Astro Bob: February's short, but not on astronomical sights

Venus-moon conjunction — The crescent moon will join Venus at dusk in the western sky Feb. 1. Together, they'll make a captivating sight.

By Bob King

January 31, 2025 at 11:13 AM

Orion and friends, along with Jupiter and Mars, continue to command the southern sky. In the northeast, the Big Dipper stands on its handle, climbing higher and higher during the night.

Look west in late twilight in early February, and you’ll still see Venus and Saturn holding their own. Sad to say, Saturn is slipping away and will soon disappear in the sunset glow. Come mid-month, you’ll need binoculars to catch it, and by month’s end, it’s out of the picture.

Venus also sinks closer to the sun as the month rolls on. On Feb. 1, it sets about four hours after sundown and just under three hours by month’s end. Venus is moving between Earth and the sun and will show a crescent phase like a miniature moon. By mid-February, the crescent will be large enough to see the shape in a pair of 7-10x binoculars. Do this when Venus first appears in twilight. If you wait till darkness the planet’s glare makes it hard to see.

Taurus and Orion — Orion the Hunter and Taurus the Bull face off in the southern sky in early February as soon as it gets dark. Taurus is home to two of the brightest star clusters, the Pleiades and Hyades. Both are visible with the naked eye and binoculars.

Our featured constellation, Taurus the bull, is one of the most ancient. Known in Babylonian times at the Bull of Heaven, the goddess Ishtar sent it to punish the demigod (and real king) Gilgamesh for not accepting her advances. Faced with an angry bull on a mission, Gilgamesh fought and slayed the animal. In Sumerian mythology, Gilgamesh is represented by Orion. We see their mythological battle in action every winter as Orion and Taurus face each other head-on.

Download the free Stellarium Mobile app for Android and iPhone to help you find and identify the current planets and constellations. Do a Google search then install the app, set it in night mode (red screen) and point your phone skyward. For a free February sky map and calendar go to skymaps.com/downloads.html.

February 2025 night sky happenings

Events ("a.m." indicates the event happens in the morning sky):

Neptune and Venus — On the same night as the Venus-moon pairing, Feb. 1, Neptune will be nearby. It will look similar in brightness to the magnitude 7.6 star just above it. Neptune is too faint to see with the unaided eye, so you'll need binoculars to spot it.

Feb. 1 — Face west during evening twilight to catch a beautiful conjunction of Venus and the young moon. They’ll be about 2 degrees (4 moon diameters) apart. On the same night, the planet Neptune sits about 1 degree southwest of the moon. Use the map to spot it. The 8th and outermost planet will look like a faint star in binoculars and show a blue tint through a telescope.

Feb. 4 — First quarter moon.

Pleiades occulted — The moon is shown at 1:18 a.m. CST on Feb. 6 moments before its dark edge covers the star Electra in the Pleiades star cluster. The moon will also occult Merope and Alcyone.

Feb. 5-6 (p.m., a.m.) — Waxing gibbous moon passes directly in front of the Pleiades star overnight Feb. 5-6 and blocks (occults) several of its brightest stars for viewers in the western two-thirds of the U.S and Canada. Use 7-10x binoculars, or better, a small telescope to see through the moon’s glare. For the Duluth region, the moon covers Electra around 1:18 a.m. CST; Merope at 1:45 a.m., and Alcyone (the brightest) at 2:12 a.m.

Feb. 6 — Brilliant Jupiter hangs below the bright moon.

Feb. 9 — Waxing gibbous moon to the left (east) of Mars.

Full moon rising — The full moon rose into a clear sky last month Jan. 13. This month, we'll see it rise in Duluth on Feb. 12 at 5:43 p.m. local time.

Feb. 12 — Full Snow Moon shines in Leo the lion about 2 degrees to the left (east) of the bright star Regulus. Can you see it through the glare?

Feb. 15-28 (a.m.) — For the early risers, the International Space Station makes west-to-east passes in the dawn sky. For a complete list of pass times for your location, log in to Heavens-Above.com, select your location and then click the blue ISS link. Times are shown in local 24-hour time. For example, 18:50 is 6:50 p.m. Or just download NASA’s Spot the Station app at the app store or Google Play.

Feb. 17 (a.m.) — Waning gibbous moon in close conjunction with Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. It passes less than 1 degree (2 moon diameters) below it during early morning twilight.

Feb. 20 (a.m.) — Last quarter moon.

Moon covers Tau Scorpii — At dawn Feb. 21, the moon will occult the star Tau in the constellation Scorpius, located in the southeastern sky. Use binoculars or a small telescope for the best view.

Feb. 21 (a.m.) — Waning moon occults the moderately bright star Tau Scorpii just before dawn for the Midwest. From the Duluth region, the star will disappear at the moon's bright southern edge at 5:32 a.m. and reappear along the dark edge at 6 a.m.

Feb. 18-28 — China’s Tiangong space station makes passes across the southern sky during the early evening hours. Like the International Space Station, it orbits the Earth with a crew of astronauts, but being smaller it looks fainter. For a complete list of pass times for your location, click the blue "Tiangong" link at Heavens-Above.

Mercury Saturn Venus — As soon as Mercury returns to the evening sky, it joins Saturn in a close conjunction. You'll need an unobstructed western horizon, a very clear sky and binoculars to see the pair. Use Venus to help point you there.

Feb. 24 — Mercury returns to the evening sky and joins Saturn in a close conjunction very low in the western sky about 40 minutes after sunset. The two will be about 1.5 degrees apart and only few degrees above the horizon. Mercury should be visible with the naked eye but seeing Saturn will take binoculars or a small telescope. Venus stands about two fists (20 degrees) above the pair.

Feb. 24 — Mars stops moving west in retrograde motion and resumes its normal or “direct” motion to the east.

Feb. 25-28 — Mercury climbs a little higher each night in the western sky as it leaves Saturn behind. Use binoculars.

Feb. 27 — New Moon.