Sky This Month: February 2024

Jupiter is the spotlight of night statement for anybody with a telescope. Its moons dance across the planet and intriguing transits and occultations happen. In the meantime, Saturn may be very low in twilight — you’ll be able to catch it early within the month. The binocular giants, Uranus and Neptune, are seen all night. The morning sky carries a brilliant Venus and the return of Mars; the 2 bear a detailed conjunction later in February. And spy Mercury early within the month earlier than it goes behind the Solar.

Catch Saturn 45 minutes after sundown on Feb. 1, when it stands 12° excessive within the west. The planet is misplaced in twilight after the second week of the month. Your final view could also be Feb. 10, when a 1.1-day-old Moon stands simply over 2° south of Saturn. The pair is 6° excessive half-hour after sundown and drops beneath the horizon about half an hour later. Saturn shines at magnitude 0.9 and may be noticed simply with binoculars.

Saturn reaches superior conjunction Feb. 28 and can reappear within the morning sky in late March.

Neptune units round 8:30 p.m. native time within the first week of February, so it’s greatest considered earlier than 7:30 p.m., when it drops beneath 10° altitude. It’s situated in Pisces the Fish, simply south of the Circlet asterism. Neptune shines at magnitude 7.8.

A line of three Fifth- to Sixth-magnitude stars spans almost 3°, operating southeast to northwest due east of Neptune’s location and a few 5° south-southeast of magnitude 4.5 Lambda (λ) Piscium. Binoculars will simply discover the trio, with Neptune standing 40′ west of the northwesternmost star, 20 Psc. There’s a Seventh-magnitude star simply barely brighter than the planet in the identical discipline of view, southwest of Neptune. The hole between Neptune and 20 Psc narrows to fifteen′ by Feb. 15 as the large planet strikes east.

That easterly trek continues however Neptune is setting earlier every evening, changing into tougher to comply with at low altitude. Neptune passes 8′ due north of 20 Psc on the twenty third, however the two are solely 8° excessive within the western sky an hour after sundown, and set by 7:30 p.m. native time.

Jupiter is a shocking object excessive within the southern sky as February opens. It’s situated in Aries the Ram and shines at magnitude –2.3 on Feb. 1, dimming to magnitude –2.2 by the twenty ninth. Start your observing as twilight falls — the decrease distinction of the jovian disk is a sight to behold. You’ll simply catch the 4 brilliant Galilean moons in any telescope, and even via binoculars.

Because the evening proceeds, Jupiter’s altitude drops. On Feb. 1 it stands 60° excessive at 7 p.m. native time; three hours later it’s half that. Jupiter units by 12:30 a.m. native time on Feb. 1 and almost two hours earlier by the twenty ninth. The obvious diameter of planet’s disk shrinks from 39″ to 36″ throughout the identical interval. That disk affords distinguished climate programs that change hourly, together with the darkish North and South equatorial belts that straddle the equator. Be looking out for the Nice Crimson Spot, which is carried across the planet as soon as each 10 hours and makes an look each different day or so.

The Galilean moons — Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto — bear transits and occultations. What follows isn’t an exhaustive checklist however focuses on some highlights.

The mixture of 1 moon’s disappearance with one other’s reappearance happens Feb. 5. Look earlier than 10 p.m. EST and also you’ll see Europa approaching the western limb. However watch the japanese limb on the identical latitude and at about 10:05 p.m. EST, Io reappears from behind Jupiter — although the small moon is touring via the planet’s lengthy shadow. Inside 4 minutes, Europa disappears behind Jupiter’s disk. Io lastly emerges into the daylight simply after 11:20 p.m. EST. Through the occasion, Callisto stands southwest of Jupiter and Ganymede lies far to the west.

Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon, reappears from behind the planet’s northeastern limb quickly after 10:40 p.m. CST on Feb. 7. (Word the planet may be very low within the Japanese time zone and troublesome to look at.) It takes a couple of minutes to completely emerge. When do you first discover it?

Feb. 13 finds Io and its shadow tracing a path throughout the face of Jupiter. Io’s trek is greatest seen from the japanese half of the U.S. this time, because the moon exits the disk round 9:19 p.m. EST, simply as full darkness arrives within the Mountain time zone. The shadow exits shortly earlier than 9:40 p.m. CST, once more because the planet may be very low for East Coast observers.

