Watch Venus pass through the morning sky this Valentine’s Day. Get the details in the latest episode of our weekly stargazing guide podcast, Star Diary 19 to 25 February 2024.
Chris Bramley: Hello and welcome to Star Diary, the podcast from the makers of BBC Sky Night Magazine. You can subscribe to the print edition of the magazine by visiting skyatnightmagazine.com or to our digital edition by visiting iTunes or Google Play.
Ezzy Pearson: Greetings listeners. And welcome to Star Diary, a weekly guide to the best things to see in the northern hemisphere's night sky. As we are based here in the UK, all times are in GMT. In this episode we'll be covering the coming week from 19 to 25 February. I'm Ezzy Pearson, and I'm joined by Reviews Editor, Paul Money for, I'm very sad to say, the last time.
After 17 years with Sky at Night Magazine, Paul is going to be going into a very, very well earned retirement. So, we are very sorry to see you go, Paul.
Paul Money: I'm sad to go as well, but you know, all good things, as they say. But, I'm looking forward to doing a lot more of my own little projects, doing a few more astronomy talks, etc., and writing more novels. Many will know that I'm self published as a novelist now, so I'll be looking forward to doing them. And of course, listening in to the podcast.
Ezzy: Absolutely.
Paul: Can't miss that. Exactly.
Ezzy: We will be back next week with some new presenters. So, don't worry about that, Star Diary will be still going, but unfortunately, Paul is leaving us.
So, for one last time, Paul, what do we have to look forward to in this week's night sky?
Paul: Well, Ezzy, we're starting with the evening sky again. It's nice to finish off with the evening sky for the start of our final week. We're talking about the Moon.
Now, I like it when the Moon's quite close to a star. It doesn't necessarily have to be a very bright star, but in this particular case, on February 20th, we're looking at it being really close to Upsilon Geminorum.
Now, Upsilon sort of forms a triangle with Pollux and, sort of, Kappa Geminorum. So, you know, it's one of those things that it's a reasonably bright star, but it tends to get overlooked. We tend to forget about it. But again, over the course of the night, you'll be able to watch the Moon glide under Upsilon Geminorum.
So again, showing the clockwork motion of the solar system itself. Meanwhile, we still have Jupiter and Uranus, higher along the ecliptic, and viewable for a few more months, that's good news, they're still around for a while.
Both lie in Aries, it's funny because we tend to forget about the boundaries of the constellations, because in the past it was based on the shape of the actual constellation itself.
So Aries, the Ram, sort of like Taurus, the Bull, Cetus, the Whale, whereas once the International Astronomical Union defined the actual lines and the boundaries of the constellation based on the declination and right ascension sort of thing it ended up with straight lines.
And so rather strangely, although Jupiter looks as if it's closer to Cetus, it's still actually in Aries itself. So there we are. You want to be looking about 7PM, high up above the southwestern horizon for both those two planets.
But you will need binoculars of course to see Uranus, but Uranus is quite easy in binoculars.
I mean, it's, you know, it's magnitude +7.0. So, you know, it is actually quite easy compared with some objects we've actually looked at before. So you know, you just need a good star chart and of course the guide in Sky at Night Magazine as well.
Ezzy: Absolutely. We have a full sky chart in every month's issue of Sky at Night Magazine and a sky guide telling you through even more things that you can see in the night sky.
So do pick that up if you are interested.
Paul: Now, February 22nd, we were talking about Venus and Mars last week, and if you really like a challenge, and, well, this is a challenge, I have to say, you've got to do it before the Sun rises.
Look around about 6:30AM towards the southeast, slightly to the left of southeast, with an uncluttered horizon, Venus will be the obvious one.
It's really bright. You can't mistake Venus, but it's in conjunction with Mars. It's above Mars. So, you can use Venus as a guide to get the fainter planet Mars, and because of the bright twilight, Mars will be a bit of a struggle. This is when you use Venus as a guide to it.
After this, you're really going to lose Venus. It's getting very, very low. It's getting right into the bright twilight, heading towards the solar glare, and Mars is trying to draw out away from the solar glare.
And it isn't so much Mars is trying to get away from the Sun, it's the motion of the sun along the ecliptic carrying it further away from Mars, but it looks to us as if Mars is trying to climb out of the twilight itself.
So about 6:30AM towards the southeast, just slightly to the left of it, Venus much easier to see because it's very bright, very low down, but just below it will be Mars as well. So this is one of the chances to get this nice conjunction.
Now, all week, back to the evening sky. We've lost Saturn. Saturn has gone. Sorry. You had your chance, but it's gone now, and it will take a few months before it emerges back into the morning twilight.
Now we say farewell to Neptune this week, because it's dropping rapidly. It's funny, it's one of those things that I notice when we get into sort of like February, the twilight seems to be catching up and getting brighter quicker with each passing night.
And it's because the ecliptic is getting steeper. It's much better. It loses the race now, Neptune does, as it moves against the background sky. It's actually in Pisces, so near the Circlet of Pisces itself. And so it will be gone by the end of the week, because it's a faint planet, sort of thing. So, you know, we will actually lose it.
So, we're looking at February 22nd. Just gives you a chance to spot it next to a slightly brighter star. So the star, which is actually 20 Piscium, the star is magnitude +5.5. Neptune's about +7.8. So the star is brighter. It will be the guide this time to Neptune because they're close to each other.
Ezzy: It's not often it's that way around, that the star is the guide to the planet, rather than the planet is the guide to the star.
