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The Night Sky

Brian Carter *
Carter Observatory
The National Observatory Of New Zealand

THE FEBRUARY NIGHT SKY

The nights are noticeable getting longer for looking at the planets and stars.

Planets

February is a fairly good month for viewing the planets. Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars will be visible for all of the month. Only Mercury will be invisible during the month.

Venus will be visible in the evening twilight. At the start of the month it sets at 21 49 and at 21 16 by month’s end. Venus starts the month in the constellation of Aquarius, moving into Pisces on February 18 and finally into Cetus on February 28. Its magnitude increases slightly from –3.9 to –4.0 during February.

Saturn will be visible for the whole of the night except for the very end towards the end of the month. By February 12 it sets as the Sun rises and at 05 30 by month’s end. Saturn is in the constellation of Leo, in which it remains until September 2009. Its magnitude is a constant 0.0, which is its brightest for 2007.

Jupiter will be visible for the last half of the night in February. At the start of the month it rises at 02 04 and at 00 33 by month’s end. Jupiter is in the constellation of Ophiuchus, in which it remains until 2007 December. Its magnitude slightly increases from –1.9 to –2.0 during the month.

Mars will be visible for the last quarter of the night. At the start of the month it rises at 03 53 and at 03 46 by month’s end. Mars starts the month in the constellation of Sagittarius, moving into Capricornus on February 26. Its magnitude slightly increases from 1.4 to 1.3 during the month.

Mercury is visually too close to the Sun to be seen in February. It will reappear in the morning sky in March. Mercury starts the month in the constellation of Capricornus, moving into Aquarius on February 2.

All times are for Wellington unless otherwise stated. Other centres may vary by a few minutes.

Phases of the Moon

Full Moon – February 2 at 18 45.
Last Quarter – February 10 at 22 51.
New Moon – February 18 at 05 14.
First Quarter – February 24 at 20 56.

Comets

Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) brightened and was visible from about the middle of January. It may still be visible into February. Information and finding charts can be found at:
http://newsletter.carterobservatory.org/2007/Comet/

Diary of Astronomical Phenomena

Feb 2 Full Moon at 18 45.
4 Regulus 1°S of Moon at 03 00.
8 Moon at apogee (furthest from the Earth) at 02:00 (Distance = 0.0027072 AU = 404,990 km).
8 Mercury at greatest Easterly elongation from the Sun (18) at 06 00.
11 Saturn at opposition (on the opposite side of the Earth to the Sun) at 08 00.
14 Mercury stationary against the background stars at 03 00, as its motion changes from a Westerly to an Easterly direction.
18 New Moon at 05 14.
19 Moon at perigee (closest to the Earth) at 23:00. (Distance = 0.0024160 AU = 361,430 km).
23 Mercury in inferior conjunction (between the Earth and Sun) at 18 00.

FEBRUARY SKY CHART

This chart shows the sky as it appears at about 22:00 for ~February 15.

Click to enlarge

How To Use the Sky Charts
To use the sky chart hold it up to the sky so that the direction in which you are looking is at the lower edge of the map. For example, if you are looking at the western horizon then the map should be held so that the “WEST” label is at the lower edge. The altitude and direction of the stars and planets will then be correctly shown. The centre of the chart will be directly overhead.

If you would like to receive Carter Observatory’s full e-Newsletter, please email to Astronomy[at]carterobservatory.org to be included on the list.

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* Brian Carter is the Senior Astronomer at Carter Observatory (The National Observatory of New Zealand), PO Box 2909, Wellington. (Observatory Web Site: www.CarterObservatory.org)

ENDS

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