Naked Eye Astronomy – February 2025

📝 Steven Burr

The Moon

We start the month off with a first quarter moon on the 5th of February.  This is followed by the Full Snow Moon on the 12th of February.  According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the name is attributed to the heavy snowfall that usually occurs in February.  The last quarter moon appears on the 20th of the month followed by a new moon on the 28th of February.

The Planets

Venus is now prominent in the Southwest shortly after sunset and will come within 2° north of the waxing crescent moon on the 1st of the month.  February is a decent time to observe this planet due to its elongation from the sun and it’s reaching its greatest illumination on the 14th.  Mars is now visible in the evening sky rising just after sunset in the constellation of Gemini.  On the 9th of February, Mars comes within .8° of the waxing gibbous moon.  Jupiter finishes its retrograde motion in Taurus and will slowly begin its eastward motion throughout the month. On the 6th of February, Jupiter passes within 5° of the waxing gibbous moon. Saturn becomes increasingly difficult to spot in the evening twilight and will be lost in the sun’s glare by the end of the month. 

Zodiacal Light

Starting around the 14th of the month, Zodiacal will be visible in the West for the next two weeks shortly after evening twilight.  Look for a faint cone of light in the West just after sunset. Zodiacal light is the reflection of sunlight off of meteoric particles along the ecliptic.

Constellation Orion

Orion Nebula (📸 Luis Cho)

Easily recognized in the southern sky, Orion stands out due to its bright stars and unique shape.  According to Greek Mythology, he was the son of Poseidon and Eurayle who became a skilful hunter.  We have two competing story lines on Orion’s accession to the sky.  According to the Greek poet Hesiod (750-650 BCE), Orion was killed by a giant scorpion and Zeus placed him among the constellations to commemorate his bravery.  The other by Istros a 3rd century BCE poet, who attributes Orion’s accession to the sky to Artemis who after killing Orion, felt such remorse that she placed him among the constellations.  Today, we associate Orion with the M42 Orion Nebula a star forming region a mere 1,500 light-years distant.  M42 can be spotted with the naked eye from dark locations as a fuzzy patch in Orion’s sword.

Make sure to join RASC Belleville for their Astronomy Talk during Flashback February month. Everyone is welcome to participate in this free event:


References:

Boeckmann, Catherine, Full Moon Names 2025 [online]. Almanac, updated January 2025 [cited 3 January 2025]. Available from: https://www.almanac.com/full-moon-names

Eclipses in Prince Edward County [online], Timeanddate.com, [cited 27 Dec 2024]. Available from: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/@6113354

Edgar, James S. ed., RASC Observer’s Handbook 2025, ed. by James S. Edgar (Marquis Book Printing, 2024)

Hard, Robin, Eratosthenes & Hyginus: Constellation Myths (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015)

Mortillaro, Nicole, RASC 2025 Night Sky Almanac (Richmond Hill: Firefly Books, 2024)