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[The Month's Sky]
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Monthly Skywatchers' PageFor London and the UK![]() The Sun and eight major planets (plus KBO Pluto) to scale. Earth is third planet from the left.
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The planets resemble stars except that, generally, they do not twinkle. Unlike the stars whose patterns are fixed, planets wander through the sky changing their positions amongst the starry background. This means that their periods of visibility change as the relative position of the Earth, Sun and planet vary. In one year Mars may be visible in August at midnight. In another year it may be behind the Sun and invisible from Earth during August.
This page gives the details of visibility for the five naked eye planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. It also gives information about comets, meteor showers and non-regular phenomena like eclipses, transits and occultations.
The Observers' Glossary explains the terms used. Alternatively run the mouse cursor over terms in maroon.
All times on this page are London (UK) times. This is normally GMT (Greenwich Mean Time also known as Universal Time).
In the United Kingdom, the clocks go forward by one hour for British Summer Time (BST) between mid March and late October.
A 24 hour clock is used so that 7pm is written 19:00.


Look for the planet low in the South West as it gets dark. Venus is the brightest of the planets so should be visible even if low down.

The planet is moving retrograde among the stars of Cancer. During the first few days of the month, the planet will appear close to the Beehive star cluster.
During February, Mars almost halves its brightness as it moves away from the Earth.
The Moon will be close to Mars on 25th.


The planet quickly becomes lost in the evening twilight. Jupiter is in conjunction with the Sun on 28th.

The planet's magnificent rings are slowly opening and will become visible through telescopes during the month. Look for Saturn on 2nd and 3rd when it will be near the Moon.


During February the time of local noon is at well after 12:00. On 11th, the time of midday is 12:15, the latest it gets for the year (when the clocks are on normal GMT time). This produces more daylight in the afternoon than in the morning. The evenings get lighter quicker than the mornings.
As an example of this midday asymmetry, on 11th the sun rises at 07:22 giving 4 hours 38 minutes of daylight before 12 noon. The time of sunset is at 17:08 which yields 5 hours 08 minutes of post-noon daylight. This means that there is full 30 minutes more daylight in the evening than in the morning.
The Sun enters Aquarius on 16th.
Note that this date does not tie in with astrology as astrologers are using dates from two thousand years ago.
| Date | Sunrise | Midday | Sunset | Length of Day | Sun's Noon Altitude | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
01-Feb |
07:39 |
12:14 |
16:50 |
9h 10m |
21.5° |
|
02-Feb |
07:37 |
12:14 |
16:52 |
9h 14m |
21.8° |
Moon close to Saturn |
03-Feb |
07:36 |
12:14 |
16:53 |
9h 17m |
22.1° |
Moon close to Saturn |
04-Feb |
07:34 |
12:14 |
16:55 |
9h 20m |
22.4° |
|
05-Feb |
07:33 |
12:14 |
16:57 |
9h 24m |
22.7° |
|
06-Feb |
07:31 |
12:15 |
16:59 |
9h 27m |
23.0° |
Morning Half Moon |
07-Feb |
07:29 |
12:15 |
17:01 |
9h 31m |
23.3° |
|
08-Feb |
07:27 |
12:15 |
17:02 |
9h 34m |
23.6° |
|
09-Feb |
07:26 |
12:15 |
17:04 |
9h 38m |
23.9° |
|
10-Feb |
07:24 |
12:15 |
17:06 |
9h 42m |
24.2° |
|
11-Feb |
07:22 |
12:15 |
17:08 |
9h 45m |
24.6° |
Latest midday of 2010 |
12-Feb |
07:20 |
12:15 |
17:10 |
9h 49m |
24.9° |
|
13-Feb |
07:18 |
12:15 |
17:12 |
9h 53m |
25.2° |
|
14-Feb |
07:17 |
12:15 |
17:13 |
9h 56m |
25.6° |
New Moon at 02:51 |
15-Feb |
07:15 |
12:15 |
17:15 |
10h 00m |
25.9° |
|
16-Feb |
07:13 |
12:15 |
17:17 |
10h 04m |
26.3° |
Sun enters Aquarius |
17-Feb |
07:11 |
12:14 |
17:19 |
10h 08m |
26.6° |
|
18-Feb |
07:09 |
12:14 |
17:21 |
10h 11m |
27.0° |
|
19-Feb |
07:07 |
12:14 |
17:23 |
10h 15m |
27.3° |
|
20-Feb |
07:05 |
12:14 |
17:24 |
10h 19m |
27.7° |
|
21-Feb |
07:03 |
12:14 |
17:26 |
10h 23m |
28.0° |
|
22-Feb |
07:01 |
12:14 |
17:28 |
10h 27m |
28.4° |
Evening Half Moon |
23-Feb |
06:59 |
12:14 |
17:30 |
10h 31m |
28.8° |
|
24-Feb |
06:57 |
12:14 |
17:32 |
10h 34m |
29.1° |
|
25-Feb |
06:55 |
12:14 |
17:33 |
10h 38m |
29.5° |
Moon close to Mars |
26-Feb |
06:52 |
12:13 |
17:35 |
10h 42m |
29.9° |
|
27-Feb |
06:50 |
12:13 |
17:37 |
10h 46m |
30.3° |
|
28-Feb |
06:48 |
12:13 |
17:39 |
10h 50m |
30.6° |
Full Moon at 04:38 |

| Date | Notes |
|---|---|
| 2 | Moon close to Saturn |
| 3 | Moon close to Saturn |
| 6 | Half Moon |
| 14 | New Moon |
| 13 | Apogee |
| 22 | Half Moon |
| 25 | Moon close to Mars |
| 27 | Perigee |
| 28 | Full Moon |
All times on this page are London (UK) times.
Sources: Astronomy Now magazine, Starry Night Pro, USA Naval Observatory and UK Nautical Almanac Office.
© 2010 KryssTal
All sky images by Cybersky 4
StarDate Online
An excellent online skywatchers' magazine featuring detailed monthly information about astronomical events.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
A different image each day with an extensive archive and explanations.
Society for Popular Astronomy
Monthly planet and star gazing details with maps for young people.
Telescope House
A London based source of astronomical equipment, telescopes, software, maps and books.
Southern Sky Watch
Sky watchers information for the southern hemisphere.
Starry Night Pro
Superb planetarium software. Simulate the sky from anywhere on the Earth and any time.