February continues to offer cold weather to most of the northern hemisphere, but it also brings crisp viewing conditions under clear skies. Some wonderful sights can be seen with a telescope, binoculars and, from dark locations, even with just the naked eye.
The Big Dipper in the Ursa Major Constellation
This constellation is a staple in the night sky. One of the biggest and most known constellations, Ursa Major is always a delight to observe. With its northern location, it continually spins its position throughout the year and even during the night time hours.
During February nights, the Big Dipper can be spotted with its tail pointing down towards the northern horizon at about 8:30 p.m. Then, as the night progresses, the Big Dipper goes up and around towards the west and then back down to the northern horizon.
So at around 6:30 a.m. the Big Dipper appears in the opposite position as it did at 8:30 p.m. going into the north-northwest horizon, 'head' first this time. Which means that the constellation goes up in a complete arc around the northern sky.
The Beehive Cluster in the Cancer Constellation
Look east at around 8:00 p.m to find the 3.7 magnitude Beehive Cluster. The cluster is found in the Cancer constellation, which lies on the low eastern sky at around 8:00 p.m. in February.
Cancer forms a wide rhombus shape with a tail; sort of like a kite flying downward. The cluster can be seen just to the right of the base on Cancer's tail. In lighted areas, however, only a triangle of stars pertaining to Cancer may be seen. But the cluster is easily seen just above the triangle shape.
The Beehive cluster consists of about 200 stars and covers about 1.5 degrees of sky, which equals to about three times the Moon's diameter. It can easily be seen on dark nights with the naked eye, with its brightest star being Epsilon Cancri. Epsilon is a 6.3 magnitude main-sequence star, which lies at the edge of the cluster at about 550 light-years from Earth.
The Star Procyon in Canis Minor
Procyon is one of the ten brightest stars in the sky. Located in the Canis Minor constellation, the Little Dog, which lies a few degrees east of Orion. Canis Minor actually symbolizes one of Orion's two hunting dogs. Procyon's name originated from the phrase 'before the dog' in Greek, because it rises before the star Sirius the Dog, which is in the Canis Major constellation.
Procyon is also the 14th closest star to Earth at 11.4 light-years away, which is why it looks so bright. The star is only a moderate-sized white star, very similar to its neighbor Sirius. It is about 14 solar masses and almost seven times more luminous than the Sun.
The bright star is on its way to becoming a giant, when it will swell up as its hydrogen fusion process comes to an end. Another similarity to Sirius is that Procyon also has a companion star, which makes it a binary star. Procyon B is a white dwarf that can only be seen with a very large telescope due to its size and the brilliance of its brighter companion, Procyon A.
Sources:
Stellarium Computer Software
Sparrow, Giles. The Stargazer's Handbook, London: Quercus Publishing Ltd., 2007
Anna Sanclement - Anna holds a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design and has worked as a designer for about 10 years. She now devotes her time to writing ...
Join the Conversation