February Calendar by Dave Mitsky

All times, unless otherwise noted, are UT (subtract five hours and, when appropriate, one calendar day for EST)

2/1 Venus (magnitude –3.9) is 0.6 degree north of Jupiter (magnitude –1.9) at 12:00; a maximum lunar libration of 6.9 degrees occurs at 15:00; the Moon is 0.6 degree south of the first magnitude star Antares (Alpha Scorpii) - an occultation is visible from Australia, New Zealand, part of Antarctica, and the southern portion of South America - at 18:00
2/2 Today is Candlemas or Groundhog Day, a cross-quarter day
2/4 Jupiter is 4.0 degrees north of the Moon at 6:00; Venus is 4.0 degrees north of the Moon at 12:00
2/6 Mercury is at greatest heliocentric latitude north today; Mercury is in inferior conjunction with the Sun at 18:00
2/7 Asteroid 6 Hebe (magnitude 8.8) is at opposition at 0:00; an annular solar eclipse that is visible from southern portions of Antarctica (a partial solar eclipse is visible from New Zealand, the southeastern portion of Australia, and Tasmania) begins at 1:38 and ends at 6:11; New Moon (lunation 1053) occurs at 3:44
2/8 A minimum lunar libration of 4.8 degrees occurs at 16:00
2/9 Uranus is 3 degrees south of the Moon at 10:00
2/11 Neptune is in conjunction with the Sun at 2:00
2/14 The Moon is at perigee, subtending 32'17" from a distance of 370,219 kilometers, at 00:56; First Quarter Moon occurs at 3:33; a maximum lunar libration of 6.8 degrees occurs at 11:00; the Moon is 1.2 degree north of the bright open cluster M45 (the Pleiades) in Taurus at 13:00
2/15 Venus is at the descending node today
2/16 Mars is 1.6 degrees south of the Moon at 8:00
2/18 Mercury is stationary at 16:00
2/19 The Moon is 0.3 degrees north of the bright open cluster M44 (the Beehive) in Cancer at 8:00
2/20 Asteroid 4 Vesta is in conjunction with the Sun at 15:00; a minimum lunar libration of 4.8 degrees occurs at 11:00
2/21 The Moon is 1.1 degrees north of the first magnitude star Regulus (Alpha Leonis) - an occultation is visible from most of South America and a portion of Antarctica - at 0:00; a total lunar eclipse that is visible from most of North America, as well as South America, western Europe, Africa, and western Asia, begins at 1:43 and ends at 4:09; Full Moon (known as the Hunger, Snow, or Storm Moon) occurs at 3:30; Saturn is 3.0 degrees north of the Moon at 12:00
2/24 Saturn (magnitude 0.2, apparent size 20.1") is at opposition at 10:00
2/26 Mercury is 1.3 degrees north of Venus at 2:00
2/28 The Moon is at apogee, subtending 29'33" from a distance of 404,443 km, at 1:27
2/29 The Moon is 0.6 degree south of Antares - an occultation is visible from a portion of Antarctica and the southernmost parts of Australia - at 2:00; Last Quarter Moon occurs at 2:18; a maximum lunar libration of 7.0 degrees occurs at 21:00

The zodiacal light can be seen from dark sites in the western sky after sunset during the latter part of the month.

A total lunar eclipse takes place on the night of February 20. Partial eclipse begins at 8:43 p.m. EST. Totality occurs at 10:01 p.m. EST and ends at 10:51 p.m. EST. The eclipse ends at 12:09 a.m. EST. During the eclipse, Regulus is some 3 degrees above the Moon and Saturn is approximately 4 degrees to its lower left. This will be the last total lunar eclipse until December of 2010. The Moon is 23.5 days old at 0:00 UT on February 1. It’s at its greatest northern declination of +28 degrees on February 16 and its greatest southern declination of -28 degrees on February 2. Times and dates for the lunar light rays predicted to occur this month are available at http://www.lunar-occultations.com/rlo/rays/rays.htm

Brightness, apparent size, illumination, distance from the Earth in astronomical units, and location data for the planets and Pluto on February 1: Mercury (magnitude 1.9, 9.3", 12% illuminated, 0.7 a.u., Capricornus), Venus (magnitude –3.9, 12.5", 85% illuminated, 1.3 a.u., Sagittarius), Mars (magnitude –0.6, 12.0", 95% illuminated, 0.8 a.u., Taurus), Jupiter (magnitude –1.9, 32.6", 100% illuminated, 6.0 a.u., Sagittarius), Saturn (magnitude 0.4, 19.8", 100% illuminated, 8.4 a.u., Leo), Uranus (magnitude 5.9, 3.4", 100% illuminated, 21.0 a.u., Aquarius), Neptune (magnitude 8.0, 2.2", 100% illuminated, 31.0 a.u., Capricornus), and Pluto (magnitude 14.0, 0.1", 100% illuminated, 32.0 a.u., Sagittarius).

Visibility of the classical planets at mid-month for observers at 40 degrees north: Mercury rises before dawn, Venus rises at 5:00 a.m. (local time), Mars transits the meridian at 8:00 p.m. and sets at 4:00 a.m., Jupiter rises at 5:00 a.m., and Saturn rises at sunset and sets at sunrise.

Mars can be found in the southeast in the evening and in the west at midnight. Saturn is located in the east in the evening, in the south at midnight, and in the west in the morning. Uranus is in the west in the evening. Mercury resides in the east and Venus and Jupiter in the southeast in the morning.

At the end of the month, Mercury begins its best morning apparition of 2008 for observers in the southern hemisphere. Mercury and Venus are within three degrees of each other for a five-week long period beginning on February 23. For most of North America, Mercury and Venus are a little more than a degree apart very low in the east-southeast on the morning of February 27.

