Events, Moon, Planets in February Home Page Evènements du mois Monthly Sky Charts

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.Events .Moon .Planets .Minor Planets, NEOs .Comets .Shooting Stars .Occultations .Sun .check more! (occultations observers are advised to check in 'Events', and to turn to such dedicated sites like the I.O.T.A). don't forget to check the weather! For the US: the NOAA . color codes: Wwd worldwide, UsA USA-Americas, EuA Europe-Africa, AsP Asia-Pacific, Chk Check for Your Zone. check the site's concept and the instructions of use

Editor's Choice Fine Picture Archives Editor's Choice Sky At Tech News color codes: Wwd worldwide, UsA USA-Americas, EuA Europe-Africa, AsP Asia-Pacific, Chk Check for Your Zone. check the site's concept and the instructions of use

Events Home Page

.Events Seen All Month Long .Ephemerides Proper

(data from the former yearly ephemerides generator at Fred Espenak's NASA's eclipse website; miscellaneous data with the 'Astronomical Phenomena for The Year 2020,' a joint work by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office and the U.S. Naval Observatory; to be found at the latter's site; all time UT except otherwise stated)

Wwd No major planet remarkably is seen, worldwide, at night! On the other hand, a host of planets are seen like morning stars worldwide, some of them low in the northern hemisphere. Fine visual and photographic opportunities, and Moon will also come to add

As no major planet is seen at night worldwide, a host of them is seen like morning stars, some low in the northern hemisphere! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon the Stellarium software

Wwd Jupiter like a morning star, during all February, with a closest about Feb. 16, is seen worldwide moving relatively to the 2.9th magnitude star pi Sgr. Fine visual and photographic opportunities, and Moon will also come to add

Jupiter moving relative to pi Sgr! Fine! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon the Stellarium software

Wwd Fine constellations are seen South, at the Tropics by dawn. Fine views!

2 Wwd There is a occultation of minor planet Vesta today by Moon! check more at Occultations; check more too at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

3 UsA EuA First quartered Moon by all latitudes, close to Aldebaran and the Hyades! Fine visually and photographically!

Moon close to Aldebaran and the Hyades! Fine! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon the Stellarium software

5 Wwd Waxing gibbous Moon by all latitudes, is seen by twilight among the rising bright stars of the Great Winter Sky! Fine!

Moon is seen among the bright stars rising, of the Great Winter Sky! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon the Stellarium software

6 Wwd Moon is at a ascending node at 08:59 UT as Moon, that same day, is reaching a northernmost declination at 16:10 UT

9 EuA Full Moon by all latitudes, is seen close to Regulus, the bright star to constellation Leo, the Lion

Moon close to Regulus, the bright star to constellation Leo, the Lion! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon the Stellarium software

10Wwd Moon is at its perigee at 20:30 UT (distances non available)

13 Wwd There is a occultation of minor planet Juno today by Moon! check more at Occultations; check more too at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

17 UsA EuA Tomorrow by dawn at all latitudes, last crescent is seen close to Mars! Fine visually and photographically!

By dawn, Moon close to Mars! Fine! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon the Stellarium software

18 (1) UsA Tomorrow by dawn by all latitudes, last crescent is close to Jupiter! Fine visually and photographically!

18 (2) AsP Tomorrow by dawn at all latitudes, last crescent is close to Mars! Fine visually and photographically!

18 (3) Wwd There is a occultation of Mars today by Moon! check more at Occultations; check more too at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

19 (1) UsA Tomorrow by dawn at all latitudes, last crescent is seen close to Saturn! Fine visually and photographically!

19 (2) EuA Tomorrow by dawn at all latitudes, last crescent is seen between Jupiter and Saturn which are morning stars! Fine visually and photographically!

By the sky at dawn, crescent Moon is seen between Jupiter and Saturn! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon the Stellarium software

19 (3) AsP Tomorrow by dawn by all latitudes, last crescent is seen close to Jupiter! Fine visually and photographically!

19 (4) Wwd Moon is at a descending node at 00:12 UT as Moon also reaches a southernmost declination at 08:58 UT

19 (5) Wwd There is a occultation of Jupiter today by Moon! check more at Occultations; check more too at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

20 (1) AsP Tomorrow by dawn by all latitudes, last crescent is seen close to Saturn! Fine visually and photographically!

Crescent Moon is seen close to Saturn by dawn! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon the Stellarium software

20 (2) Wwd There is a occultation of Pluto today by Moon! check more at Occultations; check more too at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

26 Wwd Moon is at its apogee at 11:35 UT (distances non available)

27 Wwd First crescent at all latitudes, is not that far from Venus in twilight! Fine visually and photographically!

Occultations observers are advised to turn to such dedicated sites like the I.O.T.A as they may also check below at our Occultation section

Moon Home Page

First Quarter is on February 2nd, at 01:42 UT
Full Moon is on February 9th, at 07:33 UT
Last Quarter is on February 15th, at 22:17 UT
New Moon is on February 23rd, at 15:32 UT

(source: Ephemeris generator at Fred Espenak's NASA's eclipse website)

Planets Home Page

for what a remarkable configuration of a planet is, check our tutorial 'Planets Apparent Motion'

Mercury is both reaching a greatest eastern elongation on Feb. 2 by 13:59, and a inferior conjonction on Feb. 26 at 01:37. Mercury is horizon-bound about worldwide since early February as it may be searched about that date in the northern hemisphere

