I’ll admit it, stargazing is difficult in winter. Especially in February. Even the hardiest hesitate. Yet, a crystal clear, cloudless night, dark as motor oil, still beckons you. Resolve rises inside of you to “do it” and then you bundle up. Just a quick step outside and a fast glancing about for a few moments, you say to yourself to build the final push of motivation. So you do, and you do it. Outside looking up, you are immediately rewarded.
Underneath the winter celestial dome, the night and the sky feel much larger, more expansive. You may be momentarily mesmerized, outside in the depth of the cold. This month the King of the Sky, Jupiter continues to reign supreme high in the sky. Bold, resolute, undaunted, unquestioned, and unmoved, until now. But now, Jupiter ends its retrograde motion and once again moves across the night sky with all the other planets. It is a reason to celebrate, so strike up the band and let’s have a parade. Thus it is so, the parade of planets continues through February. On the 28th, it is possible to see seven planets in the sky at once. It’s February, so love is in the air. Even the stars and planets find it hard to resist the allure and beauty of the planet and goddess Venus glistening brilliantly in the western sky at dusk. It is fitting then we begin this month’s stargazing highlight with the planet Venus.
Love Is In the Air, Venus In all Its Glory: February 2nd – 16th
In the month when Valentine’s Day garners so much attention, one can say that love is in the air. Also in the air is the second planet in our solar system, Venus. The Roman goddess of love, beauty, prosperity, desire, and victory glows overwhelmingly in the air at night. How appropriate is the moment, here is a chance to be with the one you love, while the goddess of love beams brightly and intimately down upon you. Indeed, step outside, look up, and feel the love.
On the evening of the 2nd, Venus reached its highest altitude in the western sky. At sunset that day, Venus was at a peak altitude of 39 degrees above the horizon shining at a -4.4 visual magnitude. After this date, Venus stalls, and then slowly drifts back down towards the horizon. This goddess that Julius Caesar claimed to be his ancestor, has announced nightfall in the southwest–west skies for some time now and will be with us for a bit longer. Near the end of March it drops below the western horizon.
As it climbed the sky, Venus’ radiance grew steadily. A little more each evening since she’s come into our view. On the 16th Venus achieves its maximum brightness of -4.6 having increased its brightness by .2 increase in fourteen days. That’s a lot. For comparison, at this visual magnitude, Venus is the third brightest object in the night sky; after the Sun, then the Moon. You can’t miss it, and you shouldn’t. Why? Because, as the planet Venus dims and drops, she exits in full splendor and glory.
The Moon Hides the Seven Sisters from Orion the Hunter: February 5th/6th
In Greek mythology, Orion the Hunter has a thing for the daughters of Atlas and Pleione, the heavenly seven sisters. It was equally known the sisters didn’t have a thing for Orion. (I think the sisters were turned off by Orion’s proclamation of possessing the ability to kill any of Earth’s creatures.) Undeterred Orion’s pursuit continued. It was when Zeus transformed the sisters into doves, and then placed them in the stars with Taurus the Bull in-between them that the sisters would be forever safe from Orion.
This is why when you look up, you’ll see the constellation of Taurus the Bull between the constellation of Orion the Hunter, and the star cluster Pleiades, the seven sisters. Yet, the chase continues today. It is fortuitous then that during the late night darkness of the 5th and into the early morning hours of the 6th, the Moon’s size hides the sisters giving them a bit of a reprieve.
Astronomers call this hiding (the Moon blocking our view of the Pleiades) an occultation. Specifically, when one celestial body interrupts the light from another celestial body.
The Pleiades is a large and prominent open star cluster. You can see it with your unaided naked-eye. It is bluish in color, a bit wider than the width of the Moon, and some say it looks like a mini Big Dipper. On the 5th after 11pm, look to the southwest and find the Moon, one day past its First Quarter. Above the Moon to the northeast you’ll find the Pleiades open star cluster just about to slide behind la Luna. Over the next four hours the Moon will obscure the cluster and reemerge in the early morning hours of February 6th. What makes this occultation special is the Moon’s light won’t be overwhelming which will allow you to see the blue stars pass behind the Moon and reemerge. Since there are many visible stars in the Pleiades, you can see many stars playing hide and seek. Lastly and appropriately, since there are seven, seven sisters, there is a moment when the Moon is surrounded by all of them. A rare gorgeous sight reserved for those few hearty souls stout enough to be outside at that wee hour. Do you have it in you?
The Parade of Planets Continues: February 26th – 28th
The parade of planets began late last year, and appropriately garnered much attention. Then Jupiter’s retrograde motion held the planet high, central, and dominant. In the west, the radiance of the planet Venus shone steady. Between Venus and the southwest horizon sat Saturn, with Uranus and Neptune visible to those with optics. Way over on the opposite side of the night sky, the planet Mars slowly rose in the east. Then, the planets were spread far and wide across the ecliptic, which is the projected path of the Sun across the sky. What’s different between then and now? It is that six of the seven planets are closer together residing west of the meridian. Even better, our innermost planet Mercury, that swift message of the god absent from the January parade, now marches with the rest.
