What to search for in February: Planets gather, the charioteer, and “Sirius” star clusters! Venus and Jupiter comfortable up, the constellation Auriga makes a deserving target, and 2 star clusters you can find using Sirius and a pair of field glasses.
Elnath, which is also understood as Beta Tauri, is the second-brightest star in the constellation of Taurus. Credit: WikiSky
What are some skywatching highlights in February 2023?
See Jupiter and Venus appear nearer each night, as they head for a close conjunction at the start of March. Usage intense stars Capella and Elnath to recognize the constellation Auriga, and after that find your way to 2 far-off star clusters utilizing Sirius as a guidepost.
All month– Locate the charioteer constellation, Auriga, by discovering your method to its brightest star Capella. Area Elnath on Aurigas opposite side and from there its pretty simple to identify the other stars that round out the shape of the charioteer constellation.
All month long, observers with access to an excellent pair of field glasses or a small telescope can hunt for two simple star clusters using the brightest star in the sky as a guidepost. Theyre 2 open star clusters, M41 and M47. Theyre called “open” because their stars are close together in space, however in sort of a diffuse structure.
All month– Jupiter and Venus show up in the west after sundown. The 2 planets appear closer together each night, as they head for a conjunction on March 1.
February 5– Full moon
February 20– New moon
February 22– The crescent Moon sits simply a degree apart from Jupiter in the western sky, with Venus hanging below them.
February 27– Find the Moon and Mars high in the southwest after sundown, where they will appear less than a degree apart..
All month– Locate the charioteer constellation, Auriga, by finding your method to its brightest star Capella. From Orion, look northward two times Orions height to find Capella.
All month– Use the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, in order to discover your way to two easy-to-locate star clusters, M41 and M47, using binoculars.
Video Transcript:.
Whats Up for February? The brightest planets converge, the constellation Auriga, and two star clusters you may wish to get Sirius about.
Discover them in the west in the hour or so after sundown. On February 22nd, the crescent Moon sits simply a degree apart from Jupiter, with Venus hanging below them.
Another nice pairing occurs on February 27th, when the Moon and Mars will appear less than a degree apart. Youll find them high in the southwest after sunset.
The constellation Auriga produces a worthwhile target to choose out in the February sky. Auriga represents an ancient chariot chauffeur, and its frequently illustrated as an entire individual, however given the outline, you may choose to believe of it as one of a chariots wheels.
The brightest star in Auriga is Capella. Now, in Latin, Capella is a word for a female goat, and in addition to Capella, there are three little stars nearby, known as “the kids”– as in the name for baby goats, which is quite enjoyable.
Opposite Capella toward the south is the brilliant star Elnath. Technically its part of Taurus next door, but it helps specify the approximately circular shape of Auriga.
This sky chart reveals how to locate Capella, in order to identify the constellation Auriga. Just look northward two times the height of Orion to find Capella. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Auriga appears high in the western sky on February nights, and its reasonably simple to find, thanks to Capella and Elnath. From Orion, look northward twice the height of Orion, to discover Capella. Then area Elnath on Aurigas opposite side and from there its quite simple to identify the other stars that complete the shape of the charioteer constellation.
All month long, observers with access to an excellent pair of field glasses or a small telescope can hunt for 2 simple star clusters utilizing the brightest star in the sky as a guidepost. Theyre two open star clusters, M41 and M47. Theyre called “open” due to the fact that their stars are close together in area, however in sort of a diffuse structure.
To discover them, begin with dazzling Sirius, which is easy to choose towards the south in the winter night sky. M41 lies just 4 degrees south of Sirius, and should show up in the same field of vision in field glasses, where it looks like sort of a faint patch of light. Its about as large on the sky as the full moon, though in actual extent its about 25 light-years across and is located about 2,300 light years away from us.
To discover M47, you can also begin at Sirius and work your way over toward the east about 12 degrees, and after that a number of degrees to the south north. Its about the very same size on the sky as M41, but just a little more vibrant. M47 lies about 1,600 light years away and occupies a volume of area about 12 light-years throughout.
Our own Sun is thought to have actually formed as part of a cluster like these. So discovering them in the February sky can be a quite cool way to connect with our own cosmic origins.
Here are the phases of the Moon for February.
The stages of the Moon for February 2023. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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Stay up to date with all of NASAs objectives to check out the planetary system and beyond at nasa.gov. Im Preston Dyches from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, whichs Whats Up for this month.
