SkyEye

Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events. All dates are based on Universal Time (UT).

The Sun and Moon

There is an annular solar eclipse on 16 February. The eclipse is visible from the Indian and Antarctic Oceans, not reaching landfall in Australia and Indonesia until the end of the even.

As seen from the Earth, the Sun is moving from the constellation Capricornus to the constellation Aquarius.

The phases of the Moon are

Last Quarter : 8 February
New : 16 February
First Quarter : 23 February

The Moon is at apogee on 8 February and at perigee on 20 February. Notice the lack of a Full Moon this month. This is because of last month's (and next month's!) Blue Moon.

The Moon occults one planet and two first-magnitude stars this month. At 1 UT on 2 February, observers in parts of the Atlantic Ocean and Africa can watch Regulus slide behind the limb of the Moon during the hours of darkness. The planet Mercury is the next victim of our satellite when the Moon occults it on 17 February during daylight hours in Australia and the south Pacific Ocean. Finally, bright Aldebaran will disappear behind the Moon's disk at 13 UT on 23 February. This event is visible during the daytime in the Middle East and during the night in east Asia.

The crescent Moon, Venus, and Jupiter should provide a wonderful spectacle at sunset around 16-18 February.

The Planets

The word planet is derived from the Greek word for "wanderer." Unlike the background stars, planets seem to move around the sky, keeping mostly to a narrow track called the ecliptic, the path of the Sun across the stars.
Mercury
Mercury is invisible for most of the month as it undergoes superior conjunction on 4 February. The best views of this elusive planet will be toward the end of the month in the northern hemisphere. On 17 February, Mercury will be occulted by the Moon in a daytime event seen from Australia and the south Pacific Ocean. The closest planet to the Sun appears just after sunset in the constellations Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces.
Venus
Venus is the "evening star" seen low in the western sky after sunset. It is climbing higher in the sky, quickly for northern hemisphere viewers but only slowly for the southern half of the planet. It can be found very close to Jupiter on 23 February. Look for Venus in the constellations Aquarius and Pisces.
Mars
The red planet rises just before midnight in the constellations Virgo and Libra.
Jupiter
On 23 February, Jupiter and Venus form a bright pair in the western sky just after sunset. This largest of planets is setting earlier every night in the constellation Pisces.
Saturn
The ringed planet can be observed in the constellation Pisces, retiring from view just as Mars appears in the east.
Uranus
Uranus reaches conjunction two days before Mercury. At best just on the edge of naked-eye visibility, it is too close to the Sun to be seen in the constellation Capricornus.
Neptune
Neptune is falling behind Uranus after their triple conjunction in 1993. Found near Uranus in the sky, Neptune is not visible this month.
Pluto
On 10 February, Pluto will regain its position as the outermost planet of the solar system. Discovered in 1930, Pluto passed over Neptune's orbit in 1979 on its way to perihelion in 1989. There is never any danger of Pluto and Neptune colliding, however; the orbit of Pluto is not in the same plane as that of Neptune. Small and faint, a large telescope is always needed to see it. This smallest of the planets is in the constellation Ophiuchus and rises in the early morning hours.

Minor Planets, Comets and Meteors

Minor Planets
The minor planet 4 Vesta reaches opposition on 4 February in the constellation of Cancer. At sixth magnitude, it is just visible to the naked eye on a very dark night.
Comets
There are no naked-eye comets visible this month.
Meteors
The Alpha Centaurids meteor shower peaks on 8 February. However, southern hemisphere observers are likely to be disappointed this year: the radiant rises in the early morning hours while the Last Quarter Moon is still above the horizon.

The Celestial Sphere

Constellations are patterns of stars in the sky. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognizes 88 different constellations. The brightest stars as seen from the Earth are easy to spot but do you know their proper names? With a set of binoculars you can look for fainter objects such as nebulae and galaxies or some of the closest stars to the Sun.

Descriptions of the sky for observers in both the northern and southern hemispheres are available for the following times this month. Subtract one hour from your local time if daylight savings time is in effect.

Northern Hemisphere : 45° N

Southern Hemisphere : 30° S

For More Information...

Blue moons, eclipses, the dates of Easter and much more can be found at the Interactive Astronomy Pages. For more information about the objects and events described in SkyEye, visit these astronomy-related sites.

Credits

Much of this information can be found in this month's issue of Sky & Telescope and in other fine amateur astronomy magazines available in your local bookshop. Another excellent source is the current edition of the Astronomical Calendar by Guy Ottewell and published by the Universal Workshop at Furman University.

The image of the Sun in the SkyEye banner is courtesy of the SOHO/EIT consortium. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.

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