Everything you always wanted to know about astronomy
BY BRUCE DENNIS SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

Before getting into recognizing each individual planet and what it will be doing at what time, let's first look at the month of February and find out when different astronomical events will occur and to what.

On February 1st, Jupiter will rise at dawn, just to the lower right of Venus. On the 3rd, in the Southeast at dawn, the crescent moon is about a fistwidth (at the end of an outstretched arm) from the Jupiter-Venus dual. On the 6th, the New Moon (no reflected light goes toward the Earth, so you can't see it) covers the Sun in parts of New Zealand, Antarctica, and Australia. We don't get to see it here. On the 20th, the Full Moon will pass into the Earth's shadow, producing a total lunar eclipse. This will take place (for us) between 10 and 11 PM. Don't miss it. It won't hurt your eyes. On the 23rd, Saturn rises at Sunset, is at its highest point in the sky at midnight, and sets at Sunrise. It is on a direct line with the Sun and the Earth, but on the opposite side of the Earth, away from the Sun. It is in 'opposition'. On the 25th, Mercury and Venus rise at dawn, about a thumb-width apart. In two mornings (the 27th), Mercury and Venus rise at dawn about half that distance apart. To find what phase our Moon was or will be in between 400BC and 8000AD, go to skyandtelescope. com/mooncalculator . This will be helpful when viewing and fun when playing with times and dates.

Eclipses have always intrigued both the amateur and professional astronomer. The only problems are that they are fairly rare (occurring only 2-3 times per year in populated areas), and they are not cyclic (they'd be easy to predict if they happened over and over again). This month an extremely rare event occurs: we are treated to two eclipses. The first eclipse will be on February 7th (it'll be on the 6th in New York because of the time difference) In New Zealand, Antarctica, and Australia, and two weeks later, a total eclipse of the Moon (on February 20th). This will be visible from most places on the Earth's surface. Saturn will rise near Sunset, be in the sky most of the night, and set at about Sunrise. Mars will be high for most of the early part of the month, surpassed only by Jupiter and Venus' pairing and close-encounter at dawn.

Mars is very high in the sky until several hours after nighttime sets in. As it gets further away (the Earth, having an inside orbit, is moving faster and is ahead of Mars), it gets dimmer during the month. It gets smaller (remember Bert and Ernie - smaller as it gets further away) there is less of a reflective surface area facing the Earth. Mars, no longer having its Westward (retrograde) motion, is easily found in Taurus - between Orion (the 3 belt stars) and the Pleiades (7 Sisters). Mars is much dimmer now than it was a month or two ago, and it's getting even dimmer. By about March 2009, Mars will once again be bigger and brighter than what we can see now, because it will be much closer.

By February 23rd, Saturn will rise at Sunset and reach its highest position in the sky around midnight. It sets at about Sunrise. It has obviously reached opposition - directly on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. Saturn will be at its brightest around the 27th, but not nearly as bright as it has been in the past when we can see the surface of the rings instead of the edge.

At dawn on February 1st, Venus and Jupiter will rise low in the Southeast. At two hours before Sunrise, the two will only be the thickness of a credit card apart. This is the closest these two planets appear for years. Jupiter, a full and much bigger planet, will be the one which is much brighter - it has an apparent diameter which is twice as large as Venus'. But Jupiter is much further away than Venus, giving us only about 1/50 the brightness. After February 1st, the two planets pull away from each other, sometimes reaching a full degree of separation per day. By March 1st, Jupiter rises about 3 hours before the Sun, and Venus only about 1 hour before the Sun.

Mercury passes between the Earth and the Sun in early February. By midmonth, it'll rise at about Sunrise near the eastern horizon. It spends the last week of February and all of March about a finger-width from Venus. Mercury and Venus get as close as the thickness of a credit card on February 27th. The Moon, Jupiter, and Venus are clumped together on February 3rd. On February 20th, the Earth's shadow covers the full Moon. Don't miss it! Happy viewing.

Bruce Dennis is a retired science teacher from Haverling High School.