Sky & Telescope - February 2023 - 46

FEBRUARY 2023 OBSERVING
Sun, Moon & Planets by Gary Seronik
To find out what's
visible in the sky from
your location, go to
skyandtelescope.org.
Jupiter Sinks as Venus Climbs
The waxing Moon visits the three brightest planets in the evening sky.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1
You have a chance to spot all five
naked-eye planets tonight, but it won't
be easy. Normally it's the horizonhugging
innermost planet, Mercury,
that's the difficult one. However, at the
moment, Mercury is a reasonably easy
catch at dawn - your greatest challenge
is actually Saturn. That's because
the Ringed Planet is heading for its
conjunction with the Sun on February
16th and is hovering low in the
west-southwest at dusk. This evening
presents your last, best chance to sight
it, but only a little more than one hour
separates sunset from Saturnset. The
longer you wait, the darker the sky, but
the lower the planet will be. I'd suggest
starting your hunt roughly half an hour
after sundown and using binoculars. At
that time the planet will be only 5° up,
so you'll need very clear conditions and
an unobstructed horizon. If you succeed,
try spotting Saturn with your eyes
alone. On the plus side, the remaining
four planets are a piece of cake by
comparison!
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10
Late this evening, look toward the eastsoutheast
to catch the waning gibbous
Moon rising above left of Spica, the
brightest star in the constellation Virgo.
The two will be less than 3° apart,
which means they'll be an attractive
naked-eye sight and close enough to
view together in the same binocular
field. Spica holds the distinction of
being the second-brightest of the ecliptic
stars - only Aldebaran, in Taurus, is
fractionally brighter. Both are first-magnitude
suns, which means they stand
up to moonlight well. This evening's
encounter is the closest one the Moon
has with a bright star all month, though
it does get to within 4° of Antares
(the third-brightest ecliptic star) before
dawn on the 14th. The Moon also visits
Aldebaran on the evening of the 26th,
but it keeps its distance, positioned
nearly 9° to the right of the star.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
One of the celestial highlights of most
months occurs when the crescent Moon
is near Venus. That's when the two
brightest objects in the night sky are
close together. But some encounters are
better than others, and this evening's
rates as only " good " - much better
These scenes are drawn for near the middle of North America (latitude 40° north, longitude 90° west). European observers should move each
Moon symbol a quarter of the way toward the one for the previous date; in the Far East, move the Moon halfway.
Feb 8 - 10
11 pm
Moon
Feb 8
Dawn, Feb 14 - 15
1 hour before sunrise
Dusk, Feb 17
1 hour after sunset
Jupiter
10°
VIRGO
Moon
Feb 9
Moon
Feb 15
Moon
Feb 16
Moon
Feb 10
Spica
Antares
PISCES
Moon
Feb 14
SCORPIUS
Venus
Looking East-Southeast
Looking South-Southeast
46
FEBRUARY 2023 * SKY & TELESCOPE
Looking West

http://www.skyandtelescope.org

Sky & Telescope - February 2023

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