SkyEye

Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events.

February 2008

All times and dates are given in Universal Time (UT).
Nightly darkness estimates are calculated for 45° N and 30° S.
Like total solar eclipses, lunar occultation events can be seen only from limited regions on Earth (and sometimes not at all if the occultation takes place during daylight hours). However, the Moon will appear close in the sky to its "target" for some hours either side of the actual occultation, regardless of where you are.

Date		Event
1	Fri	Moon occults first-magnitude star Antares: visible from most of Australia from about 16:00 UT.
2	Sat	A cross-quarter day occurs midway between solstices and equinoxes.
3	Sun
4	Mon
5	Tue
6	Wed	Mercury at inferior conjunction
7	Thu	New Moon
7	Thu	Annular eclipse
8	Fri	This is an excellent year for denizens of the southern hemisphere to try their luck in observing the Alpha Centaurid meteor shower.
9	Sat
10	Sun
11	Mon	Neptune at conjunction
12	Tue
13	Wed
14	Thu	Moon at perigee
14	Thu	First Quarter Moon
15	Fri
16	Sat
17	Sun
18	Mon
19	Tue
20	Wed
21	Thu	Full Moon
21	Thu	Total lunar eclipse
22	Fri
23	Sat
24	Sun	Saturn at opposition
25	Mon
26	Tue
27	Wed
28	Thu	Moon at apogee
29	Fri	Last Quarter Moon

The Solar System

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. Dwarf planets and small solar-system bodies including comets, are not so constrained, often moving far above or below the ecliptic.

Sun: Capricornus -> Aquarius
The path of annularity of this month's solar eclipse is visible only from the Antarctic but partial phases may be seen from New Zealand and the southeast corner of Australia.
Mercury: Capricornus -> Aquarius -> Capricornus
At inferior conjunction on 6 February, Mercury appears in the morning sky mid-month, rising towards its inner solar system neighbour Venus. And like Venus, this elusive planet is best viewed from the southern hemisphere this month.
Venus: Sagittarius -> Capricornus
The "morning star" continues its slow descent towards the horizon but it is still well-placed for viewing from southern locations. This bright planet is very near Jupiter (two magnitudes dimmer) at the beginning of the month and near Mercury (four magnitudes dimmer) at the end of the month.
Mars: Taurus
The red planet may be found shining at zero magnitude between the "horns of the bull" until it sets shortly before sunrise.
17P/Holmes: Perseus
Normally invisible to the naked eye, 17P/Holmes unexpectedly became many magnitudes brighter on 24 October, reaching third magnitude. Discovered by London observer Edwin Holmes on 6 November 1892, the comet has a period of approximately 7 years and spends its time between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, last reaching perihelion in May 2007. To find the comet, look for an increasingly faint fuzzy "extra star" moving from omega Persei towards epsilon Persei.
Jupiter: Sagittarius
The highest "morning star" is Jupiter, now rising ahead of Venus in the eastern skies before sunrise.
Saturn: Leo
Zeroeth magnitude Saturn is at opposition on 24 February. Look for the ringed planet at any time after dark; it is up all night.
Uranus: Aquarius
This distant gas giant is approaching conjunction next month and is probably lost in the solar glare.
Neptune: Capricornus
A small telescope is usually necessary to view the most distant planet in the solar system but observations are impossible this month because Neptune is at conjunction on 11 February.

The Celestial Sphere

Constellations are patterns of stars in the sky. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognises 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 summer (daylight savings) time is in effect.

Local Time	Northern Hemisphere	Southern Hemisphere
1730 hours (1830 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S
1930 hours (2030 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S
2130 hours (2230 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S
2330 hours (0030 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S
0130 hours (0230 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S
0330 hours (0430 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S
0530 hours (0630 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S

For More Information...

Consult our online glossary for non-technical explanations of many of the astronomical terms used in these pages.
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 your favourite amateur astronomy magazine 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 variable star V838 Monocerotis in the SkyEye banner is courtesy of NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA). Located 20,000 light years away in the constellation of Monoceros, V838 Mon temporarily brightened in early 2002. The reason for this outburst is not understood. The resulting light echo, the light from the stellar explosion illuminating the dust surrounding the the star, was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in October of that year.