February 2020 What’s Up

Week of 24th February

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 19:29 UT at the start of the week and 19:39 UT at the end
  • Venus is ever higher in the southwest evening sky
  • The waxing Crescent Moon will pass by Venus in the evening, appearing closest on Thursday when they will be about 6° apart. Look towards the southwest horizon to spot this appulse
  • Reports suggest that Betelgeuse has stopped dimming and could be increasing in magnitude again. Get out, have a look and see what you think
  • Star Count 2020 is running from the 21st to 28th February. It is a ‘Citizen Science’ project to assess light pollution levels across the country. Count the number of stars you can see by naked eye within the ‘four corners’ of Orion and report your observation online. Search ‘Star Count 2020’ for full details
  • The Moon is waxing and will be at First Quarter next week
  • The Sun has no visible active regions, current spotless stretch is 21 days
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week

Week of 17th February

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 19:17 UT at the start of the week and 19:27 UT at the end
  • Venus continues to dominate the southwest evening sky
  • For the early risers, the waning Crescent Moon will appear close to Mars on Tuesday, Jupiter on Wednesday and Saturn on Thursday. Look in the southeast at around 6 am
  • The Moon will be New on Sunday
  • The Sun has no visible active regions, current spotless stretch is 14 days
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week

Week of 10th February

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 19:05 UT at the start of the week and 19:15 UT at the end
  • The Moon reaches perigee (closest point to Earth) on Monday; it is waning and will be Last Quarter on Saturday
  • Venus, the ‘Evening Star’, is bright (mag -4) and clear to spot in the southwest evening sky
  • Mercury (mag -0.5) will be at Greatest Eastern Elongation on Monday, placing it perfectly for a rare sighting. It will be at its highest point in the sky on Friday, when it reaches a peak altitude of 15° above the horizon. Look in the southwest just after sunset (take care as Mercury is still within 20° of the Sun)
  • Neptune is also in the southwestern evening sky, though at magnitude +8 will require binoculars to be seen. It is in close conjunction (about 2 arcminutes) with the star Phi Aquarii and comes to about 5° of Mercury
  • Keep observing Betelgeuse, which is at its dimmest since records began, currently at about magnitude +1.7. February 21st is a key date as this is when the star’s variable periods are predicted to turn and it should start to brighten again
  • The Sun is currently spotless
  • There are no visible ISS passes this week

Week of 3rd February

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 18:54 UT at the start of the week and 19:04 UT at the end
  • The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Sunday
  • Venus is climbing ever higher in the southwest evening sky
  • Mercury is starting to become visible in the evening sky, look low on the southwestern horizon just after sunset (take care as Mercury is still within 20° of the Sun)
  • The Sun has one current active region (AR 2757), which is departing around the western limb
  • The ISS makes visible evening passes this week as follows:
    Monday: 18:31, W to E, max 87° & 19:08, W to S, max 34°
    Tuesday: 18:21, W to SE, max 46° & 19:59, WSW to SW, max 12°
    Wednesday: 17:33, W to ESE, max 60° & 19:10, W to S, max 17°
    Thursday: 18:22, W to SSE, max 24°
    Saturday: 18:25, WSW to SSW, max 12°
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