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General Information February 2016 This Month: February is prime time for viewing the brilliant first and near-first magnitude stars of Orion and the other constellations of the Winter Hexagon. Planet-wise, Jupiter rises shortly before 9:00 p.m. on February 1 st, and by the 29 th will be over 26° high by that time. Mars and Saturn rise after midnight, while Venus and Mercury have barely risen before morning twilight overtakes them. With some notable exceptions, open (galactic) star clusters and nebulae remain the most plentiful deep-sky viewing targets. Sunset Range: 5:44 p.m. (Feb. 1st) to 6:13 p.m. (Feb. 29 th ) End of Astronomical Twilight (Full Darkness* – Sun 18° below horizon): 7:13 p.m. (Feb. 1st) to 7:40 p.m. (Feb. 29 th ) * Usually dark enough for observing about a half hour before this.

Moon Phases February 2016 Tues., February 8 th – New Moon (Observing at Cahas on 5 th and 6 th ) Mon., February 15 th – First Quarter Moon Mon., February 22 nd – Full Moon Tues., March 1 st – Last Quarter Moon (Observing at Cahas on February 26 th and 27 th ) Roughly speaking: First Quarter Moon is highest at sunset and sets at midnight Full Moon rises at sunset and is in the sky all night Last (or “Third”) Quarter Moon rises at midnight and is highest at dawn New Moon sets with the sun and is absent from the sky all night

2 nd : Candlemas (Groundhog Day), one of the four “cross-quarter days, halfway between the solstices and equinoxes. 11 th : The Moon shows its minimum libration for the year; the 4-day-old waxing crescent is 18° high above the western horizon at 8:00 p.m. Also: Moon at perigee; distance Earth- radii. Equation of Time at minimum for 2016: –14.24 minutes (Sun behind). 14 th : St. Valentine’s Day. (Astronomy Connection: Gentlemen, you’ll be seeing stars, if you forget!) 27 th : Moon at apogee; distance Earth-radii. Celestial Events February 2016 Maximum librations are seen about one week after perigee and one week after apogee, revealing up to 8 o of longitude on the moon’s back side, along the eastern and western limbs, respectively. E W

February 15 th, 9:00 p.m. January15 th, 9:00 p.m. Meridian Moon N W S E Meridian S E W Moon N Jupiter Puppis Cygnus Orion Sun Central Bulge/Bar

The Zodiacal Light and the Gegenschein Original Image Credit: ESO/Y. Beletsky, Original Image Credit: Robert Ede, The Zodiacal Light is a faint pyramid of sunlight reflected by dust particles deposited by comets and asteroids mostly in the plane of the solar system and visible along the ecliptic above western horizon beginning about 90 minutes after sunset and for about 90 minutes thereafter. A dark viewing site is needed. The Gegenschein (German for “counter glow”) is likewise created by dust-reflected sunlight, but is more elusive than the Zodiacal Light. It’s a roughly oval band of faint light on the ecliptic at the anti-solar point (180° opposite the Sun’s position), and is best seen from an hour or two before to an hour or two after midnight, when highest in the sky. It’s obscured by light pollution and even bright planets. In mid-February it will be located between the constellations of Leo and Cancer.

Lunar Occultation of Aldebaran January 19, 2016, 9:21 p.m. EST (All times approximate!) 9:21 p.m. 10:24 p.m. Aldebaran

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