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Monthly Skywatchers' Page

For 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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Introduction

The location of the stars and can be learnt throughout a single year from a book. Each month of the year, the same stars are visible from a given location. Different stars and constellations are visible as the year progresses. For example, in London, the constellation of Orion is always visible in the evenings of winter months of January and February. Scorpius is visible in the summer months of June and July around midnight.

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.

The descriptions below are for viewers in the Northern Hemisphere, especially London and the United Kingdom.
The planetary information is valid for any location at the same or similar Latitude (51.5°N).
Note that a degree in the sky is twice the apparent diameter of the Moon.

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.

February 2010

Mercury

Mercury is too close to the Sun to be seen this month.

Venus

Venus begins to appear in the evening sky after the third week of the month. By the end of February, Venus will be setting about an hour and a half after the Sun.

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.

Mars

Mars is just past and continues to be visible for most of the night.

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.

Looking South on 25 February at 20:30. Location of Mars and the Moon relative to Orion. Note Saturn rising in the East.

Jupiter

Jupiter is visible low in the South West after sunset at the beginning of the month.

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

Saturn

Saturn now rises in mid-evening in Virgo and is visible for the rest of the night as it approaches next month. The planet is pale yellow in colour and is not as bright as Mars. Saturn is the most star-like of the naked eye planets.

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.

Looking South East on 15 February at midnight. Saturn (yellow) can be found in Virgo. If the Plough is overhead, follow the curve of the "tail" and it will bring you down to Arcturus (orange) and continue down to Spica (blue). Saturn is to the right.

The Sun

The Sun continues to move northwards, making the days longer in the Northern Hemisphere. During February, the length of the day increases from 9h 10m to 10h 50m, an increase of 1 hour and 40 minutes. At the beginning of the month the Sun climbs to 21 and a half degrees noon altitude. This increases to nearly 31 degrees at the end of February.

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

The Moon

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

Next Month

Mars and Venus in the evening sky, Saturn in opposition. Equinox

All times on this page are London (UK) times.

Sources: Astronomy Now magazine, Starry Night Pro, USA Naval Observatory and UK Nautical Almanac Office.

Books From Amazon.co.uk

Observers' Glossary

The Observers' Glossary

An explanation of the terms used by sky observers. Includes descriptions of how the objects of the solar system behave in the sky as seen from Earth (especially the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes).

KryssTal Related Pages

The Solar System

Tables and data about the Sun, Earth, Moon, planets, asteroids and comets. All terms used are explained.

Measuring The Stars

An account of how various properties of stars can be measured by studying starlight. Includes brightness, distance, luminosity, temperature, mass, radius, density and an introduction to the H-R Diagram.

The Brightest Stars

A table containing a list of the 20 brightest stars in the Earth's sky. Explanations of all the associated terms like magnitude, spectral type and radial velocity.

Eclipses, Transits and Occultations

A detailed account about eclipses, transits and occultations. These are irregular phenomena that can be observed in the sky. Includes eclipse trips around the world with photos and well as photos of recent transists of Mercury and Venus.

The Scale of the Universe

In astronomy distances and times are confusing because of the large numbers of zeros in the figures. This is an easy-to-understand scaling of the Universe in both space and time. Distances in space are represented by the time light takes to travel there. The chronology of the Universe is compared to a real year.

A Brief History of Astronomy

How humanity came from believing Creation Myths to postulating the Inflationary Big Bang Theory. The key stages in our understanding of our place in the cosmos and the people who broadened our understanding.

The Calendar

What do we mean by the words day, week, month, year? Who invented our calendar? When did the third millennium begin? The relation between time and astronomy.

Gravity

The force that moves apples and planets. A short introduction to the ideas of Kepler and Newton that culminated with the theory of Universal Gravitation.

Spherical Trigonometry

A look at the mathematics of a sphere with a section on sundials and the equation of time.

External Skywatching Links

These links will open in a separate window

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.