Title: February Skywatch Highlights
Location: Hawaiian Islands
Date / Time: February 2009
Comments: VENUS continues to BLAZE in the western sky at dusk. Venus remains brilliant for the entire month, dominating our evening skies, brighter in mid-February than at any other time this year. Venus will set at around 9:30 PM early in the month, & by 9PM at month's end. As Venus descends in the west, look for SATURN rising in the east. Saturn appears in the back end of the constellation Leo the Lion, rising at 9PM at the start of the month, & nearly 2 hours earlier by the 28th. It appears as the most conspicuous object between Regulus, Leo's brightest star, and Virgo's luminary star Spica. Saturn's glorious ring system is barely viewable because it currently tilts nearly edge on to our line of sight from Earth. Look for a nearly Full Moon near Saturn on Feb. 10th & 11th. At the end of February, our 3 other "naked-eye" planets will gather in the pre-dawn sky. On Feb. 22nd, just after 6AM, look for JUPITER, MERCURY, & a slim crescent Moon to line up in the southeastern sky. Mercury will be to the left of the Moon, & Jupiter (much brighter) to the left of Mercury. And if you have clear skies, you might even spot MARS, to the left of Jupiter. Look for this three-planet gathering from Feb. 22nd thru the end of the month, from 6 AM to about 6:20. Mercury will pass below Jupiter on Feb. 23rd, & will be in between Jupiter & Mars for the remainder of the month. The Southern Cross, in the constellation Crux, is viewable in the early morning, prior to dawn. You'll need a cloudless view of the southern horizon. At the beginning of Feb., Crux rises in the southeast at around 2AM, & is due south (& upright) by 4:30AM. By the end of the month, Crux rises at midnight, & will be due south by 2:30AM. Suggest viewing before 5AM, as the later it gets, the Cross starts to sink into the southwestern horizon. Note when viewing at this time of morning, that Hawaii is one of the few places where we can see all the way from the North Star, Polaris (Hokupa'a), to the Southern Cross, a Polynesian navigational "star line" called Ka Iwikuamo'o, "The Backbone." For further details & a February sky map, visit Bishop Museum Planetarium www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium (bishopmuseum.org).

Maintained by Roz Reiner - Kauai, Hawaii

 

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