Highlighting the Near and Deep Sky What’s Up E W Highlighting the Near and Deep Sky February 1 - 28, 2018 S

General Information February 2018 Among this month’s celestial happenings: A subtle glow accompanies sunset for a couple of weeks. Clocks put the pedal to the metal to outrun the Sun. We take a peek (or is it a poke?) at astrology. Sunset Range: 5:44 p.m. (February 1st) to 6:13 p.m. (February 28th). End of Astronomical Twilight*: 7:14 p.m. (February 1st) to 7:40 p.m. (February 28th). * This is “full darkness” – the sun has reached 18° below the horizon. It’s usually dark enough for observing about a half hour before this.

Moon Phases February 2018 Wed., 7th – Last Quarter (Fri./Sat. observing opportunities Feb. 9th/10th) Thurs., 15th – New Moon (Fri./Sat. observing opportunities Feb. 16th/17th) Fri., 23rd – First Quarter No Full Moon -- ??? 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 (“Third”) Quarter Moon rises at midnight and is highest at dawn New Moon sets at sunset and is absent from the sky all night

Celestial Events February 2018 Fri., 2nd – For the next two weeks, try to spot the tall cone of the Zodiacal Light in the west after sunset from dark sites. Sun., 11th – Equation of time is at minimum for 2018, 14 min. 14.4 sec. (clocks are ahead of the Sun). Sun., 11th – Moon at apogee; distance 63.61 Earth-radii. Mon., 12th – Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and thin crescent Moon line-up in the SE before dawn. Compare Mars’ and Antares’ colors, both mag. 1, 5º apart . Wed., 14th, 9:06 PM EST – Partial solar eclipse (lower South America and Antarctica; our next eclipse is the total lunar one Jan. 20/21, 2019). Fri., 16th – Sun enters Aquarius. (Astrologically, the Sun enters Pisces on February 18th, but astronomically on March 12th.) Tue., 27th – Moon at perigee; distance 57.06 Earth-radii (10.3% closer than on the 11th). Image Credit: Dylan O’Donnell, 2015 Image Credit: Guy Ottewell, 2016

(~30 min. before full darkness) February 15th, 7:00 p.m. (~30 min. before full darkness) For tonight, Jan. 15th, 6:30 p.m. is about 30 min. before full darkness. E W Uranus Neptune Star Gazers Online - YouTube S

What’s Up programs are posted on the RVAS Website! Find them under “Tips and Topics” or at: http://www.rvasclub.org/page23.html Questions ???