Planets
Mercury
Mercury becomes an evening object, having passed through superior conjunction on the 9th. On the 25th it will be 1.7o N of Saturn in the twilight. The elongation is then only 13o and may be tricky, unless you have a clear western horizon.
Venus
Venus is high in the west after sunset. Its phase of 33% near the start of the month decreases to 23% by the end, and its magnitude increases to -4.9. lts diameter increases to around 45” by the end of the month. Being high in the sky makes it easy to observe and it will suffer less atmospheric turbulence.
Mars
Mars remains well placed for observing throughout the night. It is a prominent reddish object of near the stars Castor and Pollux and has a magnitude around -1. Its diameter drops to 12”. It is now very well placed for observation. On the 9th, there is a grazing occultation by the Moon at 18h 56m UT. A complete occultation is only visible in the north of Scotland and higher latitudes, but it will be a close approach in the south. Some photo opportunities!
Jupiter
Jupiter is well past opposition but remains a prominent object high in the sky as soon as it is dark. It is well placed for observing throughout the night. It is unmistakable, with a magnitude of -2.4, making it a great telescope object, so do get observing!
Saturn
Saturn is becoming a difficult object during this month as it heads towards conjunction with the Sun in mid March. On the 1st of February the Moon is 1.0o N of Saturn. The rings are almost edge on and this makes it dimmer.
Uranus
Uranus is still observable throughout most of the night (RA: 3h 22m, Dec +18.3o). It reached opposition in November. Its magnitude is +5.6 and diameter 3.8”.
Neptune
Neptune is now a difficult object as it is lost in the twilight.
Anyone wishing to observe Uranus, and who would like more details, should contact me at coord@cotswoldas.org.uk
Moon
Phases:
5th February: Moon is at First Quarter 12th February: Full Moon
20th February: Moon is at last quarter 28th February: New Moon
Sun
The Sun remains active currently, so watch out for large Sunspot groups. Remember to never look at the Sun directly without a proper solar filter.
Aurora
The Sun is still around its maximum activity and may produce more aurorae. I suggest you download an aurora alert App, such as Aurora Pro.
Meteors
There are no significant meteor showers this month.
Dark Sky Objects
The Milky Way is well placed for photography and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is still high in the sky, making it a good target for photography. The Perseus Double Cluster is also high in the sky. The Pleiades and Taurus are getting well-placed for observing and photography, and Orion is now visible in the evening skies, so the M42 nebula is a target again.
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