When you look up and wave at this parade between the 26th and the 28th, use your star-hopping skill to find your way. It is critical that you have an unobstructed view of the horizon, a viewpoint with an open vista to the west including the point where the Sun has set. The image above shows the location of the planets (blue dot and label) at 5:45pm on the 28th.
To experience all seven of the planets you’ll need binoculars and to be on your toes. First locate the thin one-day old crescent Moon close to the western the horizon directly after sunset. Now, draw a diagonal line from that point where the Sun just set up to the crescent Moon. From the Moon, one quarter the distance between the Moon and the horizon on this diagonal is Saturn. Small with a greenish tinge, the planet is visible despite the haze of sunlight from the freshly set Sun. Now, extend the diagonal line through the Moon going up to the next extremely bright object on that line, the planet Venus. Let’s find Mercury. To find our innermost planet look along the diagonal line you just drew beginning at the Moon. Move one quarter the distance between the Moon and Venus. At that point you’ll see Mercury as a white bright small dot of light that doesn’t twinkle. You won’t see many stars upon sunset so finding Mercury is relatively simple. You’ll have about one hour to view Mercury before it falls below the horizon. You’ll need optics (binoculars or a telescope) to see the planets Neptune and Uranus that night. To find Neptune, from Mercury, look directly to the left (south) one pinky finger width. Neptune will be a faint aqua marina, blueish color. Again, it will not twinkle compared to the surrounding stars. Back to our diagonal line. Now extend it up from Venus to the brightest unmistakable object almost directly overhead. There is Jupiter. Now to Mars. Continue our diagonal and arc across the zenith to the eastern meridian and find a distinctly red object in the night sky. Without question, the planet Mars is crisply red in color and easy to identify. Our last planet of the seven is Uranus, and it’s a bit more difficult to find. Go back to Jupiter and draw a new diagonal line down to Venus. One third of the way down the diagonal from Jupiter to Venus lies the planet Uranus. It is small, yet identifiable. Look for a tiny pin point of green hued light. You’ll know when you see it since its color is in sharp contrast to the surrounding stars. Whew, now that’s what I call a big parade.
A Snowy Micro Full Moon: February 12th
The Old Farmer’s Almanac states the Full Moon for February occurs on this day at 6:53am local time and won’t be visible to us at its peak illumination due to it happening during daylight hours. At that time, the Moon is in opposition to the Sun. This means that on this night when the Sun sets in the west, the Moon rises in the east close to the same time and is visible the entire night. This Full Moon is called the Snowy Moon in that it arrives during the month that traditionally experiences the heaviest snowfalls in North America. Other common names for the February Full Moon are the Hungry Moon or the Bony Moon. Both reference food sources being difficult to find at this point in the winter season. The lesson that this Full Snowy Moon teaches us is that despite scarcity and harshness, we must keep our inner hearths blazing and strong.
A False Dusk. Zodiacal Lights: The Entire Month of February
Did your eyes narrow as you read the word “zodiacal?” What the heck? You are smart enough to know that the zodiacs are used in astrology, and that’s enormously different from astronomy. For the zodiacal light phenomena, let’s say the two are agreeable for the moment. And don’t forget, the first astronomers in ancient times were astrologers. Even more, always remember that astronomy was the first science.
To begin, what is the zodiac? In astronomy it is a metaphorical belt in the night sky around the Earth where the middle of the belt’s width is the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the general path of the sun projected on the night sky. It is within this belt that spans 8 degrees above and below the ecliptic, where the twelve zodiac constellations and symbols of Astrology. Zodiacal light is sunlight which is backscatters resulting from interplanetary dust. From the beginning of February through the remainder of the month, look to the eastern horizon about an hour before sunrise to see the zodiacal light. Get to a dark location outside city lights and gain some elevation if possible. The more elevation, the better. Now, look at the eastern horizon for a cone of light. A glowing shape where the base of the cone rests on the horizon and the tip points up along the ecliptic. The cone’s light glow is faint yet noticeable. The glowing cone is visible for about one hour after first sighting, and slowly recedes as dawn progresses. I suggest you slowly sweep your vision broadly along the eastern horizon, left then right. The zodiacal light is visible in the morning sky for a few weeks so make sure you get up early one clear morning to see the light.
Night time in February is different. It’s darker, almost three dimensional. The shining luminous pin pricks of jeweled light are closer. You are amazed. Your mind and soul wander. Suddenly, the cold slaps you. The dream ends. The primal drive to find warmth shouts over the subtlety of the moment.
That’s stargazing in February. It takes motivation and commitment to break from warm confines to then step out into the night’s bone chilling cold. Here’s an Astro Mark pro tip: Make many short excursions outside to look up at different predetermined objects. Maximize each trip out under our winter celestial canopy by admiring these celestial events. It will be worth it.
Clear skies and Happy Valentine’s Day to you!
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