Monthly Night Sky Report: February 2021

     I hope that many of you were able to view Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury in the early evening sky.  Perhaps you were also able to view the Quadrantid Meteor Shower at the beginning of the month.  I was able to view Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury, but missed out on the meteor shower.  I was able to go out to the Utah west desert on the 16th and capture a few images of the night sky that I will share at the end of this post.  I was only out there for an hour or so before the cold forced me to pack up and call it a night.  

   Throughout January, we saw Jupiter and Saturn move closer to the Sun until they became lost in the glow of sunset.  We were also able to watch Mercury rise high in the western sky until it reached the point known as its greatest eastern elongation and then begin a similar approach to the Sun as the two gas giants.  In the morning sky, we were able to watch Venus move closer to the Sun until it became nearly lost in the sunrise glow.  

    During February, we will continue to see Mercury and Venus approach the Sun, until they are lost in the glow.  Mercury will return to our morning skies while Venus will be lost from view in early February until the end of March or beginning of April.  The two gas giants will soon be able to be viewed in the morning sky with Mercury.  February does not offer any large meteor showers, but does bring the chance to view the Zodiacal light which can be seen in dark skies during February, March, and April.  Perhaps the most exciting event this month will be the arrival and hopefully landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars.  

    

Mercury

   Mercury should still be able to be seen shortly after sunset.  Its presence will be short lived as the innermost planet approaches the Sun, from our vantage point, and lost from view during the first week of February.  However, by the end of the second week, you might be able to view this tiny world above the eastern mountains before sunrise.  Your chances will improve as we move into the second week of the month, and beyond, as Mercury will appear to increase its distance from the Sun.  By the end of the month, Mercury will be near the point of its greatest western elongation.  Mercury will actually reach this point in early March, making it much easier to spot before sunrise.      

  

Venus

  Venus will be a short lived target this month, if at all visible in Utah.  Throughout the end of January, I had a hard time spotting our sister planet due to the mountains and the glow of sunrise.  If you can get far enough away from the mountains before sunrise, you might be able to catch a glimpse of Venus during the first week of February.  After this time, Venus will be lost from view until the end of March or the first part of April.  At this time, it will be found in our western sky shortly after the Sun plunges below the horizon.  

    

Mars

    The red planet will rise above the Utah mountains around 11:30 AM as the month begins.  As you know, this is during daylight hours, so you will have to wait until sunset to view this planet.  Mars will take Jupiter's place as being the most likely candidate for the first "star" you will see after sunset.  It will be found towards the southwest about 6:30 PM and will appear to move eastward in our night sky, towards Orion, as the month progresses.  The Moon can be found in close proximity to Mars on the 18th.  Towards the end of the month, Mars will be near the young star cluster known as the Pleiades.  The two will reach their closest during the first few days of March.  The Pleiades look amazing through a pair of binoculars or an eyepiece that offers a wide field of view.  The contrasting colors of Mars (red) and the Pleiades (blue) will easily be noticeable.        

Jupiter

Saturn

    The gas giants recently had a conjunction with the Sun.  They are in a point in their orbit around the Sun where they will transition from being viewed after sunset to being viewed before sunrise.  Jupiter will poke above the mountains before the Sun around the 20th of the month.  Saturn will be spotted about a week earlier, although it is much dimmer than Jupiter and might be hard to spot against the morning glow of the Sun.      

   

Neptune

Uranus

    The outer two planets are best viewed through a telescope but can still be seen through a pair of binoculars.  Uranus will be found to the lower right of Mars as the month starts off.  As the month progresses, Mars and Uranus will move further apart due to the eastward motion of the red planet.  On the 17th, the Moon will be to the upper left of Uranus which may help in finding this planet.

    Neptune will be a harder target to spot this month as it lies close to the western horizon after sunset.  It can still be found in the constellation of Aquarius, which will be out of view by the end of the month.  If you want to see this planet, be sure to give it your attention early in the month before it's gone!         