Venus is now a fine and high evening star worldwide as it's also seen well into the night in the northern hemisphere! Ditto at the Tropics. The show, generally, is lower in the southern hemisphere and Venus not really seen into the night

Venus a fine and high evening star in the northern hemisphere, as seen into the night! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon the Stellarium software

Mars now is a fine morning star in the northern hemisphere, southeast, much high southeast at the Tropics, or much high, East in the southern hemisphere. A Mars observation campaign, the Mars Observation Campaign 2020-2021 is unfolding from March 19th, 2020 when Mars will reach 6" of apparent diameter, until March 10th, 2021 when Mars will be back to that value, a value afficionados deem the least observable. check more at our Mars Observation Campaign 2020-2021 page

Jupiter is now a low morning star, southeast, in the northern hemisphere, a fine one at the Tropics and the southern hemisphere

Saturn after its conjunction last month is low like a morning star, southeast in the northern hemisphere as it's a morning star by its own right at the Tropics or the southern hemisphere. Following a ring aperture maximum, rings now are closing

Uranus keeps observable in the northern hemisphere due to a early twilight, and into the night. That's also true at the Tropics as that's less true in the southern hemisphere

Uranus keeping observable! check details in the text. picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon the Celestia software

Neptune is not observable, worldwide

Pluto reached a conjunction last month. It is not reappearing enough worldwide, for observation. It's too low, in our opinion, at the Tropics and the southern hemisphere (according to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) since 2006, Pluto is not considered a planet anymore, but categorized like a dwarf planet instead along with Ceres, Eris, Makemake, and Haumea, and the prototype of a new category of 'trans-Neptunian', 'Pluto-class' objects)

Minor Planets, NEOs Home Page

.Minor Planets .Nearest NEOs

Minor Planets

Minor planets are those biggest asteroids in the Asteroid Belt which may be easily observed by amateurs from the Earth, namely Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta (due to the new categorization by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) by 2006, Ceres belongs to the 5 dwarf planets in the solar system with Pluto, Eris, Makemake, and Haumea). check data and charts at our section Minor Planets on the yearly Calendar page as our tutorial 'Asteroids and Asteroid Hunting' is of help too. Any remarkable event linked to a minor planet may have a notice here below

Nearest NEOs

Some small asteroids dubbed Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are regularly making close approaches at Earth. People interested in such close approaches may obtain recent and upcoming data at NASA (JPL) site Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) (their section "Close Approaches"). Miscellaneous data are available. For further observational purposes, check at their ephemeris Generator (via Tools/Neo DB Query) . For more about NEOs see tutorial "About NEOs"

Comets Home Page

Once every time, the solar system treats us with a remarkable comet, a eery view spanning up to thirty degrees of sky! Most of the time however comets are the domain of dedicated observers as mostly weak and, at the most, hovering at the limit of the naked-eye visibility. A good site to get information about current such comets is the British Astronomical Association Comet Section page or also the Weekly Information about Bright Comets page (which often points to comets close to the visual magnitude). Our 'Comets and Comet Hunting' tutorial will also be helpful. Remarkable comets otherwise usually will be presented below!

Shooting Stars Home Page

->note: shooting stars afficionados will be aware of checking Moon at the dates of the showers

• - no major meteor shower this month -
• Shooting stars afficionados may turn to such dedicated sites like IMO, The International Meteor Organization for more about the above and about possible minor showers this month

for more about the meteor showers of this month, for possible other meteor showers for this month, and for more about shooting stars, generally, see our tutorial "Shooting Stars"

Occultations Home Page

Each month, Moon occults some relatively bright stars, that is the Moon, beginning either with its bright or its dark visible face, is passing in front of a star. This is called an occultation. The Pleiades, on the other hand, due to their position near the eclipic, are often occulted by Moon too. Some planets, at last, along the year, may be occulted by Moon or they themselves, or their satellites, may be seen too occulting a star. The asteroids too may occult stars. Yearly lists of such phenomenons are to be found at Sky & Telescope/SkyTonight.com, either in their newsstand issues or at their site, as a list of occultations of most brilliant stars, the planets and the Pleiades are available at the I.O.T.A site (I.O.T.A. stands for "The International Occultation Timing Association"). Are given here only planetary occultations; for bright stars occultations, check at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.). Most important planetary occultations are given below

Minor planet Vesta back is occulted by Moon on Feb. 2nd, 2018 by 09:00 UT! The show is available for Southern Asia, easternAfghanistan, northernPhilippines, China, Japan,eastern Russia, Alaska,western Canada. check more at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

Minor planet Juno back is occulted by Moon on Feb. 13th, 2018 by 10:00 UT! The show is available for North America (except northeastern Canada), CentralAmerica, Caribbean,northern South America. check more at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

Mars back is occulted by Moon on Feb. 18th, 2018 by 13:00 UT! The show is available for North America (except northwestern Canada and Alaska),most of Central America,Caribbean, northernmostSouth America,Southernmost tip ofGreenland, Azores. check more at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

Jupiter back is occulted by Moon on Feb. 19th, 2018 by 20:00 UT! The show is available for Antarctica, southernmostSouth America. check more at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

Pluto back is occulted by Moon on Feb. 20th, 2018 by 08:00 UT! The show is available for South easternmost SouthAmerica, Antarctica,Kerguelen Islands, southwesternmost tip of Australia. check more at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

check on this site for more about occultations, theoretically

Sun Home Page

click to last Sun