Astronomy news for the two weeks starting Friday, February 10,
2017.
The next Skylights will appear Friday, February 24.
The Moon
The Moon spends the entire period in its waning phases,
rising later each night.
Full Moon, Friday, February 10; penumbral eclipse will
slightly dim northern limb of Moon; visible only in far NE US
and Canada. Mid eclipse 6:43 PM CST.
Moon northwest of Saturn, morning of Monday, Feb. 20;
following morning to the left of Saturn and above Sagittarius.
Planets
Venus, visible in bright evening twilight, dominates
southwestern skies.
Venus at maximum brightness, Friday, Feb. 17
Mars, east of Venus, sets at 9:30 PM
Saturn rises about as Jupiter transits the meridian, 4 AM at start of session, 3
AM at end.
Jupiter north of Spica, Thurs., Feb. 23.
The Sky
In mid-evening, Orion, with
his prominent 3-star belt, falls near the meridian to the south,
while the constellations of
autumn, including the Andromeda group, flee to the northwest, though
bright Perseus still rides high.
Below Orion find box-like Lepus, the Hare, while directly above him is Auriga, the Charioteer, with
bright Capella, which is the
most northerly first magnitude star, just barely beating Deneb in summer's Cygnus for the honor.
