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Stargazing for Beginners - February

© Barbara Muscolo

Hello, stargazers. February, 2004 will be a great month to view planets, so polish off those binocular lenses and let's see what the sky has to offer.

Venus dominates the night sky this month. It is the brightest object in the sky; only the full moon is more brilliant. Venus hangs like a beacon in the west-southwest sky, often mistaken for a UFO. For northern sky observers, this is the best Venus has looked in over a decade. Over the next two months, Venus will climb higher in the sky, and shine even brighter. Watch for the crescent Moon to pass close to Venus on the night of February 23. About an hour after sunset, Venus and the Moon will almost appear to touch in the night sky. This event will be great for naked eye observers; if you have binoculars or a telescope, you will get an even better view.

Mars is still visible, but is fading fast. To see any surface details, you need a 12-inch telescope. The crescent Moon joins Mars in the night sky on February 25, gliding just south of the Red Planet. Mars will stay in the evening sky through early summer, and will have a nice conjunction (two planets appearing very close to each other), with Saturn in May.

Saturn still glows a lovely creamy gold in the constellation Gemini. On the night of February 3, the almost full Moon will be right above Saturn, a nice sight in binoculars. If you have access to a telescope, take a look at Saturn. The rings of Saturn are tipped about 26 degrees to us, which makes it easy to see the different colored divisions in them. The black section in the rings is called the Cassini Division, and it separates the outer A ring from the brighter inner B ring. Saturn will be in the sky through early summer. It will dim in brightness, however, so get out and look at it during the next few months.

Jupiter will continue to dominate the late evening sky. Jupiter is the second brightest planet, after Venus. It is also the easiest planet to view surface details on, if you have a telescope. With a telescope, you can see its cloud belts; since Jupiter rotates so quickly, you can also watch features like the Great Red Spot cross the disk as the planet turns. If you don't have access to a telescope, you can still see the four largest moons of Jupiter in binoculars. Watch as the order of their positions changes from night to night.