Monthly Night Sky information provided by Chris Vaughan (@Astrogeoguy) at Starry Night Education (@StarryNightEdu).
On Friday evening, February 7 in the Americas, the bright, gibbous moon will shine closely below (or celestial south of) the bright star Elnath. That blue giant star serves to mark both the upper horn-tip of Taurus, the Bull, and the southern end of the roughly oval shape of Auriga, the Charioteer, thus giving it […]
In the eastern sky after dusk on Sunday evening, February 9, the bright, nearly full moon will be shining a short distance to the lower left (or celestial east) of the bright reddish planet Mars – close enough for them to share the view in binoculars (orange circle). Gemini’s bright stars Castor and Pollux will […]
February’s full moon will occur on Wednesday, February 12 at 8:53 a.m. EST, 5:53 a.m. PST, or 13:53 GMT. In the Americas the moon will appear full on both Tuesday and Wednesday evening. The indigenous Anishnaabe (Ojibwe and Chippewa) people of the Great Lakes region call the February full moon Namebini-giizis “Sucker Fish Moon” or […]
For several hours after sunset on Friday, February 14, Venus will shine in the western sky at its greatest illuminated extent for the current evening apparition. In a telescope, the planet will show a 27%-illuminated waning crescent phase and an apparent disk size of 39 arc-seconds. Even with a less than fully-illuminated disk (inset), Venus’ […]
If you live in a location where the sky is free of light pollution, you might be able to spot the Zodiacal Light during the two weeks that precede the new moon on February 27. Starting on Friday, February 14, after the evening twilight has faded, you’ll have about half an hour to check the […]