The latest update I have on the potential bright comet (Comet ISON) in 2013 is that it should reach naked-eye visibility around Halloween and brighten throughout November. Predicting comet brightness is a tricky business; but this comet could —- just maybe —— rival Venus’s brightness when it appears to us in the early morning sky before dawn near the end of the year —– and even peak as bright as the Full Moon when close to the Sun during daytime hours! I will continue to keep you updated.
Meanwhile the solar system’s two biggest planets, Jupiter and Saturn, will be visible to us throughout February. Jupiter will be stunning in the evening western sky while Saturn will be just dandy before dawn in the eastern sky.
Jupiter commands a lofty spot some 70 degrees above the southern horizon, among the stars of Taurus, and about halfway between reddish Aldebaran, Taurus’s brightest star, and the Pleiades star cluster (M45). Another close conjunction between the Moon and Jupiter will occur this month too. The First Quarter Moon will be close to Jupiter’s right (west side) on the 17th, and close to Jupiter’s left (east side) on the 18th. If you have binoculars or small telescopes do not miss looking at Jupiter and seeing its colored cloud bands and its four big bright moons, moving in orbits about the planet. On February 2nd and the 9th, all 4 may be seen on Jupiter’s right side (west), and on the 14th, all 4 will appear on Jupiter’s left (east) side.
As Jupiter appears to sink toward the west horizon due to Earth’s continuous rotation during February nights, Saturn will rise up in the eastern sky. On February 15th the ringed planet will rise just before midnight, but will be best seen in the 2 hours before sunrise when it has gained some altitude. The Last Quarter Moon will pass just a few degrees below it on the morning of February 3rd. Saturn too is especially nice to look at through a telescope with its rings now tilted 19 degrees towards us, making them easier to see; even to the point of seeing separate rings.
Mars will disappear from our view for awhile by mid-February, and Venus will also pass near the Sun and out of our sight until it returns into the evening sky in May. Mars will return to view in the pre-dawn sky this summer.
Finally this month, Mercury will make a nice but brief appearance in the deepening twilight of the western sky from February 8 to the 18th. Start looking on the night of 8th in the direction where the Sun went below the horizon and 50 to 90 minutes after sunset. Between the 12th and the 16th Mercury will get noticeably higher with each passing day, peaking at 11 degrees above the west-southwest horizon 30 to 75 minutes after the Sun sets.
After the 17th, Mercury’s orbit takes it closer to the Sun from our line of sight and lower to the horizon, so that by the 28th it will be out of sight to us. On February 16th, Mercury will peak at –0.6 magnitude, which will make it the brightest object in its viewing spot above the western horizon. One more thing to look for is the thin crescent Moon just 5 degrees above Mercury on the night of February 11th. The Moon will direct you eyes as to where to look for Mercury that night which will make it easier for you to continue finding it over the nights after that.
Last Quarter Moon is on February 3rd; New Moon is February 10th; First Quarter on the 17th; and Full Moon comes on the 25th.
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