SKY VIEWS   February 2010

Moon Phase right now.

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

-- 
Mars will be at its highest and brightest for the
year during February, coming into view in the east as evening twilight
fades. The red planet was closest to Earth in its orbit on Jan. 27, and it
will remain near its best all month as it outshines every star except
Sirius. This will be a fine opportunity to view Mars through a telescope,
since it won't be bigger or brighter until 2014. The best views will be
shortly before midnight, when Mars will be highest in the south and its
light will pass through less of Earth's distorting atmosphere.

On the night of Feb. 6-7, Mars will pass near the bright Beehive star
cluster. They will be close for several nights before and after that, a
particularly fine sight in binoculars.

Saturn will rise in the east around 9:30 p.m. local time at the beginning
of February and two hours earlier at month's end. It will remain in view
the rest of the night, reaching its highest point in the south after
midnight. The tilt of its rings will narrow slightly this month, but they
will open wider to our view after that. Saturn's largest moon, the
planet-sized Titan, can be seen with any telescope on a clear night. See
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm for the latest news and images
from the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn.

Jupiter and Venus will change places low in the west-southwest after
sunset as February advances. Binoculars will probably be needed to see
them in the bright glow of twilight. At the beginning of the month, Venus
will still be too close to the sun to spot, but Jupiter will be visible.
Each evening Venus will be a little higher and Jupiter a little lower, and
on Feb. 16 they will pass just a half degree apart. Jupiter will be to the
upper right of much brighter Venus. By month's end Jupiter will be lost in
the solar glare, but Venus will be fairly easy to see a half hour after
sunset.

Mercury will be very low in the southeast a half hour before sunrise
during the first week of February. It will appear even lower each morning,
and observers in the Northern Hemisphere will lose sight of it in the
brightening sky in the second week. Those watching in the Southern
Hemisphere will have a better view.

Zodiacal light

If you live in an area that is dark enough for you to see the Milky Way
sprawling across the night sky, you also have a chance of seeing the
interplanetary dust in the plane of our solar system. Find an open area
with no light pollution or moonlight. After sunset as darkness falls, look
for a faint pyramid of light spreading upward from the western horizon
over a large area of the sky. This is the zodiacal light, which is
sunlight reflected from microscopic debris left behind by comets and
asteroids that orbit the sun in the same plane as the planets. An example
can be seen at http://www.astrophoto.com/ZodiacalLight.jpg.

Moon phases

The moon will be at third quarter on Feb. 5, new on Feb. 13, at first
quarter on Feb. 21 and full on Feb. 28.

-------

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.