The night sky, February 2007
February in the north affords a rare opportunity to view a range of nebulae types. Open clusters in Taurus, Auriga, Gemini and Canis Major contrast with the reflection and emission nebulae of Orion, and Monoceros. A careful study of these objects illustrates the basic concepts of star formation and evolution.
The north hosts Lynx, an indistinct string of stars north of Gemini and west of Ursa Major. 5 is a very nice double star, and 19 is a quadruple system. In dark skies, try to locate NGC 2419, a globular cluster that wanders through intergalactic space. It can be found in the sparse region north of omicron Geminorum..
South of Lynx is Gemini. Gemini consists of two parallel lines running southwest from Castor (heading the northern string) and Pollux (topping the southern line).Sweep along both strings for multiple stars. At the ‘foot’ of the northern line, above the raised arm of Orion, lie a number of open clusters the most notable of which is M35. Compare this with NGC 2158, visible in the same wide angle view. 22158, because of its greater distance, appears much smaller and compact than M35.
South of Castor and Pollux is Canis Minor. Its brightest star is Procyon, sister of Sirius. This constellation consists mostly of Procyon and beta. With a telescope one can make out some double stars. The open cluster Dolidze 26 is north of beta. Look east of eta for NGC 2394, an s-shaped view that, in spite of its cataloge number, is probably an asterism.
Between Orion and Canis Major and beneath Gemini is a large region of faint stars comprising Monoceros. Eta and beta are triple. Southeast of Betelgeuse and due east of Struve 1915 we find the emission nebulae 2237 and 2239, with the open cluster NGC 2244 embedded in the center. This is the Rosette nebula. Scan north of this for the emission nebula and open cluster designated NGC 2264 that surrounds the star 15. In the south we find M50 by hopping from delta or beta.
South of Monoceros is the stunning constellation Canis Major. We can locate Sirius by following the belt of Orion southeast. Canis Major also presents a rich array of clusters and Milky Way fields. Due south of Sirius is M41, an impressive open cluster. Farther to the east, embedded in the Milky Way, is M93 in Puppis. Puppis, south of Canis Major, is packed with deep sky objects and some of the best star clouds of the winter.
Look for the open clusters M46 and M47 south of alpha Monoceratis.
In the south we find bright Canopus, second only to Sirius, it dominates the southern sky. Southern observers still have a good view of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The planets in February
Mercury is low in the evening sky this month.
Venus is also an early evening object.
Mars is in the morning sky.
Jupiter is visible for most of the morning hours in February.
Saturn is a great evening object this month. We will have a number of months to observe this fascinating planet.
The north hosts Lynx, an indistinct string of stars north of Gemini and west of Ursa Major. 5 is a very nice double star, and 19 is a quadruple system. In dark skies, try to locate NGC 2419, a globular cluster that wanders through intergalactic space. It can be found in the sparse region north of omicron Geminorum..
South of Lynx is Gemini. Gemini consists of two parallel lines running southwest from Castor (heading the northern string) and Pollux (topping the southern line).Sweep along both strings for multiple stars. At the ‘foot’ of the northern line, above the raised arm of Orion, lie a number of open clusters the most notable of which is M35. Compare this with NGC 2158, visible in the same wide angle view. 22158, because of its greater distance, appears much smaller and compact than M35.
South of Castor and Pollux is Canis Minor. Its brightest star is Procyon, sister of Sirius. This constellation consists mostly of Procyon and beta. With a telescope one can make out some double stars. The open cluster Dolidze 26 is north of beta. Look east of eta for NGC 2394, an s-shaped view that, in spite of its cataloge number, is probably an asterism.
Between Orion and Canis Major and beneath Gemini is a large region of faint stars comprising Monoceros. Eta and beta are triple. Southeast of Betelgeuse and due east of Struve 1915 we find the emission nebulae 2237 and 2239, with the open cluster NGC 2244 embedded in the center. This is the Rosette nebula. Scan north of this for the emission nebula and open cluster designated NGC 2264 that surrounds the star 15. In the south we find M50 by hopping from delta or beta.
South of Monoceros is the stunning constellation Canis Major. We can locate Sirius by following the belt of Orion southeast. Canis Major also presents a rich array of clusters and Milky Way fields. Due south of Sirius is M41, an impressive open cluster. Farther to the east, embedded in the Milky Way, is M93 in Puppis. Puppis, south of Canis Major, is packed with deep sky objects and some of the best star clouds of the winter.
Look for the open clusters M46 and M47 south of alpha Monoceratis.
In the south we find bright Canopus, second only to Sirius, it dominates the southern sky. Southern observers still have a good view of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The planets in February
Mercury is low in the evening sky this month.
Venus is also an early evening object.
Mars is in the morning sky.
Jupiter is visible for most of the morning hours in February.
Saturn is a great evening object this month. We will have a number of months to observe this fascinating planet.
posted by P. Curtin at 1:29 PM
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