February 1 New Moon. SAS star party at Cedar Hills Observatory.
February 9: First quarter moon.
February 10: Jupiter's moon Europa passes in front of Ganymede.
February 17: Saturn will be visible all night.
February 16: Full moon.
February 23: Last quarter Moon.
February 25: SAS monthly meeting at the Library Center on South Campbell.
Saturn is high in the sky when the Sun sets. Look for it's rings. They are at their widest for several years.
Jupiter is the brightest planet in the night sky. It will be visible most of the night during the month. The moons of Jupiter will be putting on an interesting show during this month. They will appear to be edge-on to our sight of view. The moons will be passing in front of each other during the month. Please check the February issue of Astronomy or Sky and Telescope for the exact dates and times.
Probable the second most recognized constellation in the sky is Orion. It's bright stars dominate the southern part of the night. It contains several bright nebulas, and several double stars.
M 42 is the show piece of the constellation, perhaps in the entire sky. With any size telescope, the Orion Nebula can be seen. With a 10 inch telescope, the blue-greenish color of the nebula can be seen. On a good clear night, the wisps of the nebula can be seen extending on either side of the nebula. Inside of the nebula are 4 closely group of stars known as the Trapezium. All four should be seen with a 6-inch telescope.
M 43 is located just north of M 42. It is a much smaller nebula, often overlooked. It is also very bright.
M 78 is the third Messier object in Orion. It is located about 2 1/2 degrees northeast of zeta Orion. There should be two dim stars that show through the nebula, reminding one of a pair of eyes.
All three of the stars that form the 'belt' of Orion are double stars. Rigel is also a double star. The primary star is listed as 0.1 magnitude, and the secondary star of this system is listed as 6.8 magnitude. The separation between these two stars is only 9.5 seconds. This double can be split with a 6 inch reflector, but good, steady seeing conditions and high magnification, at least 250X, will be needed.
NGC 2024 can be difficult to see, due to its closeness to zeta Orion. It is just to the East of this star. Move your telescope so zeta is just out of the field of view. Averted vision and good sky conditions are best to spot this nebula.
NGC 2022 is one of this constellations planetary nebula. It is very small, and it is best seen in a 10 inch telescope. It is located about 1 and 1/2 degrees from phi Orion. Use high magnification to see this planetary nebula.
NGC 2169 is an open cluster that is located about seven degrees north-northeast of Betelgeuse. This cluster is best view at higher magnification, where it forms the numbers '37'.
NGC 2194 is another open cluster that is locate just over one degree southeast of NGC 2169. It is a tighter group of stars that will need a good clear night to locate.