Visible to the naked eye
Visible with binoculars
Visible with a telescope10°SAGITTARIUSAQUILAOPHIUCHUSSCORPIUSFeb. 12, 1 hour before sunrise
Looking southeastLIBRAAltairRasalhagueNunkiAntaresZubeneschVenusMars
Mercury32 ASTRONOMY • FEBRUARY 2022Venus achieves its
greatest brilliancy,
dominating the predawn sky
all month with its spectacular
glow. Mars and Mercury join
the dawn chorus of planets,
and late in the month Saturn
reappears from behind the
Sun. With Jupiter heading
for conjunction with our star,
there are five major planets
spanning less than 50° along
the ecliptic by the end of
February.
Let’s start with Jupiter,
brief ly visible after sunset dur-
ing these early winter evenings.
On Feb. 1, you’ll find the bright
planet hanging 10° high in the
western sky an hour after sun-
set. At magnitude –2, it’s bright
enough to remain easily visible
through the first week of
February, and becomes more
difficult to spot as the second
week progresses.
Saturn’s conjunction with
the Sun occurs Feb. 4. By the
end of the month, it reappears
near Mercury. Keep reading
for more details on how to spot
it in the morning sky.
Neptune sets three hours
after sunset in early February.
To spot this distant planet, try
as soon as the sky is dark. On
Feb. 3, the slender crescent
Moon is a useful guide, with
Neptune standing 4° due north
of our satellite. The planet glows
at magnitude 7.9 among the
stars of eastern Aquarius theVenus’ big day (^)
FEBRUARY 2022
Venus steals the spotlight
THE SOLAR SYSTEM’S CHANGING LANDSCAPE AS IT APPEARS IN EARTH’S SKY.
BY MARTIN RATCLIFFE AND ALISTER LING
SKY THIS MONTH
Five planets (and the
Moon) stretch across the
sky on an early morning
in February 2016. This
month, the starting
lineup might be different,
but the players are the
same. JOHN CHUMACK
Venus shares the morning sky with Mercury and Mars on Feb. 12, when it
reaches greatest brilliancy. ALL ILLUSTRATIONS: ASTRONOMY: ROEN KELLY