Skylights: February 2022

February opens with Lunar New Year, Year of the Tiger. New Moon occurs on the 1st, beginning Lunation 1226. 

We are entering the time of year when the waxing crescent Moon sits high above the southwestern horizon after sunset, so if this is your favorite lunar phase, this is the best time of year to observe it. However, as the Moon lies well south of the ecliptic during this phase, we won’t get the distinct U-shaped crescent, with the cusps pointed nearly perpendicular to the horizon. 

 As the Moon progresses through its phases this month, one of the more notable differences from the previous months is that, as it begins to traverse the Winter Hexagon, it is a distinct small gibbous, unlike around the time of solstice when it was nearly full. This is one of the sky’s indicators that spring is fast approaching.

Continuing our journey with the waxing Moon, just after midnight on the 11th-12th, the Moon passes just over one degree north of the open cluster M35 in Gemini. On the 13th, the Moon joins the twins, Pollux and Castor, being in line with the pair at about 10pm. On the 14th, we find the Moon just 2.5° north of the Beehive Cluster, M44, in Cancer. This will make a nice binocular pair.

The Full Snow Moon rises just one minute before sunset on the 16th. When the sky darkens a bit, find Regulus, in Leo, just 4.5° to the right of the Moon.

As the Moon wanes, find it rising near Spica on the 20th, and early in the morning of the 22nd, it is just 1/2° from the double star Zubenelgenubi in Libra. An occultation occurs for observers a bit north and west of us, but we’ll only get treated to the close encounter in southern New England.

On the 24th, the waning crescent Moon rises just 2.5° north of Antares in Scorpius, and on the 27th it is located near Mars.

The Sun crosses into Aquarius on the 16th, and by now you’re probably noticing that it is higher in the sky than it was just a few weeks ago, as it is now close to halfway in declination between solstice and equinox. As it is higher in declination, we’re also enjoying its presence in our sky longer, and the days of the post 5pm sunsets are upon us beginning on the 1st.

We turn to the morning sky to explore our solar system’s inner rocky planets this month, as Mercury, Venus and our nearest outer planet, Mars are visible before sunrise. 

Mercury reaches maximum elongation of 27° west of the Sun on the 16th, although the ecliptic angle in the morning is not in its favor for this apparition, and it never rises more than 80 minutes before the Sun.

Venus and Mars perform a nice pairing, as they both track eastward at approximately the same rate throughout February, straddling the Teaspoon asterism of Sagittarius through the middle of the month.

Turning your telescope on Venus reveals that it shows a widening crescent phase throughout the month, but as the planet moves away from Earth, its disk shrinks in apparent size from 48.5 to 31.6 arcseconds. It is 0.5 AU away on the 24th. Venus is at its greatest illumination (magnitude -4.9) on the 12th.

Mars remains over 2 AU away until the end of the month, and as such it remains rather small in a telescope, showing us its full face at under 5 arcseconds. It will be worth taking a gaze at Mars on the morning of the 5th, when it passes over the northern fringes of the large and bright globular cluster M22.

A notable conjunction occurs on the 27th, when the waning crescent Moon aligns with Venus and Mars. Asteroid 4 Vesta, shining at magnitude 8.0 at a distance of 2.760 AU, lies along the line between Venus and Mars as well, and if you’re up for a challenge, dwarf planet Pluto is just a 3.0° to the east of Mars, at a distance of 35.215 AU and magnitude 14.5.

February is not a good month for viewing the outer solar system’s gas and ice giants, as all but Uranus lie on the opposite side of the Sun from our perspective.

We’re now in the final days of viewing Jupiter in our evening sky. The last notable event occurs on the 2nd, when the waxing crescent Moon lies 4° south of the brilliant planet. This should make a striking pair in the twilight sky with the globe of the Moon illuminated by Earthshine.  

Saturn will not be visible this month, as it passes through conjunction on the 4th.

Uranus remains in favorable viewing position, high in the southwest after dusk. Located in southern Aries, it can be found about halfway between Hamal (Alpha Arietis) and Menkar (Alpha Ceti). The 6-day waxing crescent Moon is 1.5° to its southeast on the 7th.

Although Neptune remains in the evening sky for about two hours after sunset, it is too low to permit any practical observation. If you do plan to observe it, an opportune night would be the 3rd, when not only the waxing crescent Moon lies 3.5° to its south, but it also makes a close pass (about 88 arcseconds) to the 6th magnitude star HD 221148 in eastern Aquarius. The star is a class K3 orange giant, which should make a fine color-contrasting pair. HD 22148 is 154 light-years distant, while Neptune is 257 light minutes from us.

Dwarf planet Ceres is once again moving prograde, tracking eastward through Taurus. Its 8th magnitude starlike appearance can be found within a few degrees of the Pleiades cluster throughout the month.

Turning our attention to the dome of the sky above us as twilight fades, we find that Cygnus, a summer constellation, is finally departing our evening sky in the northwest. The Great Square of Pegasus assumes the form of a diamond above the western horizon in early evenings, as the Winter Hexagon maintains a prominent position throughout the month, The Pleiades cross the meridian just as twilight ends. Early and late February, the segments of the month not awash in bright moonlight, are good times to explore the winter Milky Way.

To the north, we find that the entire Big Dipper, and in turn, all of Ursa Major, is now visible just after dark, with the bear standing upright on its tail. Leo begins transiting the meridian at local midnight, indicating that this is the beginning of galaxy season. Likewise, the end of February presents the first of this year’s two best opportunities to conduct the annual Messier Marathon. The next one occurs in late March.

There are two notable asteroids near opposition over the coming weeks. 20 Massalina, a 150 kilometer main belt asteroid, reaches opposition on February 5, and is visible in Cancer, southeast of the Beehive cluster. It is closest to Earth on the 2nd at a distance of 1.12 AU, and fades from magnitude 8.5 in early February to 9.3 towards the end of the month.

Finally, 16 Psyche, the target object of NASA’s Psyche mission set to launch in August, reaches opposition on March 5. Psyche is a 220-kilometer metallic asteroid believed to hold clues to protoplanetary formation in our early solar system. At closest approach it will be 2.226 AU away in Leo, shining at magnitude 10.5, so it will be best observed with a telescope.