February 2000

by Steve Stefanik

During the week of February 6-12 the waxing crescent moon will accompany four visible planets in a line along the ecliptic.

About 45 minutes after sundown on the evening of the 6th, a one day old sliver of a crescent moon will be approximately 2 degrees to the left of the -1.0 magnitude planet Mercury. Look for moon near this elusive yellow-orange orb low in the southwest just above the horizon.

Two days later on the 8th, a three day old crescent moon will be within 4 degrees of the red-orange +1.2 magnitude planet Mars. Although higher in altitude than Mercury it continues to edge closer to the western horizon on its way toward conjunction with the sun in July.

On the night of the 10th, a 5 day old crescent moon will be 4 degrees below a bright -2.2 magnitude jewel, the planet Jupiter which has dominated the nightsky since this past fall. Even through binoculars or a small telescope you can spot its four largest Gallilean moons which Gallileo could see through his 2 inch aperature refracting telescope back in 1610.

The following night of the 11th, the +0.5 magnitude planet Saturn will be perched above an almost first quarter moon. You’ll get spectacular views of its splendid ring system through even a small telescope and you may be able to spot its largest moon Titan.

As you attempt to locate any of these planets on any particular night you may notice that some of the familiar fall constellations like Pisces and Pegasus have set or are low in the western sky. Taurus "the bull" and Orion "the hunter" which age high overhead in winter are already listing toward the west. Meanwhile the constellations of Cancer "the crab", Leo "the lion", and Virgo "the virgin" are high in the east indicating that spring is not far behind.

The brilliant "morning star" in the east on your way to work or school is the -3.8 magnitude planet Venus which rises about 2 hours before sunrise but slips into the glare of the rising sun by the end of the month.