What’s Up in the Night Sky? – February 2021

Fred Barrett | Feb 03, 2021

It’s once again that time of the year when the Zodiacal light makes its appearance. It’s a beautiful, spectacular sight rising in a pyramid shape from the horizon. Some of this was written in a 2019 column but it bears review. It’s well worth the extra effort to find a clear horizon to observe it in its entirety. You certainly have plenty of opportunity. Its cone shaped radiance is best observed from mid February through early March after sunset on the western horizon. Let me describe to you what the Zodiacal light is and then we can understand the ‘why’ of the best time of year to view it. It is a diffuse cone or triangle of light that rises up from the western horizon after sunset. The Zodiacal cloud is the debris disk of our solar system and its radiance is caused by sunlight scattering and reflecting off the particles in that cloud. The disk of dust ranges through the inner solar system and extends out from the Sun to the orbit of Jupiter. The debris mainly originates from the boiling off of materials from comets and material thrown off by asteroid collisions. The dust particles have a size range from about a few micrometers to a few centimeters. The debris mainly orbits in the ecliptic plane – the plane in which the planets travel around the solar system. Thus, the best time to observe its glow is when the axis of the Earth’s rotation is at a maximum to the ecliptic plane. That occurs when our axis is perpendicular to the horizon. This occurs around the time of the spring and autumnal equinoxes. At the spring equinox (February-March), it will appear about an hour after sunset on the western horizon. At the time of the autumnal equinox (September-October), it will present itself before dawn on the eastern horizon. The Zodiacal light has been observed for a long time by many civilizations. The Bible writes that ancient astronomers called it the ‘wings of the morning’ because when it appeared in the fall near sunrise, it signaled the dawn. The best time to view the Zodiacal light now is late winter evening. Find yourself a nice dark site when the Moon isn’t around. February 15 to March 7 is a good interval to observe so you have plenty of opportunity to pick a clear moonless night. Dress warmly (need I say) and it’s very important to get your eyes dark adjusted. You don’t need any equipment but your God given eyeballs! Watch out that you’re not looking towards a town over the horizon. That will appear as a dome shape. You are looking for a cone shape. We are in a wonderful place out here in our dark sky area. Appreciate it.

If you are an early riser, we will have a great view of Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury looking towards the southeast horizon about a half hour before sunrise on the 20th.

I love this time of year. When the air pressure rises and the temperature plummets, we get a crisp, clear and dark sky. The Orion constellation is high in the south and the Orion nebula, just below Orion’s belt is so sharp, especially in binoculars. To me, it means that frigid February is heading towards spring when Orion approaches the western horizon and is above the tree line as I walk my dog to collect the morning newspaper without having to wear a parka.

Have a look at the constellation Auriga in February too. There are a myriad of deep sky objects (DSO’s) in its interior. It is high in the southwest and many are binocular objects. Point your binoculars from the centre and down to the southern part of the constellation. A star chart will help you in your search through the star fields. Aurige has the shape of a house with the bright star Capella at its upper right near the open cluster NGC 1664. Get out there and investigate.

Don’t forget that the rover Perseverance will be landing in Jezero crater on Mars on February 18. I have my popcorn ready for the event and will be following every second of the landing.

February is a relatively slow month but there are things happening. Here’s a brief summary.

February 3: The Moon is at perigee – 367,970 kilometers.

February 4: Last quarter Moon.

February 10: Moon is 3 degrees south of Saturn just before sunrise.

February 11: New Moon.

February 18: The Moon is at apogee – 402,118 Kilometers. The Moon passes 4 degrees south of Mars.

February 19: First quarter Moon.

February 27: Full Moon. This one is called the Full Snow Moon or the Full Hunger Moon – harsh weather meant poor hunting and food was running low. I usually keep 2 months worth of grub in my pantry but I can be found hunting at the local supermarket for cherry cheesecake.

That’s a wrap. Keep looking up!

“The Beginner’s Observing Guide by Leo Enright is an invaluable companion for adventures in the sky. It also contains useful star charts. It can be ordered from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at www.rasc.ca/publications. A subscription to our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine “SkyNews” can be arranged at the RASC website as well.

Let me know how your observing has gone this month, especially anything unusual. I enjoy the feedback. If you have any questions or suggestions you can contact me through this paper or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Clear Skies! Fred.