Paul: Exactly, sort of thing. Normally we're talking about Jupiter and a star and etc, but yes. It's the star itself. So, you'll be able to find Neptune close to 20 Piscium. It is moving past it, so it'll leave it behind, but it will get lost in the bright twilight as well. So on 22nd, around about 6:30PM, use binoculars or a small telescope, and so you'll be able to find the star 20 Piscium and the fainter dot to the upper right of it, if you're using the sort of a telescope that shows a proper, normal, north is up view, then you'll see Neptune as well.
Magnitude +7.8 as such. Meanwhile, still on 22nd, very unusual. Callisto passes south of Jupiter.
So as you're watching Jupiter, start off the night quite early on, from about 8PM until Jupiter sets, again, around about half past 11 to midnight.
We've got an interesting thing, Callisto passes below the planet, so it's missing, because of the tilt of the planet, it's orbital plane means it's missing the planet completely, and so does its shadow.
But in the meantime, we also have Bingo! Io, once again, does a transit across the disk. So you've got Io transiting, then followed by Io's shadow, and whilst Callisto is passing underneath the planet as well. So they are a triple thing to look out for on 22nd, up till midnight, if you use a telescope on the planet itself.
Finally, to end the week, the almost full Moon. It's not quite full, but almost full Moon, lies between the stars Eta Leonis and Regulus. Now, Regulus is the bright primary star, the heart of the lion. Leo the lion.
And it's also, they're both part of the Sickle of Lions, so it looks like a sickle or a backwards question mark. I always look at that and think it's a backwards question mark myself.
And the Moon will lie between, around about a third of the way, from Eta to Regulus. It's worth bearing in mind, sort of thing, that although the Moon will swamp out most of the fainter stars, you should still make out the actual sickle shape itself.
Remember, Regulus is also a double star. It's got an, I think it's an +8.0 magnitude companion nearby. So you've got a double star, and you've got the Moon, and you've got Eta. And then, just to finish it off, Algieba is a beautiful golden yellow binary, well worth having a look at with a telescope, if you've got one.
So, even in that one moment, you've got a multitude of things to observe. Not deep sky, because the Moon's full, and it'll wash out the faint galaxies that are in this region.
But, you've got some nice double stars there. As well to add to the scene and of course if you're looking at the Moon, you're going to see the ray patterns of the impact crater, especially Tycho actually spread across the surface of the Moon.
So in the past I was always told something all full Moons the worst time to observe the Moon you want to watch it when it's at a particular phase so you get the sharp shadows, but they completely forgot about the various ray features scattered across the surface. And there's certain brightenings around some of the craters that are enhanced when it's almost full Moon.
So, don't ignore full Moon, have a look at it in detail with a telescope as well.
Ezzy: It's like with anything, it depends what you're trying to look at. You know, if you're trying to look at the sort of like the undulations of the Moon, I suppose, like the craters and things, then yes, shadows are really important to be able to see that.
But if you want to, you know, make out some of the colors that are on the Moon or the ray craters, things like that, then there's different times. Whenever you look at the Moon, you'll get a slightly different view.
Paul: There's something for everybody, isn't there?
Ezzy: Exactly. So look at it all the time and you'll find something different, which I think is one of the reasons why people keep going back to it for, well, for centuries, really.
But it certainly sounds like we've got a lot of really interesting things to look up at the night sky this week. If our listeners at home would like to keep up to date with even more stargazing tips please do subscribe to the Star Diary podcast and we will be back next week with a new presenter.
But for now, I'd like to take this opportunity again to say very much thank you, Paul, not just for this episode, but for all of the years of the Star Diary podcast that you have been with us, you've been absolutely brilliant. And I hope our listeners at home will miss you as much as I do. But thank you very much for joining us for all of this time.
Paul: Thank you, Ezzy. You nearly had me in tears then.
But thank you. And I hope everybody continues to listen to the Star Diary podcast because it is The best guide to the weekly night sky you'll find anywhere. So thank you, Ezzy. Been a pleasure working with you as well. And onwards and upwards. Look out for my next novels.
Ezzy: So, to summarise this week again, we start on 20th February when the Moon is going to be close to Upsilon Geminorum, while Jupiter and Uranus are going to be moving through the constellation of Aries.
On 22nd February, Venus and Mars are going to be conjunction in the morning twilight. It'll be quite difficult to see Mars though because it will be fairly deep into that twilight.
That evening, on 22nd February, you'll be able to see Neptune near the Circlet of Pisces, though it will soon be dropping out of sight, so be sure to catch it now whilst you still can.
Also on 22nd, you'll be able to see Jupiter's moon Callisto pass underneath the planet of Jupiter, while Io and its shadow will both transit across the disc.
Then, at the end of the week, the moon will lie beneath the stars Eta Leonis and Regulus.
The Moon is going to be nearly full by the end of this week, so if you want to look out for some ray features, now is a great time.
Thank you very much for listening, and once again, a massive thank you to Paul for all of your work throughout the years, and we will be back here with a new presenter next week. Goodbye.
If you want to find out even more spectacular sights that will be gracing the night sky this month, be sure to pick up a copy of BBC Sky at Night magazine, where we have a 16 page pull out sky guide with a full overview of everything worth looking up for throughout the whole month. Whether you like to look at the moon, the planets, or the deep sky, whether you use binoculars, telescopes, or neither, Our Sky Guide has got you covered, with detailed star charts to help you track your way across the night sky.
From all of us here at BBC Sky at Night magazine, goodbye.
Chris: Thank you for listening to this episode of the Star Diary podcast from the makers of BBC Sky at Night magazine. For more of our podcasts visit our website at skynightmagazine. com or head to Acast, iTunes or Spotify.
Listen to the next episode of Star Diary 26 February to 3 March 2024.
