What's Up?

This page shows a brief summary of what interesting things we can see in the sky this month.  

A more detailed version of 'What's Up' this month is available as a downloadable Word document right at the bottom of this page. 

February 11th 2021 - There will be conjunction of Venus and Jupiter in the morning.

The Sun - The sun is now past sunspot minimum, spots have been see regularly. 

The Moon

The phases of the Moon are as follows:

• Last Quarter - 3rd February
• New - 11th February
• First Quarter - 19th February
• Full - 27th February

Darkest nights for observing will be from the 8th to the 14th February.

Is a low evening object after sunset, best on the 1st then he gets lower.

Is a morning object before sunrise, best on the 1st then she gets lower.

Still dominates the evening sky but sets earlier every day.

A morning object, hard to find in the sunrise, conjunction on the 11th.

Becomes visible at the end of the month below Jupiter.

An evening object still close to Mars, needs binoculars to see.

Low in the West setting about 7pm, difficult to find in twilight.

February 11th - Venus and Jupiter conjunction very early in the morning. Best time to view is about 20 to 30 minutes before sunrise. More information here.

Minor Planets

Asteroid 4 Vesta is magnitude 6.9 in Leo so visible all night.

Comets

C/2020 S3 Erasmus is magnitude 6.6 in Aquarius but near the Sun.

Meteors

No showers this month but sporadic ones are always possible .

Deep Sky 

Good binocular objects this month are :

• M42 the Great Orion Nebula is the brightest nebula in the sky, piece of cake! Don’t forget the Hyades and Pleaides in Taurus, both are naked-eye open clusters. 

• Starting in the West before they set, look for: M77 & M74 both Spiral Galaxies, and M39 an open cluster, M33 the Triangulum Galaxy and M31 the Andromeda galaxy with M32 and M110 nearby.

• Looking south expect to see M93, M79, M41, M46, M47, M50 and of course M42In the North you will find M63 the Sunflower Galaxy and M101 the pinwheel galaxy.

• Finally in the East the following will be rising, M48, M67 and M106, M44 Praesope (or the Beehive) is of course a naked eye object from a dark site. Later on M51 the Whirlpool Galaxy and M64 the Black Eye galaxy will rise.