Europa follows swimsuit the following night, Feb. 14, when the moon ends its transit round 9:43 p.m. EST. Inside quarter-hour, its shadow seems on the alternative (japanese) limb and leaves round 11:11 p.m. CST.

Ganymede’s shadow is all the time a deal with to look at because it’s the most important shadow and, as a result of tilt of the moon’s orbit relative to our line of sight, it crosses the intense southern portion of Jupiter, displaying a really elongated form. Such a shadow transit begins round 9:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 18. The shadow begins its lengthy exit shortly after 10 p.m. CST. Observers can view Ganymede itself making a transit throughout the south polar area on Feb. 25 between about 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. EST.

Uranus, additionally in Aries, begins the month 12° farther east alongside the ecliptic than Jupiter. The gap between the planets shrinks to eight° by the top of the month. Uranus dims to magnitude 5.8 and is greatest seen via binoculars or a telescope. It’s situated some 12° southwest of the Pleiades (M45), a brief hop with binoculars. On the final day of February, you’ll discover the dim bluish planet 37′ due south of 53 Arietis. The planet spends the entire month on this Sixth-magnitude star’s neighborhood, a area some 2° south and barely west of Botein, the 4th-magnitude star also referred to as Delta (δ) Arietis.

You’ll discover Uranus 3° south of an almost First Quarter Moon Feb. 15. The planet stands nearly 20 astronomical models (1.86 billion miles; 1 astronomical unit, or AU, is the common Earth-Solar distance) from Earth by the top of the month. By means of a telescope, it reveals off a tiny 4″-wide disk.

Early on Feb. 1, Mercury, Mars, and Venus are unfold out over 13° alongside the ecliptic in morning twilight. Mercury and Mars stand 3.5° aside. 

Mercury shines at magnitude –0.3 and stands solely 3° excessive within the southeast half-hour earlier than dawn. Mars is tougher at magnitude 1.3, however rises 10 minutes earlier than Mercury. With a really clear japanese horizon and a few luck, you would possibly spot the Crimson Planet 10° to the decrease left of Venus 45 minutes earlier than dawn.

Mercury is misplaced within the first few days of February because it heads for solar conjunction. Because the month progresses, Venus drops in altitude whereas Mars beneficial properties it. They meet on Feb. 22, with Mars 36′ due south of Venus. The latter is a straightforward goal at magnitude –3.9. The pair stands 3° excessive within the southeast 45 minutes earlier than dawn (about 6 a.m. native time for U.S. observers). If you happen to can swing a telescope this low, you’ll discover Venus spanning 11″ and revealing a 90-percent-lit disk, whereas Mars is about one-third that obvious measurement at 4″ huge, with near a completely illuminated disk. 

By the top of February, the planets stand greater than 3° aside, with Venus getting decrease and heading for solar conjunction, whereas Mars is on a protracted and sluggish improve in altitude. It can nonetheless be a couple of months earlier than it turns into a straightforward object.

Rising Moon: Out of spherical

Standing out within the deep southwest of a waxing gibbous Moon lies the putting shoeprint type of Schiller. Solely half of it’s seen on the nineteenth, a couple of days earlier than Full, sporting rim shadows reaching toothily into the darkness.

Lit up on Feb. twentieth, Schiller’s principally flat ground and overly elliptical form catch the attention. After all, all round craters near the Moon’s limb seem oval via foreshortening, however Schiller appears squashed twice as a lot as every other within the space. The next evening, the shadows in Schiller are a lot shorter. 

Earlier lunar observers had been left scratching their heads attempting to elucidate its kind. Analysis into high-velocity impacts a couple of a long time in the past confirmed {that a} single projectile at a grazing angle may produce uncommon craters, together with ones like Schiller. Effectively after the preliminary impression, lava welled up via fractures within the crust to make a easy ground. Messier A within the Moon’s southeast is the poster youngster for low-angle impacts. 

