Star track, created by pointing camera to the north and appearing for a few hours.
getty
Every Monday I pick the main square locations of the northern hemisphere (mid-northern latitudes) for the coming week, but be sure to take a look at my main feed for more in-depth articles on stars, astronomy, eclipses and more.
What to look for in the night sky this week: February 8-14, 2021
With the middle of New Moon moon this is a big week for stars. It can be said that the the best a week of the year to look up since the night sky in the northern hemisphere does not become darker, or so cloudy. And there are never so many bright bright stars in February – so go outside and check out the constellations of Orion, Taurus, the Pleiades and the other gems of the winter night sky. However, the best will come just before sunrise in the east on Thursday when Venus and Jupiter are in close contact.
This is also an important week for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will be the fifth country to reach Mars when its “Hope” probe goes into orbit on Tuesday.
The red planet is also the only bright planet you can see at night this week, although it is now declining as the distance between the spikes of Earth and Mars.
That way, it’s a really good week to get outdoors looking up.
Tuesday, February 9, 2021: ‘Hope’ reaches Mars
Today sees the Mars Mission of Emirates Mars (EMM), an ambitious project by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to study the atmosphere of the red planet.
Nicknamed “Hope,” EMM enters a captive orbit around Mars today and begins its mission to provide an overview of the weather system across all regions of the planet at all time of day during the 687-day Martian year.
A hope probe will arrive in Mars in February 2021 and aims to take the first full picture of Marsâ ????? … [+]
Mohammed bin Rashid space center
Wednesday, February 10, 2021: ‘Tianwen-1’ arrives in Mars
Hot on the heels of “Hope” is Tianwen-1, China’s spacecraft, which is expected to reach the orbit of the red planet today and be captured by the gravitational pull of Mars. Inside is a rover, though that won’t land on the surface until May 2021.
Planet of the week: Mars
With Neptune and Uranus hard to find, the “visible” planets in February 2021 are Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. Only the latter are readily visible this month, although it is declining rapidly as the distance from Earth increases.
Nevertheless you can easily see the red planet after dark any night of this month by looking high in the southern night sky.
Thursday, February 11, 2021: Venus and Jupiter in association with New Moon
Just before sunrise in the southwest this morning it will be possible to see the two brightest planets – Venus and Jupiter – shining just 0.4º apart. Take a look at the sunrise time where you are and look very low to the southwest horizon 30 minutes in advance. It happens very close to the horizon and is only seen for a short time before the sky shines.
Today at 19:08 UTC a New Moon passes under the Sun to begin a new orbit of the Earth.
How to find M44 – the “Beehive” collection.
Jamie Carter
Topic of the week: Beehive Cluster (M44)
This week’s dark skies are perfect for catching eyes with one of the most impressive open collections of stars in the night sky. Found in a cancer-scarce constellation, the crab, the Beehive Cluster – also known as M44 and Praesepe (meaning “manger” in Latin) – is a group of stars about 580 light-years away.
The Beehive Cluster is an open group in cancer constellation. It is one of the closest openings … [+]
getty
You’ll find it – from here through May – about halfway through a line symbolized from the bright star Regulus in Leo to Pollux in Gemini. You will see about 60 stars in binoculars.
The constellation of a Gemini look with the naked eye. We can see the main stars Castor and Pollux on it … [+]
getty
Constellation of the week: Gemini, the couple
Although it is known as a constellation because it is part of the zodiac, Gemini is accessible in urban skies except for its two brightest stars – Pollux and the slightly lower Castor. Called the “Heavenly Twins”, they are 34 and 50 light-years away (so in our close cosmic neighborhood), although Castor is indeed an unusual six-star system.
Times and dates given relate to north-central latitudes. For the most accurate information about a particular place get advice on online planetariums like Stellarium and The Sky Live. look up rising-planet / fixed-planet, sunrise / sunset and moonrise / moonset times for where you are.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.