SKY VIEWS   February 2012

Moon Phase right now.

Jay Respler        Freehold NJ         732-431-1464        E-mail: JRespler@superlink.net

--  - As evening twilight fades during February, the
two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, will highlight the sky as
they come into view in the southwest.

The best time to observe brilliant Venus with a telescope will be
during twilight. The brightness of the sky will reduce the planet's
glare, and it will be higher above the horizon than when the sky is
completely dark, so its image will be sharper. It will set around
8:30 p.m. local time at the start of the month and an hour later by
month's end. Venus and the crescent moon will make a lovely pair
after sunset on Feb. 25, when they will be only 3 degrees apart.

Venus will serve as a guide for locating Uranus between Feb. 3 and
Feb. 15, when the two planets will be in the same field of view
through 7x50 binoculars. On Feb. 9 they will pass just 0.3 degrees
apart, and a telescope at low power will show both at once. Venus
will be about 10,000 times brighter than blue-green Uranus.

Higher in the southwestern sky after sunset will be the huge planet
Jupiter, the second-brightest point of light in the sky. It won't set
until midnight, so there will be plenty of time for viewing with a
telescope.

Mars will rise around 9 p.m. local time at the start of the month and
a few minutes after sunset at month's end. The red-orange planet will
nearly double in brightness during February, appearing as the
brightest object in the constellation Leo the Lion as it heads toward
opposition during the first week of March. This month is the time to
observe Mars through a telescope. The white north polar cap should be
visible as the planet's north pole tips in our direction.

About three hours after Mars rises, Saturn will appear above the
eastern horizon. The yellow-orange object will be visible by midnight
local time at the beginning of February and two hours earlier by
month's end. It will be highest in the south shortly before morning
twilight begins, the best time for viewing with a telescope. Saturn
will be slightly brighter than the bright white star Spica to its
right (west). Its spectacular rings will be tilted 15 degrees to our
line of sight at mid-month.

Saturn's largest moon, the planet-sized Titan, can be seen with any
telescope on a clear night. Titan will be north of Saturn on Feb. 7
and 23 and south of the planet on Feb. 15. See
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm for the latest news and
images from the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn.

Mercury will pass behind the sun on Feb. 7, emerging into the early
evening sky soon after. By Feb. 22, it will be easy to spot near the
western horizon in evening twilight a half-hour after sunset. It will
continue to move upward until the end of the month, when it will set
an hour after the sun.

Moon phases

The moon will be full on Feb. 7, at third quarter on Feb. 14, new on
Feb. 21 and at first quarter on Feb. 29.

Questions about space and astronomy, and comments and suggestions about this SkyViews site are welcome.
 Write to Jay Respler,   JRespler@superlink.net

Sky Views is compiled by Jay Respler and is based on information from the Sky Report
of Abrams Planetarium, Department of Physics & Astronomy at Michigan State University, and Hal Kibbey of the Indiana University Office of Communications & Marketing. Thanks are extended for their cooperation.