Last month ended with the moon at first quarter, so the next full moon is seven days later - Feb. 7.
Feb.10 Mars is within 10 degrees - an early morning apparition. Just after midnight Feb.12, Spica and Saturn make a nice triplet with the moon in the southeast, Mars shines high above.
By Feb. 23, Mercury and the thin crescent moon are visible in the west at sundown. A couple of days later, Venus is in the picture, and one day later, Feb. 26, Jupiter pairs up with our satellite. The next day brings a nice four-in-a-row: Mercury hugs the horizon, with Venus, Jupiter, and the moon arrayed above. Uranus is in there, too, sandwiched between Mercury and Venus - use binoculars for that sighting.
Mercury puts on a fine display for the last part of February and early March. Watch for it at sunset in the west below bright Venus.
Venus, too, is in fine fettle, gracing our western prospect all month, rising higher with each passing day. Then, in its 224-day orbit, it gradually begins to swing closer to the horizon; not until mid-April, though, so we will have that grand view of Venus for more than a couple of months.
Mars rises in the east shortly before 10 p.m. and crosses the sky all through the night. Feb.9 and 10, the moon, just past full phase, hovers near Mars all night.
Jupiter is high in the southwest at sundown, above bright Venus, with the moon above the bright planets Feb.1. By Feb. 26, Venus is almost at the same elevation as Jupiter, with the crescent moon only a few degrees away.
Saturn rises shortly after 1 a.m. close to the bright star, Spica. On the early morning of Feb. 12, the moon hangs below the ringed planet, making a nice photographic subject.
Uranus and Neptune are in the western twilight at sunset, making for a difficult observation.
Don't forget to take in the majestic view of Orion, The Hunter, in the south after sundown. This famous asterism includes and is surrounded by the six brightest stars in the night sky: Betelgeuse, Rigel, Aldebaran, Sirius, Procyon, and Pollux.
Also, be sure to look for the Zodiacal Light in the western evening sky from about Feb. 10 onward for two weeks. This is dust in orbit around the sun, backlit by the sun's glow.
- James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000. He is editor's assistant and a contributor to the Observer's Handbook, production manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal and is the society's national secretary.
