February 2022 – What’s Up!

Week of 28th February

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 19:36 UT at the start of the week and at 19:47 UT by the end of the week
  • New Moon this week provides the perfect dark skies to attempt the Messier Marathon – try and spot all 110 Messier objects in one night!
  • Mars (mag +1.3) and Venus (-4.6) grace our southeastern morning sky this week just before sunrise
  • The Moon is New on Wednesday
  • The Sun currently has two active regions: AR 2954 & 2955. The sunspot number is 22
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week

Week of 21st February

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 19:24 UT at the start of the week and at 19:35 UT by the end of the week
  • On Sunday there is a morning gathering of solar system objects. Find the waning Crescent Moon close to Mars (mag +1.3), Venus (-4.6), Mercury (-0.1) and Saturn (+0.8). Look just above the southeastern horizon at around 07:00 UT, but avoid the rising Sun, especially if looking with binoculars
  • With a waning Moon, this week’s dark evening skies will be ideal for deep sky hunting with binoculars; find two beautiful open clusters in Cancer: M44 – The Beehive Cluster (+3.1) and M67 (+6.9)
  • The Moon is Last Quarter on Wednesday
  • The Sun currently has four active regions: AR 2946, 2948, 2952 & 2953. The sunspot number is 51
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week

Week of 14th February

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 19:13 UT at the start of the week and at 19:23 UT by the end of the week
  • On Wednesday, Mercury (mag 0.0) reaches greatest western elongation, making it appear at its highest altitude in our morning sky at about 8° above the southeastern horizon
  • Look about 10° further to the west to spot Venus (-4.6) and Mars (+1.3) gracing our morning sky
  • The Moon is Full on Wednesday – the Snow Moon
  • The Sun currently has four active regions: AR 2939, 2940, 2941 & 2944. The sunspot number is 78
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week

Week of 7th February

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 19:01 UT at the start of the week and at 19:11 UT by the end of the week
  • On Monday, the 6 day old, waxing crescent Moon (mag -7.1) will appear just 1° away from Uranus (+5.8) in the sky
  • On Sunday, Venus (-4.6) will be at its highest altitude in the morning sky. Look about 16° above the southeastern horizon at around 07:30 UT, just before sunrise to spot the bright planet
  • The Moon is First Quarter on Tuesday
  • The Sun currently has four active regions: AR 2938, 2939, 2940 & 2941. The sunspot number is 91
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week
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