This Week In The Creator's Skies

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,

the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

Psalm 8:3,4

 (From Astronomy and Sky & Telescope Magazines) 

Sunday, February 9
Mercury reaches superior conjunction at 7 A.M. EST, meeting with the Sun in the sky. In the coming weeks, the small planet will reappear in our evening sky, approaching Saturn for an evening conjunction in the last week of February.

Tonight, the evening sky holds a different conjunction, as the Moon passes 0.8° north of Mars at 3 P.M. EST and sits near the magnitude 4.1 star Upsilon (υ) Geminorum in the early-evening hours. That star, however, might be hard to see, as our satellite is bright and nearly fully lit, now almost 12 days old with 93 percent of its nearside in daylight.
Tonight the bright Moon shines amid Mars, Pollux, and Castor. The scene above shows them the way they're oriented at nightfall.
Just to the Moon’s upper right in the evening sky is Mars.
Monday, February 10
After dinnertime Sirius the Dog Star blazes in the southeast, the brightest star of Canis Major. Look below Orion.
In a dark sky where lots of stars are visible, the constellation's points can be connected to form a convincing dog seen in profile. He's currently standing on his hind legs, facing right. Sirius shines on his chest like a bright dogtag, to the right or lower right of his faint triangular head.
Saturn’s rings are quickly thinning as the planet tilts relative to our line of sight, preparing for a ring-plane crossing next month. The ringed planet glows at magnitude 1.1 in Aquarius, quickly sinking toward the horizon after sunset. Your best bet for good views is to look shortly after sunset — 40 minutes after the Sun disappears, Saturn is 15° high in the west, hanging below much brighter Venus in Pisces.
Tuesday, February 11
Although we’ve passed the winter solstice, the Winter Hexagon continues to dominate the evening sky. Spanning six constellations, you can connect the stars of this great asterism as soon as darkness falls from your observing site.
By an hour after sunset, the Winter Hexagon stands prominently in the southeast. Its lowest star is also its brightest: blazing Sirius in Canis Major, at the feet of Orion the Hunter.
Wednesday, February 12
Full Moon occurs at 8:53 A.M. EST; by evening, the Moon is rising in the east near the front of Leo the Lion shortly after the Sun sets below the western horizon. Our satellite sits just to the left of Regulus, the Lion’s magnitude 1.4 “heart” and the base of the Sickle asterism that outlines the great cat’s head.
The February Full Moon is also called the Snow Moon, likely because this month is typically when North America sees significant snowfall. The Full Moon itself lies opposite the Sun in the sky, and is visible all night, throwing its bright light across the sky. During this phase, many fainter stars become invisible, with only the brightest luminaries shining through.
Thursday, February 13
Rising just a few hours before the Sun, the Wild Duck Cluster in Scutum is a great target for times when the Moon is bright. Located near the tail of Aquila, this cluster — also cataloged as M11 and NGC 6705 — rises around 3:30 A.M. local time and reaches nearly 25° in altitude in the southeast an hour before sunrise.
Friday, February 14

The dwarf planet 1 Ceres is in conjunction with the Sun at 5 P.M. EST today. So, let’s focus on another bright main-belt world — 15 Eunomia, which shines at roughly 10th magnitude and stands near 6th-magnitude NGC 1746 in Taurus.
Saturday, February 15
Right after night is completely dark this week, the W of Cassiopeia shines high in the northwest, standing almost on end. Near the zenith is Capella.