PATHOF THE
PLANETS
The planets
in the sky
These illustrations show the size, phase, and orientation of each planet and the two brightest dwarf planets at 0h UT
for the dates in the data table at bottom. South is at the top to match the view through a telescope.
The planets in February 2018
SGE
EQU
PEG DEL
LAC
AQR
CAP
MIC
GRU
SGR
SCT
AQL SER
CYG LY R
VUL
LY N
CNC
PUP
PYX
ANT
CRT HYA
SEX
LEO
SCO
OPH
HER
DRA
CEN
CRV
COM
BOÖ
SER
VIR
LIB
LUP
PsA
CrA
CrB
CVN
UMa
LMi
CMi
Objects visible before dawn
Sun Pa
th^ of
the^ S
un^ (e
clipti
c)^
Dawn Midnight
Moon phases
Pluto Saturn Mars Jupiter
A partial solar eclipse occurs
February 15 across southern
South America and parts
of Antarctica
Vesta
Ceres
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
28 27
Venus
Mars
Mercury
Ceres
Uranus
Saturn
Neptune
Pluto
10"
S
WE
N
Jupiter
40 ASTRONOMY • FEBRUARY 2018
Planets MERCURY VENUS MARS CERES JUPITER SATURN URANUS NEPTUNE PLUTO
Date Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Feb. 15 Feb. 15 Feb. 15 Feb. 15 Feb. 15 Feb. 15 Feb. 15
Magnitude –1.4 –3.9 1. 0 7. 0 –2.1 0. 6 5.9 8. 0 14. 3
Angular size 5. 3" 10. 0 " 6 .1" 0. 8 " 37.4" 15. 6" 3. 5" 2. 2 " 0.1"
Illumination 94% 98% 90% 99% 99% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Distance (AU) from Earth 1.278 1.665 1.537 1.626 5.270 10.671 20.387 30.887 34.299
Distance (AU) from Sun 0.338 0.726 1.588 2.567 5.425 10.065 19.898 29.944 33.505
Right ascension (2000.0) 23h17.9m 23h29.3m 16h40.7m 8h58.4m 15h20.4m 18h25.7m 1h33.9m 22h58.8m 19h26.3m
Declination (2000.0) –5°37' – 4°49' –21°42' 31°30' –17 °13' –22°26' 9°13' –7 °30' –21°34'