South of Regulus is the red star Alphard, in the less prominent constellation Hydra

Planets

●   Mercury becomes visible low in the western evening sky during mid and late February and reaches greatest eastern elongation from the sun February 19

●   Venus becomes visible low in the western sky following sunset around mid-February

●   Mars is not practically visible and remains close to the sun’s position

●   Jupiter shines brightly in the southeastern sky during early evening during early February and high in the southern sky later in the month in the Gemini constellation

●   Saturn is briefly visible low in the west-southwestern sky after sunset in the Pisces constellation

Moon Phases

●   Full Moon February 1, 17:09 EST

●   Last Quarter Moon February 9, 07:43 EST

●   New Moon February 17, 07:01 EST

●   First Quarter Moon February 24, 07:27 EST

Sky Resources Online

Some web resources for sky charts, weekly sky events, and more info:

●    astrogeo.ca/skylights

●    www.heavens-above.com

●    In-the-sky.org

●    www.skyandtelescope.org

●    www.skymaps.com

Noteworthy Sky Events

●   Feb. 2: full moon occults the bright star Regulus in the Leo constellation

●   Feb. 18: Venus, Mercury and very thin crescent moon close together low in the western sky after sunset

Monthly Sky Chart for mid-February, mid-evening (courtesy of www.heavens-above.com):

 

January Skies

A brief overview of what to see in the sky with the unaided eye during January evenings:

Stars and Constellations
●    The constellations of Gemini, Orion and Canis Major are prominent in the southern and southeastern sky and are convenient to view during January evenings
●    Gemini and its twin bright stars Castor and Pollux are climbing in the eastern sky after dusk (or nearly overhead later in the evening)
●    Orion is in the southeastern sky, south of Gemini, and is a distinct constellation with many bright stars, particularly red-orange coloured Betelgeuse and blue-coloured Rigel
●    Orion’s 3 “belt stars” are very distinctive and help to recognize the constellation
●    Canis Major is south and east of Orion with the bright white-coloured star Sirius
●    The winter Milky Way flows between Gemini and Orion and southward to the east of Canis Major

Planets
●    Mercury, Venus and Mars are not practically visible, being close to the sun’s position in the sky. Venus reaches superior conjunction January 6, Mars passes conjunction with the sun January 9, and Mercury reaches superior conjunction January 21.
●    Jupiter shines brightly in the eastern sky during January evenings in the Gemini constellation and reaches opposition January 10
●    Saturn is visible low in the southwestern sky after sunset during January in the Pisces constellation

Moon Phases
●    Full Moon January 3, 05:03 EST
●    Last Quarter Moon January 10, 10:48 EST
●    New Moon January 18, 14:52 EST
●    First Quarter Moon January 25, 23:47 EST

Noteworthy Sky Events
●    January 3: Earth at perihelion (closest point to the sun). Full moon close to Jupiter during early evening
●    January 22-23: crescent moon close to Saturn low in the western sky during evening

Sky Resources Online
Some website resources for sky charts, weekly sky events, and more information:
●    astrogeo.ca/skylights
●    www.heavens-above.com
●    In-the-sky.org
●    www.skyandtelescope.org
●    www.skymaps.com
●    www.skyandtelescope.com

Monthly Sky Chart for mid-January, mid-evening (courtesy of www.heavens-above.com):