Title: February Skywatch Highlights
Location: Hawaiian Islands
Date / Time: February 2010
Comments: Mars & Saturn rule the sky from nearly dusk until dawn this month. MARS reached opposition in late January & remains near its best throughout February. Mars appears as a bright, ruddy object in the eastern sky at dusk and, at magnitude minus -1.3 in early Feb., shines brighter than any nighttime star except Sirius. The Red Planet is in the midst of performing a backward (retrograde) loop, moving westward, from left to right, against the background stars of Cancer. Mars passes 3-degrees north of the famous Beehive star cluster (M44) on Feb.6/7, an attractive conjunction best viewed through binoculars. Stunning SATURN appears in the constellation Virgo the Maiden, rising in the east after 10PM on Feb. 1st, & by 8PM at month's end. Saturn's brightness nearly matches that of 1st-magnitude Spica, Virgo's brightest star. Notice the color contrast between golden Saturn & blue-white Spica. Saturn's glorious ring system is visible through a small telescope. The rings currently tilt at a 5-degree angle to our line of sight from Earth. By the end of the year, they will tilt at 10-degrees, affording us sensational views. Look toward the west-southwest shortly after sunset, & the first object you'll see is JUPITER. The gas giant planet slides out of view in February, as it moves to the far side of the Sun, from our perspective on Earth. Jupiter reaches conjunction with the Sun on Feb. 28th, & will reappear in the morning sky in mid-March. VENUS reappears in our evening sky, at a dazzling magnitude of minus-3.9, possibly visible as soon as Feb. 10th. You'll need a clear view to the WSW horizon, 15-20 minutes after sunset. On Feb. 16th, Venus & Jupiter appear to slide past each other, within a single Moon-width apart. Look for the pair through binoculars, starting about 20 minutes after sunset. Venus will be easier to spot, although it lies only 3-degrees high & sets 40 minutes after the Sun. Jupiter appears to the upper right of Venus. Venus continues to climb higher in the sky as February progresses. By the 28th, it lies 4-degrees above the western horizon 30 minutes after sunset & sets 25 minutes later. Early risers might have a chance to see MERCURY, during the first 10-12 days of the month. Look for the tiny but bright innermost planet (magnitude minus -0.2), low in the southeast before sunrise. On Feb. 12th, the crescent Moon passes 4-degrees to the left of Mercury. And while you're out there early morningÉ See if you can spot the Southern Cross, (Crux), currently viewable from the Hawaiian Islands, from about 3:30AM until 5:30AM. You'll need an unobstructed view to the southern horizon. Look for 2 bright stars low in the South, Alpha & Beta Centauri, which point to the Roman-style "cross" asterism to their right (west). For a February sky map, visit Bishop Museum Planetarium www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium (bishopmuseum.org).

Maintained by Roz Reiner - Kauai, Hawaii

 

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