February begins with the third-quarter moon, Saturn, and Spica lighting up the eastern morning sky. Spica is just east of the moon Feb. 1, with Saturn a bit further east. Feb. 2, the moon is between the two bright objects, directly south just before dawn. Feb. 11, Mars and Mercury are close to the thin crescent moon, but this might be a tough observation, right at the horizon at sunset. It needs a clear western horizon and probably binoculars to see the faint objects. By Feb. 17, the first-quarter moon is in the constellation Taurus, the Bull, below the Pleiades, with Jupiter just to the east. This is an occultation in the Â鶹´«Ã½AVern Hemisphere. Likewise, the asteroid Vesta is occulted by the moon that same day in the south.
Mercury is quite visible in the west at sundown for the first three weeks of February. It's the best apparition of the year, so don't miss it. Mercury's distance ranges from 77 million km (closest) to 222 million km (farthest). An easier concept perhaps is the distance from the sun - Mercury's average distance is 58 million km. The swift planet brushes by Mars Feb. 8, and is south of the moon Feb. 11.
Venus is close by the sun in the early morning sky, gradually becoming lost in the glare. Venus's distance from the sun averages 108 million kilometres.
Mars is rapidly falling behind the sun, lost in the evening dusk by month end and not seen again until late in June. Average distance from the sun is 227 million kilometres (compared to Earth's average distance of 150 million kilometres).
Jupiter, at an average distance of 778 million kilometres, is a long way off, yet it remains a bright object because of its high reflectivity (albedo) and its large size - 100 times larger than Earth. The gas giant is well placed for evening viewing, rising in the afternoon and setting around midnight. For a few months, Jupiter has been retrograding (appearing to move westward), and now it begins its true eastward movement. Remember that it's we on Earth who see this apparent anomaly because of our relative rapid motion around the sun.
Saturn rises just about the time that Jupiter sets, at opposite sides of the sky. Watch for the ringed planet in the early morning eastern sky before sunrise. Saturn's average distance is 1.5 billion kilometres. It begins retrograde motion Feb. 19.
Uranus is low in the western sky at sunset - a tough observation. Average distance is 2.9 billion kilometres.
Neptune is not visible, in conjunction with the sun. Average distance is 4.5 billion kilometres.
- James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000 and is now editor's assistant and a contributor to the Observer's Handbook, production manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal, and the society's national secretary. He was given the RASC Service Award at the 2012 General Assembly in Edmonton.
