Jupiter At Twilight, Crescent Venus, Orion Nebula — What To Watch In The February Sky And When
Jupiter in the twilight skies, crescent Venus, and the Great Nebula in Orion are some of the interesting astronomical events awaiting us in February.
New Delhi: Jupiter in the twilight skies, crescent Venus, and the Great Nebula in Orion are some of the interesting astronomical events awaiting us in February. Venus will have great visibility in the early morning skies. Also, the Orion Nebula can be observed easily on February nights.
One can view the following cosmic objects in the month of February.
Jupiter In The Twilight Skies
Jupiter will be visible in the twilight skies this month, NASA said on its website. The gas giant can be observed low in the western sky after sunset in February.
Jupiter will depart the skies at the end of February, after which the post-sunset sky will be essentially devoid of planets visible to the naked eye until August.
Saturn will start rising in the east around sunset in August. For a short period in April and May, one may be able to spot Mercury above the horizon.
The last time twilight skies were devoid of bright planets was in March 2018. Jupiter will become a morning planet in April.
Crescent Venus
Venus will be at its brightest in the morning skies this year in mid-February, NASA said on its website.
According to timeanddate.com, Venus will be visible in India at 4:38 am IST on February 15.
The highly reflective clouds completely covering Venus make it the brightest of all planets in our solar system.
Depending on the distance of Venus from Earth and its phase, the planet's brightness in the skies varies, according to NASA. Interestingly, Venus is brightest not when it is closest to Earth, but when it is almost at its closest.
In February, stargazers can enjoy the crescent Venus that is the planet at its brightest, according to NASA.
The Red Planet will have average visibility in India during the entire month.
The crescent Venus will form a trio with the Moon and Mars on the morning of February 26.
The Great Nebula In Orion
The Great Nebula in Orion is one of the most popular and well-studied sights in the night sky, and February is a perfect time to enjoy this astronomical wonder.
It is easy to find the Orion Nebula on February nights, because the Orion constellation will be high in the south around 9:30 or 10:30 am IST.
One can observe the three stars of the hunter's belt, and then find the stars which hang below the belt. These stars form Orion's sword.
A star in the centre of this line of stars appears fuzzy, and that is the nebula, according to NASA.
The Orion Nebula is visible to the unaided eye under relatively dark skies, and can be easily seen with binoculars as a faint haze.
One can also use a telescope to get a spectacular view of the Orion Nebula.
The Orion Nebula is an enormous cloud of gas and dust where thousands of stars are being born, and is the largest star-forming region to our solar system. It is located 1,500 light years away from Earth.
Intense ultraviolet light from a handful of extremely massive young stars carves out the bright, central region of the Orion nebula. The region is a giant cavity in the cloud, according to NASA.
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