Your guide to the night sky this month
Tuesday 1
The Moon is new today, meaning the sky will be good and dark. This is just as well as there’s a lot to see, including two reasonably bright comets; C/2019 L3 Atlas and 19P/Borrelly.
Wednesday 2
This evening a slender 3%-lit waxing crescent Moon can be seen below mag. –1.9 Jupiter. Look for them just after sunset low above the west-southwest horizon.
Comet 19P/Borrelly reaches perihelion and is expected to appear around mag. +7.9.
Thursday 3
The mag. +8.0 planet Neptune appears 1.4 arcminutes to the north of mag. +6.3 HIP 115953.
Friday 4
With the Moon in its early waxing phase and setting just after 21:00 UT, this evening is a great time to attempt our ‘Deep-sky tour’ on page 56, focusing on the area around the Sickle asterism in the constellation of Leo, the Lion.
Saturday 5
Minor planet 20 Massalia reaches opposition at mag. +8.5. Massalia is currently located in Cancer, the Crab, beginning its monthly track near mag. +5.4 Pi (π) Cancri.
Sunday 6
The libration seas – Mare Smythii and Mare Marginis – can be seen near the Moon’s eastern limb at the moment. As they are so close to the limb, the libration (the Moon’s rocking motion) and phase has to be favourable to see them properly.
Monday 7
This evening’s 43%-lit waxing crescent Moon sits 1.5˚ to the south of Uranus. Mag. +5.8 Uranus is currently paired up with 29 Arietis, the mag. +6.0 star appearing 24.5 arcminutes north of the planet.
Tuesday 8
The popular clair-obscur effects known as the Lunar X and V will appear at 17:52 UT on the Moon’s terminator.
Lunar crater Walther also sits on the terminator this evening.
Thursday 10
Minor planet 11 Parthenope reaches opposition at mag. +10.0 today. Parthenope is currently located in Leo, the Lion, just west of the Sickle asterism.
Wednesday 16
Mercury reaches greatest western elongation, appearing separated from the Sun by 26.3° in the morning sky. The planet shines at mag. +0.1 and rises an hour before the Sun.
Friday 18
Mag. –4.5 Venus and mag. +1.3 Mars are 6.1° apart this morning. Catch them low above the southeast horizon from approximately 1 hour before sunrise.
Wednesday 23
Look at the region between Leo and Boötes around midnight to spot a faint, triangular shimmer of stars about 4°, or 8 apparent Moon diameters, in height. This is the open cluster Melotte 111.
Thursday 24
The underrated open cluster M35 in Gemini, the Twins, reaches its highest position in the sky, due south at 20:00 UT. With the Moon out of the way this is a great time to view it.
Friday 25
Minor planet 471 Papagena is at opposition, located in Leo, the Lion.
The lunar crater Copernicus can be seen next to the terminator on this morning’s Moon.
Saturday 26
Often overshadowed by its brighter sky neighbour Sirius (Alpha (α) Canis Majoris), Mirzam (Beta (β) Canis Majoris) marks the front leg of the Great Dog, Canis Major. It is February’s ‘Star of the Month’.
Sunday 27
Spot a morning grouping of Venus, Mars and the Moon. F ind mag. –4.5 Venus in the d awn sky, with mag. +1.3 Mars 5 .3° below it. The 15%-lit waning crescent Moon is 4.8˚ to the south of the Red Planet.
Monday 28
A clear sky and binoculars will give you a breathtaking view of the Beehive Cluster, M44, at the heart of Cancer, the Crab. Catch it near its highest position in the sky, due south, around 22:00 UT.
Family stargazing
The months at the start of the year are good for early evening views of the Moon. Provide your budding observers with some white paper, a soft pencil and something to rest the paper on, such as a clipboard. When the Moon is in the evening sky during the first half of the month, set a challenge to draw it. Begin with the Moon’s shape; its phase.
When the outline is drawn, ask about its brightness as a guide to identifying the darker sea areas. Mention that although they are called ‘seas,’ they are dark solidified lava. Set a new challenge to add these to the drawing: bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/stargazing
NEED TO KNOW
The terms used in The Sky Guide
Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST)
Universal Time (UT) is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. British Summer Time (BST) is one hour ahead of UT
RA (Right ascension) and dec. (declination)
These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’
Naked eye
Allow 20 minutes for your eyes to become dark-adapted
Photo opp
Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Binoculars
10×50 recommended
Small/ medium scope
Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
Large scope
Reflector/SCT over 6 inches, refractor over 4 inches
GETTING STARTED IN ASTRONOMY
If you’re new to astronomy, you’ll find two essential reads on our website. Visit http://bit.ly/10_easylessons for our 10-step guide to getting started and http://bit.ly/buy_scope for advice on choosing a scope