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Home -> Astronomy News -> Events -> February 2014
Post Info TOPIC: February 2014
Blobrana


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Meteor Showers

February has no major meteor showers but there are a couple of minor showers for Southern hemisphere observers, the Alpha and Beta Centaurids. Although the Alpha Centaurids is considered a minor shower, in some years the number of meteors rises enough to reach the level of a major shower. While Alpha & Beta Centaurids can occasionally be seen during most of the month, their peaks occur on the same night, in the early morning hours of February 8.

ShowerActivity PeriodMaximumRadiantVelocityZHR
  DateR.A.Dec.km/s 
Beta Centaurids1- 25 February9 February13.9h-58.1°58.913.2
Alpha Centaurids 9 February14.5h-59.8°58.27.0
Pi VirginidsFeb.- 9 March12 February    
Beta LeonidsFeb.- 25 March13 February    
Delta VelidsJan 22-Feb 2114 February08:44-52°351
Omicron CentauridsJan 31-Feb 1914 February11:48-56°512
Delta LeonidsFeb 15-Mar 1022 February11:12+16°232
Sigma Leonids 25 February176°+9° 2



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Blobrana


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Highlights

 
daffodil2.gif

Objects of the Heart for Valentine's Day.

On February 14, many areas of the world will celebrate love with Valentine's Day. For those of you lucky enough to have a loved one of your own (or not), consider the following objects provided in the Heavens:
The first and most obvious is the planet of Venus, named after the Greek Goddess of love. Now, go over to the constellation of Cassiopeia, and you will find The Heart Nebula. Officially called by the decidedly less romantic "IC1805", the Heart Nebula glows a reddish hue (naturally!) at magnitude 6. Surrounding the delicate splash of diamonds, is the star cluster Melotte 15.
Next is the Rosette Nebula, NGC 2237. Located in Monoceros, this delicate planetary nebula is perhaps one of the prettiest in the sky. Zoom in with a field of view of 4 degrees, you will see beauty gracefully bloom on your screen unlike anything you're seen before. If the roses have done their job, you may at last want to consider the Ring Nebula, M57. Rising in the early morning hours during the winter, M57 is one of the easiest to locate deep-sky objects and one of the most aptly named, nestled gently in the side of Lyra, the Lyre. Low power telescope views show a very small blue/green disk, not much bigger than a star. Medium to high power will magnify the size of the nebula while leaving the surrounding stars the same size, confirming you have found it. Can be seen in binoculars as a faint star like point of light.



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Mercury: at magnitude -0.5, starts the month in the constellation of Aquarius. Mercury is at Perihelion on the 3rd. Mercury is close to Neptune (2.5° separated) on the 4th. Mercury is at inferior conjunction on the 15th. The planet is best seen from 8.9h -10.4h. 
(On February 1st, RA=22h07m30s  Dec=-11°11.5' (J2000) Distance=0.952AU  Phase k=52%  Diameter=7.1")

Venus: is at magnitude -4.6. The planet is in constellation Sagittarius at the start of the month. It is best seen from 22.0h - 6.5h. Venus reaches magnitude -4.65 on the 11th. Venus is stationary on the 1st.  The Moon occults Venus at ~5:23 UT, on the 26th. 
(On February 1st, RA=18h55m23s  Dec=-15°54.8' (J2000) Distance=0.333AU  Phase k=14%  Diameter=50.1")

 phase.gif
 

Earth: -

The Moon: Last Quarter Moon is at 09:15.3 UT, 22nd. Lunar perigee is at 11:44.4 UT, on the 27th. The New Moon is at 23:59.6 UT, 28th. The First Quarter Moon is at 11:22.1 UT, 6th. Lunar Apogee is at 20:58.2 UT, 11th. The Full Moon is at 15:53.0 UT, 14th February 2014.

Mars: at magnitude 0.2 starts the month in the constellation Virgo. The planet is best seen from 15.6h -23.8h. Mars is close to Spica (4.6° separated) on the 3rd. Martian Summer begins in the northern hemisphere on the 14th. The Moon is close to Mars (3.86° separated) on the 19th.
(On February 1st, RA=13h28m43s  Dec= -6°34.1' (J2000) Distance=1.057AU  Phase k=91%  Diameter=8.9")

Jupiter: is in the constellation Gemini. At magnitude -2.6, the planet is best seen from 8.5h -23.0h. Jupiter is 5.7° from the Moon on the 10th.

Transit times of the Great Red Spot and Jupiters satellites are posted in separate threads.
(On February 1st, RA= 6h52m29s  Dec=+23°04.8' (J2000) Distance=4.323AU  Diameter=45.5")

Saturn: at magnitude 0.5 sits in the constellation Libra. The planet is best seen from 18.5h -23.8h. Saturn is at its Western quadrature on the 12th. Saturn is occulted by the Moon for the Indian Ocean at ~22:18 UT, on the 21st.
(On February 1st, RA=15h22m28s  Dec=-16°11.4' (J2000) Distance=10.002AU  Diameter=16.5")

Uranus: is in the constellation Pisces. Uranus at magnitude 5.9, has a bluish-green hue and appears 3.4 arcseconds wide. The planet is best seen from 10.0h -13.7h. 
(On February 1st, RA= 0h35m00s  Dec= +3°02.9' (J2000) Distance=20.542AU  Diameter=3.4")

Neptune: is at magnitude 7.9 in the constellation Aquarius. Neptune is in conjunction on the 23rd.
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Pluto: is in the constellation Sagittarius (mag 14.2). Normally, a finder chart is necessary to help in identifying the 0.13" diameter dwarf planet. The dwarf planet is best seen from 10.4h -22.3h.
(On February 1st, RA=18h51m36s  Dec=-20°11.6' (J2000) Distance=33.443AU  Diameter=0.1")

The Sun enters the zodiac sign Pisces at 10:00 UT, 18th February, 2014.



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