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Celestial Events

The Planets this Week

  • Mercury is presently too close to the sun and is not observable. The tiny planet passes behind the sun (superior conjunction) on February 7 and emerges in the evening sky after mid-month, low on the west-southwest horizon.
  • Venus is the brilliant Evening Star, easily seen above the west-southwest horizon right after sunset. The visibility of Venus continues to improve, as the dazzling planet appears higher with each passing evening, in an increasingly darker sky; Venus is now visible for more than three and a half hours after sunset. Notice how the gap between Venus and Jupiter is closing day to day. The thin crescent moon will make a stunning pair with Venus on the evening of February 25.
  • Mars rises around 8:00 p.m. above the eastern horizon, and culminates high in the south around 2:00 a.m. The brightness of the Red Planet is now remarkably bright, as it nears its opposition in early March. The waning gibbous moon will be near Mars on the night of February 9 to 10.
  • Jupiter appears high in the southwest as soon as the sky darkens after sunset. The giant planet is already at its ideal position for observation at nightfall; so don't wait any longer to point your telescope in its direction. Jupiter sets in the west around midnight. Notice how the separation between Jupiter and Venus rapidly diminishes from one evening to the next. The first quarter moon will be near the bright planet on the evening of February 26.
  • Saturn rises above the east-southeast horizon around 11:00 p.m., and culminates in the south around 4:00 a.m. The ringed planet is currently near bright star Spica, in the constellation Virgo: the waning gibbous moon joins this celestial pair on the night of February 11 to 12.

Past Astronomical Events

Eclipses, conjunctions,
meteor showers...
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Credits.  Last Modified: 2012-02-06