Meteor Shower

   There will not be a major meteor shower this month, but you always have the chance to see a meteor created by a lone piece of material burning up in our atmosphere.  The average rate is about 7 meteors per hour.  February will bring the chance to see the zodiacal light.  The only way to see this light is to get away from city lights and have a clear, light pollution free sky to the west.  You will also need a Moon free sky immediately after sunset which will be during the first two weeks of the month.  During the first evening, the Moon will not rise until about 11 PM.  It will rise an hour later each evening so you should have the chance to see the zodiacal light until the 14th or so, at which time there will be an 11% lit Moon in the western sky.  Let me know what you are able to see, and if possible, take some pictures!  

Spot Me....🕵️  

    I've had you try to spot quite a few different objects in the night sky, most of which require a telescope. February will remain cold throughout Utah and will hopefully bring some precipitation that the state could surely use.  If you do get the chance to observe, be sure to dress warmly!  The zodiacal light would be an excellent target to observe this month.  Remember to get as far away from city lights as possible, such as the west desert of Utah, and look west after sunset.  It may be hard to make out with your own eyes, but if you use a camera, it should be able to pick up this light.

    As mentioned, Perseverance will arrive at Mars during February.  This will happen on the 18th and will hopefully have a successful landing.  You can watch it live by clicking HERE.  In my mid-month post, I will share this link again and remind you to watch!

  

    As always, leave a comment to let us know what you see!

Monthly Breakdown

    February 04:  Last Quarter Moon 🌗

    February 10:  Moon passes within 3° of Venus

    February 10:  Moon passes within 3°  of Saturn

    February 11:  Venus and Jupiter pass within 0.5°

    February 11:  New Moon 🌑

    February 13:  Mercury and Jupiter pass within 4°

    February 13:  Moon passes within 4° of Neptune

    February 17:  Moon passes within 3° of Uranus

    February 18:  Moon passes within 4° of Mars

    February 19:  First Quarter Moon 🌓

    February 27:  Full Moon 🌕 

    

Think About This....💡

   

    I hope that you will enjoy these pictures taken from the west desert of Utah on the (cold!) night of January 16th.  

    The following three images were taken with my phone.  The first is a zoomed in image of Orion with a pesky satellite trail.  The second image shows Orion above the snow-capped mountains.  The final image shows Taurus near the top center of the image (sideways 'V') and Orion.  From these images, you can make out the different colors of the stars, such as the redness of Betelgeuse (Orion) and Aldebaran (Taurus) and the colored streak of the satellite.  If you zoom in, you can even detect the colors of Orion's Nebula!

Orion and Satellite streak

Orion

Orion and Taurus (top, left of center)

    

    The following pictures were taken from my DSLR camera.  The first shows Orion, Taurus, the Pleiades, Mars, and a few satellite trails.  Mars is the red "star" to the right of the Pleiades.  The second image shows much of the same but with a meteor trail below Orion.  You may also notice the faint Milky Way band to the left of Orion.  The middle image shows the same only without Mars and much fainter satellite trails.  The fourth image shows Orion and Taurus as well as the faint Milky Way band and skyglow from light pollution.  The last image is one of my favorites!  It shows Polaris (center) and the rotation of the star field around it.  You can also see the Milky Way band and the blue streak of a meteor (right) and the blinking lights on an aircraft (bottom left).        

Orion, Taurus, Pleiades, Mars, Satellite Trails

Orion, Taurus, Pleiades, Mars, Satellites, Meteor

Orion, Taurus, Pleiades

Orion, Taurus, Milky Way, Skyglow

Polaris, Milky Way, Starpsin, Blue Meteor Trail

    Stay tuned for more exciting news and events!  

Now get outside and look up!

Planet images taken by NASA.

Andrew vs. the Cosmos taken by Jeff Greenland.

