2
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Last Quarter Moon at 7:27 UT.
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4
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Moon near Antares at 5h UT (morning sky).
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7
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Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 22h UT (distance 358,565 km; angular size 33.3').
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8
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New Moon at 22:28 UT. Beginning of lunation 1016.
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14
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Mercury at superior conjunction at 11h UT (not visible). The elusive planet passes into the evening sky.
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16
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First Quarter Moon at 0:16 UT.
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16
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Moon near the Pleiades at 5h UT (evening sky).
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20
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Moon at apogee (furthest from Earth) at 5h UT (distance 405,805 km; angular size 29.5').
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20
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Moon near Pollux at 17h UT (evening sky).
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24
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Full Moon at 4:54 UT. The full Moon of February is called the "Snow Moon", "Hunger Moon" or "Wolf Moon".
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27
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Moon very near Jupiter at 14h UT (evening sky). Occultation visible from southern Australia.
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MORNING PLANETS: Venus very low in the east-southeast in bright morning twilight just before sunrise (mag. -3.8). Mars low in the southeast before dawn (mag. +1.3).
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EVENING PLANETS: Mercury low in the west by monthÕs end (mag. -1.4). Saturn is near maximum brightness (mag. -0.2) and ever beautiful even in a small telescope. Titan (mag. +8.1) may be glimpsed nearby. Jupiter brightens slightly to mag. -2.3. The giant planet rises at about 10:30pm (local time) early in the month, and two hours earlier by monthÕs end.
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Comet Machholz (C/2004 Q2) becomes a circumpolar object this month. Its brightness diminishes from mag. 4.8 to 6.1 as it moves away from both Earth and the Sun. The comet remains visible in binoculars and telescopes.
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Zodiacal light. Late February is the best time of the year to look for the zodiacal light (caused by sunlight reflected off meteoric dust in the plane of the solar system). Choose a clear, moonless night, about 1 to 2 hours after sunset, and look along the ecliptic in the west for a large triangular-shaped glow extending up from the horizon.
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All times Universal Time (UT). (USA Eastern Standard Time = UT 5 hours)
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