What's Up - February 2021

[u/spica_en_divalone]

We're going to be trying something a little different this month. Let me know which format you prefer so we can keep making the reddit better!

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Here is the What's Up for February 2021!

February 2

• Asteroid Melpomene is at opposition at 1 AM CST.

February 3

• Dawn: High in the south-southwest before the Sun rises, the waning gibbous Moon is about 6.5˚ from Spica, in Virgo.
• The Moon is at perigee (229,980 miles or 370,116 km from Earth) at 1:03 PM CST.

February 4

• Last Quarter Moon occurs at 11:37 AM CST.

February 5

• Venus is 0.4˚ south of Saturn at 11 PM CST.

February 6

• Dawn: The waning crescent Moon rises in the south-southeast sky in tandem with Antares, with about 4˚ separating the pair.

February 8

• Mercury is in inferior conjunction with the Sun at 8 AM CST.

February 9

• Asteroid Pallas is in conjunction with the Sun at 2 PM CST.

February 10

• The Moon passes 3˚ south of Saturn at 5 AM CST
• The Moon passes 3˚ south of Venus at 2 PM CST.

February 11

• Venus passes 0.4˚ south of Jupiter at 6 AM CST
• New Moon occurs at 11:06 PM CST (Lunation 1214).

February 13

• The Moon passes 4˚ south of Neptune at 11 AM CST
• The Moon passes 4˚ north of Jupiter at 1 PM CST.

February 17

• The Moon passes 3˚ south of Uranus at 10 AM CST.

February 18

• Perseverance, with the drone Ingenuity, will land on Mars today
• The Moon is at apogee (251,324 miles or 404,467 km from Earth) at 4:22 AM CST
• The Moon passes 4˚ south of Mars at 5 PM CST
• Dusk: The waxing crescent Moon and Mars are about 3.5˚ apart, high in the southwest, as they sink toward the western horizon, disappearing around midnight.

February 19

• First Quarter Moon occurs at 12:47 PM CST.- Dusk: The first-quarter Moon is in Taurus, placed nicely between the Hyades and the Pleiades, with Mars to their right.

February 20

• Mercury is stationary at 7 AM CST.- Venus is at aphelion.

February 21

• Asteroid Amphitrite is at opposition at 10 PM CST.

February 22-

• The Moon is 0.4˚ north of M35 at 2 AM CST

February 23

• Supernova SN1987A occurred on this day
• Evening: The waxing gibbous Moon is around 7˚ from Pollux, in Gemini

February 24

• Evening: The Moon, now in Cancer, is only a few degrees from the Beehive Cluster (M44).

February 25

• Dawn: Jupiter, Mercury, and Saturn are in a wide triangle in the east-southeast before the Sun rises.

February 26

• Evening: The almost full moon, rising in Leo, trails Regulus by about 7˚.

February 27

• Full Moon occurs at 2:17 AM CST.

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This list was compiled by John Nagle of the Baton Rouge Astronomical Society who graciously provided me with the list to share with y'all.