skyandtelescope.com • FEBRUARY 2020 41
OBSERVING
February 2020
DUSK: The month opens with Venus
blazing above the southwestern horizon.
Watch throughout the month as the
Evening Star climbs higher along the
ecliptic. Can you spot Mercury far lower
right of Venus? It’s best visible between
the 6th and the 14th.
EVENING: Algol shines at minimum
brightness for roughly two hours centered
at 9:21 p.m. PST (see page 50).
EVENING: Algol shines at minimum
brightness for roughly two hours centered
at 9:10 p.m. EST.
DUSK: Mercury reaches greatest
eastern elongation from the Sun, and half
an hour after sunset it’s still more than
10 °° above the west-southwestern horizon.
Catch the tiny world before it sets.
DAWN: The Moon is in Scorpius, a
mere degree or so from Beta (β) Sco, also
known as Graffi as.
DAWN: The waning crescent Moon
occults Mars for most viewers in North and
Central America (see pages 47 and 50).
10DAWN: The thinning Moon and
Jupiter sit some 3° to 4° apart left of
the Teapot in Sagittarius.DAWN: An even more slender lunar
crescent lies some 2° lower right of
Saturn. Catch the pair in the southeast
before the Sun rises.DUSK: Watch as the waxing lunar
crescent and Venus, 5° or more apart, sink
toward the western horizon.EVENING: Algol shines at minimum
brightness for roughly two hours centered
at 7:55 p.m. PST (10:55 p.m. EST).
— DIANA HANNIKAINENpProvided skies are clear this month, most of
North America will see Mars gradually disappear
behind the Moon’s limb, then reappear. This time-
lapse image is from the 2003 Mars occultation
(south is down).
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