Monthly Observing InformationMonthly Observing Information
This page provides charts, and text concerning what is visible in the night sky during the month noted. All information is for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but they can still provide useful information for most other areas of the U.S.A. Sky charts, Saturn ring plane, and Venus phase images are for Midnight, on the 15th day of the month and are naked eye views. Sky charts are 100 degree field of view, and show objects down to 12th magnitude. Times in the text information are in 24 hour format and have been adjusted for Daylight Savings Time. Subtract 12 hours from those over 12 to get the equivalent PM. RA and DEC given are for Epoch 2000.
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Current Moon phase & Galilean satellites
Baton Rouge Clear Sky Clock
Click on image for more info and details. This clock is for the Baton Rouge area only.
Kisatchie Clear Sky Clock
Click on image for more info and details. This clock is for the Kisatchie area only.
February
Moon Calendar
Sky charts
Saturn's Ring Plane
Venus Phase
Sun and Moon Rise and Set
Date Moonrise Moonset Sunrise Sunset Twilight Twilight ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- 02/01/12 12:15 01:37 06:56 17:41 05:34 19:03 02/02/12 13:02 02:29 06:55 17:42 05:33 19:04 02/03/12 13:53 03:22 06:55 17:43 05:33 19:05 02/04/12 14:49 04:11 06:54 17:44 05:32 19:06 02/05/12 15:48 04:58 06:53 17:45 05:32 19:06 02/06/12 16:50 05:42 06:53 17:45 05:31 19:07 02/07/12 17:53 06:23 06:52 17:46 05:31 19:08 02/08/12 18:56 07:02 06:51 17:47 05:30 19:09 02/09/12 20:01 07:39 06:50 17:48 05:29 19:09 02/10/12 21:06 08:16 06:50 17:49 05:29 19:10 02/11/12 22:11 08:54 06:49 17:50 05:28 19:11 02/12/12 23:17 09:35 06:48 17:50 05:27 19:11 02/13/12 ------ 10:19 06:47 17:51 05:27 19:12 02/14/12 00:22 11:08 06:46 17:52 05:26 19:13 02/15/12 01:27 12:01 06:45 17:53 05:25 19:14 02/16/12 02:27 12:59 06:44 17:54 05:24 19:14 02/17/12 03:23 13:59 06:44 17:54 05:23 19:15 02/18/12 04:12 15:01 06:43 17:55 05:22 19:16 02/19/12 04:56 16:02 06:42 17:56 05:22 19:16 02/20/12 05:36 17:02 06:41 17:57 05:21 19:17 02/21/12 06:11 18:00 06:40 17:57 05:20 19:18 02/22/12 06:44 18:56 06:39 17:58 05:19 19:19 02/23/12 07:17 19:51 06:38 17:59 05:18 19:19 02/24/12 07:48 20:45 06:37 18:00 05:17 19:20 02/25/12 08:20 21:39 06:36 18:00 05:16 19:21 02/26/12 08:55 22:33 06:35 18:01 05:15 19:21 02/27/12 09:31 23:27 06:33 18:02 05:14 19:22 02/28/12 10:11 ------ 06:32 18:02 05:13 19:23 02/29/12 10:55 00:19 06:31 18:03 05:12 19:23
Information and images in this section from The Sky6 Professional
Solar System Information
Planet View Info Report for 02/01/2012 to 02/29/2012
Mercury
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
02/01/2012 6:51 17:18 20h39m55s -20°28'21" 4°55'13" 0.991 1.41418
02/08/2012 7:03 17:49 21h28m44s -17°02'48" 2°06'26" 0.998 1.39349
02/15/2012 7:12 18:22 22h17m23s -12°26'17" 6°15'10" 0.978 1.33615
02/22/2012 7:18 18:55 23h04m33s -6°50'09" 11°51'46" 0.895 1.23045
02/29/2012 7:17 19:22 23h46m16s -0°54'49" 16°41'18" 0.695 1.06973
Venus
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
02/01/2012 8:59 20:47 23h29m52s -4°14'54" 39°53'45" 0.742 1.10593
02/08/2012 8:53 20:57 23h59m46s -0°35'51" 41°05'38" 0.719 1.05995