To the northeast, you’ll be able to’t miss the advanced elliptical crater Hainzel. Look intently and you may determine that this function was created over time by separate impacts. On the northwest facet is a roughly round kind with a traditional central peak. The southeast area appears to have come later as a result of the ground of the overlapping space
is a greater match for texture and albedo. The southern part was first not solely as a result of the opposite two overlay it, but additionally as a result of its rim is softer, a results of put on and tear from long-term bombardment. 

Once you’re completed, take a detailed take a look at the staggeringly brilliant Aristarchus within the northern third of the Moon. When Earth’s environment may be very turbulent or the Moon may be very low to the horizon, refraction results can generally give the looks of outgassing and coloured vapors. 

Meteor Watch: View the false nightfall

Meteors are uncommon in February, with no main showers. The background fee of half a dozen or so meteors per hour is greatest seen within the night sky for the primary half of the month, when the Moon is out of the best way. Earth’s orbital path crosses many historical streams which have lengthy since dispersed to create this sporadic background.

The aircraft of the ecliptic can be suffering from positive meteoritic particles and in early February, the mixed glow of this materials reflecting daylight may be seen as a faint cone of sunshine above the western horizon as soon as night twilight has all however disappeared. 

That is the zodiacal gentle and it’s seen solely from areas removed from metropolis glow. Attending to a excessive altitude helps as properly, as this reduces the scattered gentle from our personal environment. Shimmering nearly as brilliant because the Milky Way when considered from very darkish areas, the zodiacal gentle passes via the constellations Aquarius, Pisces, and Aries. See in case your location is darkish sufficient to identify it extending to close the Pleiades in Taurus.

Comet Search: All evening lengthy!

The cornucopia opens at dusk with Eighth-magnitude 12P/Pons-Brooks. Convey an in depth finder chart to a darkish website for this hardly ever visited zone north of Pegasus. Visually you gained’t see the inexperienced glow that imagers are posting, however you’ll be able to detect colour within the Blue Snowball (NGC 7662) simply to the north late within the month. Even when Pons-Brooks doesn’t repeat its earlier outbursts, subsequent month it brightens previous Sixth magnitude.

Comet 144P/Kushida would possibly simply be seen in an 8-inch scope when it passes via the Hyades throughout February’s first week, then hides in Aldebaran’s ruddy glare on the ninth. All different comets famous right here must be simple in a 4-inch from properly outdoors the town. 

Outshining the galaxies of the Virgo Cluster, Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan flaunts its Eighth-magnitude glow within the hole between M87 and smaller M49 simply 2° farther south. Hugging Fifth-magnitude Rho (ρ) Virginis, by midnight Tsuchinshan is greater than 15° excessive within the east. 

Brighter (solely this month) at Seventh magnitude, C/2021 S3 (PanSTARRS) bookends the evening earlier than daybreak breaks, climbing away from Antares low within the southeast. Higher views are from the Gulf States, with peak geometry south of the equator. On the morning of the eleventh, you’ll be able to readily evaluate PanSTARRS to the globular star clusters simply to its northeast. Is it brighter than M9? Two days later they share the identical discipline, an excellent picture op with contrasting inexperienced and white snowballs.

Finding Asteroids: 5-minute binocular watch

Even if you happen to don’t have time — or it’s too chilly — for a “correct” observing session, you’ll be able to nonetheless snag an asteroid within the time it takes to play a typical track.

Binoculars or a grab-n-go mini-scope will readily attain Eighth magnitude from most suburbs. Important-belt asteroid 4 Vesta fades via magnitude 7.5 this month, sitting one binocular discipline of view north of Zeta (ζ) Tauri, the star on the east finish of the Bull’s southern horn. In a darkish sky, you’ll move by M1, the Crab Nebula. Due to all of the dust on this a part of the Milky Way, there may be nothing to confuse you on this sparse backdrop. Keep away from the sixteenth via the nineteenth, when the Moon is close by, casting its glare throughout. 

Usually you’ll be able to spot an asteroid shift towards the background over the course of no less than one night every month, however not this time. Vesta is ending its westward journey and backtracking to the east very slowly. This obvious retrograde loop is attributable to the sooner Earth overtaking Vesta on the within observe of our not-quite-circular orbits across the Solar. You would possibly want 4 nights to note a displacement. 

Vesta spans some 300 miles, the second-largest object in the primary belt. The Daybreak spacecraft studied it intently again in 2011.