    

Midmonth Check-In: January 2021

    We are already two weeks into 2021 and it's time for the first midmonth check-in of the year!  I suspect that many of you have not been able to do much stargazing yet this year due to the cold and sporadic cloud cover over Utah.  The only stargazing I've been able to do has been with my unaided eyes in the early evening after sunset or early morning before sunrise.  I'm hoping to have a more serious stargazing outing, more specifically, an astrophotography outing, in the next month or so.  

    Due to the cold, some astronomers may turn to daytime viewing.  This can involve viewing the Sun, with the appropriate solar filters and eye protection of course!  Not only is now a good time, but this year will be a great time for viewing the Sun.  If you don't already own a pair of solar glasses or a solar filter for your telescope, now would be a great time to buy one!

    The Sun goes through cycles, which are known as solar cycles.  A complete cycle lasts for approximately 11 years.  During the cycle, the magnetic field of the Sun flips, meaning that the north and south poles completely change places.  Through the complete cycle, the Sun will experience times of extreme activity, known as solar maximum or simply solar max, and also times of little to no activity, known as solar minimum or solar min.  The activity of the Sun includes solar flares, solar wind, sunspots, and coronal mass ejections (CME).  

    Sunspots appear as black spots on the surface of the Sun.  While sunspots are still quite hot, they are much cooler than the surrounding area, which make them appear black.  Sunspots can appear in small or large groups, with large groups being large enough to see by simply wearing a pair of solar glasses.  Below is a low quality animation taken in June of 2012 through my binoculars with solar filters during the transit of Venus.  The planet appears as a large circle towards the right edge of the Sun.  If you look closely, you should be able to see 4 large groups of sunspots.  

    Solar flares are the largest known explosive event in our solar system.  These occur when the magnetic energy associated with a sunspot is released.  Flares are studied primarily in the optical and x-ray range of the electromagnetic spectrum.  When viewing in these spectrums, a flare will appear as a bright flash of light. 

    Sunspots usually have large solar prominences connected to them.  These prominences connect one sunspot to another.  Sometimes, the prominences can extend for hundreds of thousands of miles above the surface of the Sun such as the image below taken by NASA in 2010.

This image has the Earth placed close to the Sun to compare the size of the Earth, the solar prominence, and the Sun.  This really puts into perspective how tiny we are! 

    Sometimes the solar prominences quietly die down back to the surface of the Sun.  Occasionally, these prominences can "snap" ejecting massive amounts of energy known as a coronal mass ejection.  A CME can contain millions to billions of tons of matter which can be accelerated to millions of miles per hour.  A CME can be tied to solar flares, but can also occur by itself. 

    The solar wind is simply the outward motion of particles from the Sun.  Since the Sun is a sphere, the solar wind radiates outwards in all directions equally and can reach everywhere in the solar system.

    Solar wind and solar flares cannot directly harm humans on the surface of Earth due to the magnetic field surround the planet.  However, astronauts outside of this protection, perhaps on the way to the Moon or Mars, can experience radiation poisoning.  So far, CME's have not been known to directly cause harm to the inhabitants on Earth.  They can disrupt satellites orbiting the planet, such as GPS, radio, and weather satellites.  In extreme cases, a CME may knock out power, such as what happened in Quebec in 1989.  The local residents were without power for only 9 hours.  

    Much of this activity causes particles to interact with particles in the atmosphere of the Earth.  This can cause aurora which can be seen in high northern areas and low southern areas of the planet.  During solar max, a solar flare or CME aimed at Earth, or a large amount of charged particles being carried by the solar wind can cause the aurora to extend to areas that typically do not experience them.  Sometimes they can reach as far south as Utah!             

Don't Forget....

    On the 13th, we had a New Moon, meaning for those adventurous enough, now would be a great time to get outside to view the stars!  Jupiter and Saturn are still moving closer to the Sun, leading up to their conjunctions on the 28th and 23rd, respectively.  If weather has allowed you to view Mercury in the evening sky, you should have noticed this tiny planet climbing higher in the western sky.  It will reach its highest point in the sky on the 23rd, being higher than Jupiter and Saturn, which should make it easy to spot!