02/15/2012 8:46 21:08 0h29m11s 3°03'58" 42°12'43" 0.695 1.01263
02/22/2012 8:39 21:18 0h58m18s 6°40'39" 43°14'08" 0.669 0.96399
02/29/2012 8:32 21:28 1h27m16s 10°10'17" 44°08'55" 0.641 0.91402
Mars
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
02/01/2012 20:39 9:17 11h39m13s 6°24'59" 138°41'42" 0.960 0.79252
02/08/2012 20:06 8:47 11h35m39s 6°59'10" 146°45'58" 0.973 0.75059
02/15/2012 19:30 8:15 11h29m43s 7°45'57" 155°23'56" 0.985 0.71655
02/22/2012 18:52 7:42 11h21m38s 8°42'21" 164°26'25" 0.994 0.69176
02/29/2012 18:12 7:07 11h11m58s 9°43'25" 173°11'51" 0.999 0.67736
Jupiter
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
02/01/2012 10:53 23:51 2h03m16s 11°22'34" 81°07'07" 0.990 5.03578
02/08/2012 10:28 23:28 2h06m38s 11°42'21" 74°54'27" 0.991 5.14594
02/15/2012 10:04 23:05 2h10m27s 12°04'14" 68°49'51" 0.991 5.25308
02/22/2012 9:39 22:43 2h14m42s 12°27'58" 62°52'42" 0.992 5.35614
02/29/2012 9:15 22:21 2h19m21s 12°53'13" 57°02'40" 0.993 5.45406
Saturn
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
02/01/2012 23:30 10:55 13h53m41s -8°55'53" 101°56'00" 0.998 9.46389
02/08/2012 23:02 10:27 13h53m53s -8°54'58" 108°59'03" 0.998 9.35188
02/15/2012 22:34 10:00 13h53m45s -8°52'16" 116°06'12" 0.998 9.24454
02/22/2012 22:06 9:32 13h53m18s -8°47'52" 123°17'23" 0.998 9.14355
02/29/2012 21:38 9:04 13h52m31s -8°41'50" 130°32'01" 0.998 9.05066
Uranus
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
02/01/2012 9:25 21:28 0h07m40s 0°03'45" 50°15'58" 1.000 20.69192
02/08/2012 8:58 21:02 0h08m46s 0°11'07" 43°28'15" 1.000 20.78042
02/15/2012 8:31 20:36 0h09m57s 0°19'04" 36°43'04" 1.000 20.85875
02/22/2012 8:05 20:10 0h11m14s 0°27'31" 30°00'12" 1.000 20.92591
02/29/2012 7:38 19:45 0h12m35s 0°36'23" 23°19'47" 1.000 20.98098
Neptune
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
02/01/2012 7:55 19:01 22h08m47s -12°00'57" 18°23'41" 1.000 30.93487
02/08/2012 7:28 18:35 22h09m46s -11°55'31" 11°33'39" 1.000 30.96697
02/15/2012 7:01 18:08 22h10m47s -11°49'59" 4°45'44" 1.000 30.98518
02/22/2012 6:35 17:42 22h11m48s -11°44'23" 2°08'25" 1.000 30.98925
02/29/2012 6:08 17:16 22h12m49s -11°38'50" 8°51'50" 1.000 30.97910
Planet Apsides Report for 2012
Mars
02/15/2012 Aphelion Distance from Sun: 1.67 AU
Planet Conjunction/Opposition Report for 02/01/2012 to 02/29/2012
Mercury
Date Hour Event
02/07/2012 3 Superior Conjunction
Neptune
Date Hour Event
02/19/2012 18 Conjunction
Planet Data Report
Planet Mean Dist Period of Inclination Equatorial
From Sun Revolution Diameter
(AU) (km)
Mercury 0.39 88 days 7° 4880
Venus 0.72 224.7 days 3.4° 12100
Earth 1.00 365.24 days 0° 12756
Mars 1.52 687 days 1.9° 6794
Jupiter 5.20 11.86 years 1.3° 143200
Saturn 9.54 29.46 years 2.5° 120000
Uranus 19.18 84 years 0.8° 52290
Neptune 30.06 165 years 1.8° 50450
Moon Apsides Report for 02/01/2012 to 02/29/2012
Date Hour Apsis Distance (km) Diameter
02/11/2012 12 Perigee 367928 0.5413°
02/27/2012 8 Apogee 404841 0.4919°
Moon Nodes Report for 02/01/2012 to 02/29/2012
Date Time Node Illuminated Fraction
02/02/2012 14:01 Descending 0.72
02/15/2012 14:15 Ascending 0.40
Information for this section is from Astronomy Lab 2.03
Last updated on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 10:00 AM