| 1 |
Moon
near the Pleiades
(evening sky) at 21h UT.
• Pleiades
(star cluster) (Wikipedia)
|
| 2 |
Moon
near Aldebaran
(evening sky) at 17h UT. |
| 7 |
Moon
near Beehive cluster
(evening sky) at 1h UT. |
| 7 |
Mercury
at superior conjunction
with the Sun at 9h UT. The planet passes into the evening sky. |
| 7 |
Full
Moon
at 21:55 UT.
• Full
Moon Names (Wikipedia) |
| 8 |
Alpha
Centaurids meteor shower peaks.
About 6 meteors/hour but can peak at up to 25/hour. Produces
bright, fast meteors. Active Jan 28 to Feb 21. A sometimes major
southern shower. Poor viewing conditions this year due to
excessive moonlight.
• The
Alpha & Beta Centaurids (Gary Kronk)
|
| 8 |
Moon
near Regulus
(morning sky) at 19h UT. |
| 10 |
Venus
0.3° NNW of Uranus
(41° from Sun, evening sky) at 1h UT. Mags. -4.1 and +5.9. |
| 11 |
Moon
at perigee
(closest to Earth) at 19h UT (367,922 km; 32.5'). |
| 12 |
Moon
near Spica
(morning sky) at 12h UT. |
| 12 |
Moon
near Saturn
(morning sky) at 22h UT. Mag. +0.5. |
| 14 |
Last
Quarter Moon
at 17:05 UT. |
| 15 |
Moon
near Antares
(morning sky) at 19h UT. |
| 21 |
New
Moon
at 22:36 UT. Start of lunation 1103.
• Lunation
Number (Wikipedia) |
| 25 |
Moon
near Venus
(44° from Sun, evening sky) at 21h UT. Mag. -4.2. |
| 27 |
Moon
near Jupiter
(evening sky) at 3h UT. Mag. -2.2. |
| 27 |
Moon
at apogee
(farthest from Earth) at 14h UT (distance 404,863 km; angular
size 29.5'). |
| 29 |
Moon
near the Pleiades
(evening sky) at 2h UT.
• Pleiades
(star cluster) (Wikipedia)
|
|
The Zodiacal
Light
is caused by sunlight reflected off meteoric dust in the plane
of the solar system. Choose a clear, moonless night, about 1-2
hours after sunset, and look for a large triangular-shaped glow
extending up from the horizon (along the ecliptic). The best
months to view the Zodiacal Light is when the ecliptic is almost
vertical at the horizon: March and April (evening) and
October-November (morning); times reversed for the southern
hemisphere.
• Zodiacal
Light (Wikipedia)
• Astronomy
Picture of the Day (APOD)
• Photographing
the Zodiacal Light (Weatherscapes) |
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