What's Up in the Sky - February 2010

Fred Barrett | Jan 28, 2010

By Fred Barrett

Orion is high in the South during February and at its glorious Winter peak for observing. Though there’s still plenty to explore in that territory, this month I’m going to point out a few objects to watch for in nearby Taurus. The most prominent object contained in its border is the Hyades star cluster. Find the top of Orion’s prominent hourglass shape and go right and at an upwards angle for about 15 degrees. By the way, the hourglass shape is only a part of Orion’s full outline. It would be more accurate to call the hourglass pattern an ‘asterism’. An asterism is a pattern of stars that looks like a common everyday object. It can be part of one or more constellations or may even be off on its own. They can be very helpful as ‘landmarks’ for finding your way around the sky. For example, the Big Dipper shape is an asterism. It is a part of the constellation Ursa Major.

Taurus is considered to be one of the oldest constellations known and, with the Pleiades, recognizable in cave paintings dating back to about 12,000 BCE. In Greek mythology, the god Zeus was transformed into the bull Taurus in order to capture the eye of princess Europa. Pretty hard to ignore a love struck bull! The Hyades cluster was meant to represent the sisters of Hyas, a great archer. The death of their brother caused a loss so extreme, they died of grief. Zeus placed them in the sky to honor their mourning. Taurus contains many binocular/small telescope objects to grab your interest! The brilliant orange glow of its most prominent star Aldebaran (alpha) almost overpowers the V-shaped cluster of stars. In actual fact, Aldebaran, at 68 light years, is only about half as far as the cluster. It just happens to be in the line of sight! The cluster is best viewed with wide field binoculars (7X50) and an assortment of striking, colourful stars leaps into view. The colour contrast between the two stars, Theta1 and Theta2, just down and to the right of Aldebaran is spectacular. There are several hundred, mostly faint, stars in the cluster and very little nebulosity can be seen. This indicates that it is an old cluster and star formation has ceased. This is not the case for the second famous cluster in Taurus, the Pleiades, often nicknamed the Seven Sisters. Keen eyes will see more than seven stars without optical aid. Binoculars will show many, many more. A rough estimate is that there are about 500 stars in a 50 light year diameter. Using the star chart, you can find your way to M1, the Crab Nebula, a remnant of a supernova that blew up in the year 1054 and was documented by several Chinese, Korean and Japanese astronomers. It can be seen with high power binoculars or most small telescopes. It will appear as a faint patch. I’ve included the bottom portion of the constellation Auriga in the star chart so that you can find the open clusters M36, 37 and 38. They can even be made out with the naked eye!

Mercury can be seen very low in the Southeast in early February but gets lower as the month progresses. Venus appears at sunset in mid-February in the West Southwest and continues there after sunset for the rest of the month. Ten minutes after sunset on February 16, look for Venus to be about a half degree just below Jupiter and close to the horizon. Mars is in Cancer and rises from low in the East to high in the South as the Earth rotates to late evening. Mars is very bright in early February but as Earth in its speedier orbit pulls away from Mars, its brightness fades by half by the end of the month. Have a look at M44, the Beehive Cluster, in Cancer. It’s down and to the left of Mars by a couple of degrees and is a near naked eye object and a spectacular view in binoculars. Jupiter can be seen in the West Southwest in early February twilight but sinks lower as the month progresses. Saturn rises within Virgo and is high in the Southeast by midnight. It’s a lovely small telescope observation!

The Moon begins the month two days past full. On the 12th it is at its most distant apogee (farthest part of its orbit) of 2010 and is new next day on the 13th. The days around this date offer the best observing. Full Moon is the 28th and in northern North America is called, appropriately enough, “The Snow Moon”. Different societies and civilizations through history have evolved their own names for each month’s full Moon. In some agricultural societies, it was one way to keep track of the growing seasons – “The Harvest Moon” in October. Some First Nation societies called this month’s Moon “The Hungry Moon” – food supplies were getting low in mid winter. A full Moon makes observing sky objects difficult but don’t forget that there are some great sights to be seen on the Moon’s surface.

Check the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy for a copy of Leo Enright’s “The Beginner’s Observing Guide”. It’s an invaluable companion for adventures in the night sky. It is also available from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at www.rasc.ca/publications . A subscription for our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine, Sky News, can be arranged there as well. If you have any questions or suggestions, contact me through this paper or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Clear Skies!

If you have questions or suggestions, Fred Barrett may be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Beginner’s Observer’s Guide by Leo Enright is available at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy or by contacting the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada www.rasc.ca/publications, subscriptions for our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine, Sky News, are also available from RASC..