Your Guide to the Stars for February 11 thru February 17
February 11: Brightest Stars
Look well up in the south around 9 or 10 p.m. for Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. From latitudes south of about Los Angeles, the second-brightest star, Canopus, twinkles below Sirius, quite low above the southern horizon.
February 12: Rigel
Rigel, the brightest star of Orion, marks the hunter’s foot. It is to the lower right of Orion’s Belt early this evening. Rigel is a supergiant, so it is much bigger and heavier than the Sun. It also is thousands of degrees hotter, so it shines blue-white.
February 13: Horsehead Nebula
The Horsehead Nebula stands close to the star at the left end of Orion’s Belt. The nebula forms the silhouette of a horse’s head against a faintly glowing background — a spray of hydrogen gas energized by radiation from another bright star.
February 14: Moon and Taurus
The constellation Taurus spreads out above and to the left of the Moon this evening. The Moon will pass close to the bull’s brightest star, Aldebaran, tomorrow night.
February 15: Moon and Aldebaran
The Moon glides up on the bright eye of the bull tonight. Aldebaran is close to the left of the Moon as night falls. Later, the gap between them will close as the Moon moves toward the bright star. And as seen from California and Hawaii, the Moon will pass in front of Aldebaran, blocking it from view.
February 16: Leo Rising
Leo, the lion, moves higher into the evening sky in February. Regulus, its brightest star, rises shortly before sunset and remains visible throughout the night. Leo soars high across the sky, standing almost directly overhead around midnight.
February 17: Double Cluster
Just above the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia, toward neighboring Perseus, look for a faint smudge of light. Binoculars reveal dozens of individual stars packed into two clusters. Together, they are known as the Double Cluster.
Source:
StarDate
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