What’s Up in the Sky: AAA Observers’ February Guide

February’s Evening Planets:

Bright Jupiter will be in Aries the Ram until around 10 PM. Uranus will be in Aries the Ram until around 11 PM.

February’s Evening Stars:

View the Winter Triangle; Sirius, the brightest star viewed from Earth, in Canis Major the Great Dog; Betelgeuse in Orion the Hunter; and Procyon in Canis Minor the Small Dog. Spot Rigel in Orion, Capella in Auriga the Charioteer, Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull, and bright Castor and Pollux in Gemini the Twins. Also find the stars of constellations Cassiopeia, Perseus, Cepheus, Draco, Leo, Aries, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

February’s Morning Planets:

Bright Venus and red Mars will be moving between Sagittarius the Archer and Capricornus the Sea-goat throughout the month as of 6 AM. Mercury will be up as of 6:30 AM moving in Sagittarius the Archer in the first week of February.

February’s Morning Stars:

See the Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle as of 4:30 AM at the beginning of the month and earlier every day. Look for Capella in Auriga, reddish Antares in Scorpius, Castor and Pollux in Gemini, Arcturus in Boötes the Herdsman, and Spica in Virgo, along with the stars of constellations Leo, Hercules, Libra, Cancer, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

February  Skylights

Feb   1  Mercury, Mars, and  Venus line up at Sunrise

Feb   2  Third Quarter Moon at 6:20 PM

Feb   4  Moon is ½° north of Antares  at 8 PM

Feb   9  New Moon at 6:00 PM

Feb 10  Moon at perigee (222,500 miles away)

Feb 10  Saturn is 2° north of the Moon at 8 PM

Feb 15  Moon is 3° north of Jupiter,  Pre-dawn

Feb 16  First Quarter Moon at 10:00 AM

Feb 24  Full Moon at 7:30 AM

Feb 25  Moon at apogee (252,500 miles away)

Times given in EDT.