The month begins with the closest conjunction of the two normally brightest planets until 2014. Venus is just 35' to the upper left of Jupiter on the morning of February 1, which means that they can be both seen in the same telescopic field of view at moderate magnifications. The bright globular cluster M22 lies two degrees southeast of Jupiter. The two planets are a bit more than one degree apart the next morning. As the month progresses, Jupiter and Venus separate by almost a degree per day, with Jupiter climbing higher in the sky and Venus sliding sunward. On February 4, the waning crescent Moon is four degrees south of Venus.

Mars reaches the western end of its retrograde loop on February 1. The Red Planet continues to shrink as Earth pulls away from it. It begins the month spanning 12" and shining at magnitude –0.6. Three days later the apparent magnitude of the planet decreases to less than magnitude –0.5. The apparent diameter of Mars drops below 10" on February 19. On February 22, Mars is less than zero magnitude in brightness and on February 26, the distance of Mars from the Earth is greater than one astronomical unit. On the evening of February 29, an equilateral triangle is formed by ruddy Mars (magnitude 0.2) and two first magnitude red giants, Betelgeuse (magnitude 0.5) and Aldebaran (magnitude 0.9). See the Mars Profiler at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/obser...avascript/mars for a hemispherical map of Martian surface features and http://www.skyandtelescope.com/obser...ons/index.html for the positions of the faint Martian moons Phobos and Deimos.

During February, Jupiter rises earlier in the southeast with each passing day. Click on http://skyandtelescope.com/observing...icle_107_1.asp to determine transits of the central meridian by the Great Red Spot. Data on the Galilean satellites is available at http://skytonight.com/observing/obje...t/3307071.html

Since Saturn reaches opposition on February 24, it's visible for the entire night. The ball of the planet subtends 20.1" and its rings span 45". Saturn is fainter than in the past several years because its rings are growing increasingly more edge-on as seen from Earth. The ring tilt angle is now only eight degrees. Four of Saturn's satellites, Iapetus, Tethys, Dione, and Rhea are positioned within 20" of each other to the west of the planet on the night of February 10. On February 11, Tethys, Rhea, and Enceladus are within 13" of another on the eastern side of Saturn. Faint Iapetus, which is perhaps Saturn's most unusual satellite, passes just to the south of the planet during the night of February 9. It is east or west of Saturn by the listed separations at 0:00 UT on the following dates: February 2 (25" east), February 6 (13" east), February 10 (1" east), February 12 (6" west), February 16 (18" west), February 20 (29" west), February 24 (36" west), and February 29 (39" west). For further information on Saturn’s satellites, browse http://skytonight.com/observing/obje...t/3308506.html

Uranus is hidden by the glare of the setting Sun beginning early this month.

Neptune and Pluto are not observable during February.

This month Comet 46P/Wirtanen glows at eighth or ninth magnitude as it travels through Pisces and Aries. This comet has a period of 5.4 years and passes just to the east of the tenth magnitude spiral galaxy NGC 524 on the nights of February 4 and 5.

Asteroid 6 Hebe glides north-westward through Cancer during February. At the end of the month, the ninth magnitude SSSB (small solar system body) is located approximately five degrees to the east of the bright open cluster M44.

Forty binary and multiple stars for February: 41 Aurigae, Struve 872, Otto Struve 147, Struve 929, 56 Aurigae (Auriga); Nu-1 Canis Majoris, 17 Canis Majoris, Pi Canis Majoris, Mu Canis Majoris, h3945, Tau Canis Majoris (Canis Major); Struve 1095, Struve 1103, Struve 1149, 14 Canis Minoris (Canis Minor); 20 Geminorum, 38 Geminorum, Alpha Geminorum (Castor), 15 Geminorum, Lambda Geminorum, Delta Geminorum, Struve 1108, Kappa Geminorum (Gemini); 5 Lyncis, 12 Lyncis, 19 Lyncis, Struve 968, Struve 1025 (Lynx); Epsilon Monocerotis, Beta Monocerotis, 15 (S) Monocerotis (Monoceros); Struve 855 (Orion); Struve 1104, k Puppis, 5 Puppis (Puppis)

Challenge binary star for February: 15 Lyncis (Lynx)

Notable variable star for February: S Canis Minoris (Canis Minor)

Notable carbon star for February: BL Orionis (Orion)

Fifty deep-sky objects for February: NGC 2146, NGC 2403 (Camelopardalis); M41, NGC 2345, NGC 2359, NGC 2360, NGC 2362, NGC 2367, NGC 2383 (Canis Major); M35, NGC 2129, NGC 2158, NGC 2266, NGC 2355, NGC 2371-72, NGC 2392, NGC 2420 (Gemini); NGC 2419 (Lynx); M50, NGC 2232, NGC 2237, NGC 2238, NGC 2244, NGC 2245, NGC 2251, NGC 2261, NGC 2264, NGC 2286, NGC 2301, NGC 2311, NGC 2324, NGC 2335, NGC 2345, NGC 2346, NGC 2353 (Monoceros); NGC 2169, NGC 2174, NGC 2194 (Orion); M46, M47, M93, Mel 71, NGC 2421, NGC 2423, NGC 2438, NGC 2439, NGC 2440, NGC 2467, NGC 2506, NGC 2509 (Puppis)

Top ten binocular deep-sky objects for February: M35, M41, M46, M47, M50, M93, NGC 2244, NGC 2264, NGC 2301, NGC 2360

Top ten deep-sky objects for February: M35, M41, M46, M47, M50, M93, NGC 2261, NGC 2362, NGC 2392, NGC 2403

Challenge deep-sky object for February: IC 443 (Gemini)

The objects listed above are located between 6:00 and 8:00 hours of right ascension.

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