Tour February's Sky! | January 28th, 2011

By: J. Kelly Beatty January 28, 2011 0

Use an MP3 player to listen to SkyandTelescope.com's Sky Tour Podcasts.

S&T: Lauren Darby

For most of us, this will be the coldest month of the year. So when you’re heading outside make sure you’re bundled up warmly — don’t forget your head and feet.

New Moon falls on February 3rd, and three days later the delicate lunar crescent will pair beautifully with bright Jupiter in the southwest after sunset. Jupiter is nearing the end of a long evening run that began last September. In the months since then, Jupiter has moved a little farther away and gotten a little dimmer week by week. It’s only half as bright now as it was a few months ago.

Meanwhile, Venus is dramatically bright in the eastern sky before dawn. That's when you can spot Saturn over in the southwest, getting ready for its arrival in the evening sky a few months from now.

Get the lowdown on these sky sights and more by downloading February's audio sky tour. It's a 4-megabyte MP3 file that's 4¾ minutes long.

About J. Kelly Beatty

J. Kelly Beatty, S&T Senior Editor, joined the staff of Sky Publishing in 1974 and specializes in planetary science and space exploration. Learn more about him here.