February stargazers will be delighted by natural and man-made wonders alike.
If you’re not much of a night person, you can see planets at dawn and dusk.
“Above the morning haze, you’ve got Jupiter, the morning star,” says Chris Janssen, Director of the Wausau West High School Planetarium. “And in the evening, on the other side of the sky, right after the sun goes down, you’re going to have Venus, the evening star.”
Just like in January, Saturn will be visible in the southern sky.
Its rings and moons are visible with binoculars.
The moons of Saturn orbit quickly, so you can expect to see different views if you look at it every few nights.
A certain group of satellites will provide some exciting shows in the sky.
This type of satellite orbits close to the earth and has very shiny solar panels.
As it reflects the sun’s light, the satellite in the sky “just gets really, really, really bright, and then fades back down to its dim state,” says Janssen.
Since scientists know the angles of the solar panels and the paths of the orbit of each satellite, they can predict these flashes, which are called Iridium flares.
Although these can be seen year-round, some very bright flares will happen in February, and some can even be seen in the daytime.
You can view a schedule of Iridium flares by clicking here.
Search your city or town in the space provided.
Then look under Iridium Flares under the Satellites category and choose your timeframe.
You can find a map of stars and planets at the
Wausau School District - Space Program Web site by clicking Star Map.
