Star Trak: February 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Venus will dominate the evening sky in the west during February. It will be brightest in midmonth but close to that peak every night.
This month will be a prime opportunity to see Venus with the naked eye in daylight. It will be highest due south in mid-afternoon and won’t set until more than three hours after sunset.
If the night sky is dark enough, the planet will cast shadows on the ground. Try looking for the shadow of Venus on a layer of fresh snow after the full moon on Feb. 10, for example.
As the evening sky darkens at the start of the month, red-orange Mars will be easy to spot a few degrees to the upper left (south) of brilliant white Venus. Mars will fade noticeably as it moves eastward away from Venus. At the beginning of the month, Mars will set only 20 minutes after Venus, but by month’s end it will set a half hour later as seen from mid-northern latitudes.
Jupiter will climb above the eastern horizon around 11 p.m. local time at the beginning of February and two hours earlier by month’s end. Wait until it is high in the south to get the best views with a telescope, showing cloud features and its four Galilean moons. The giant planet will be 4 degrees north of the bright white star Spica in the constellation Virgo.
Saturn rose soon after 4 a.m. today and will rise two hours earlier by the end of the month. Its rings will be tilted 27 degrees to our line of sight, almost as open as they ever become. As dawn begins to brighten, Saturn will glow in the south-southeast 20 degrees to the left (east) of the bright orange star Antares in the constellation Scorpius.
Mercury will appear very low in the east-southeast each morning for most of the month. Use binoculars to find the planet less than a half hour before sunrise. In the final week it will disappear into the glow of dawn.
Moon phases
The moon will be at first quarter on Feb. 3, full on Feb. 10, at third quarter on Feb. 18 and new on Feb. 26.
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Hal Kibbey
- Office 812-336-1333
- hkibbey@indiana.edu