TheSky (c) Astronomy Software 1984-1998
Sydney Observatory night sky map February 2016 A map for each month of the year, to help you learn about the night sky www.sydneyobservatory.com.au
The star chart shows the stars and constellations visible in the night sky for Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart and Adelaide for February 2015 at about 8:30 pm (summer time) andCAMELOPARDALIS at about 7:30 pm (local standard time) for Perth and Brisbane. For URSA MAJOR Darwin and similar locations the chart will still apply, but some stars will be lost off the southern edge while extra stars will be visible to the north. Stars down to a brightness or magnitude limit of 4.5 are shown on theCASSIOPEIA star chart. To use this star chart, rotate the chart so that the direction you are facing (north, south, east or west) is shown at the bottom. The centre of the chart
represents the point directly above your head, called the zenith point, and the outer circular edge represents the horizon. North Star Brightness Moon Phase Last quarter: 01st Zero or brighter New Moon: 09th st 1 magnitude LYNX First quarter: 15th Capella
2nd Full Moon: 23rd rd NE AURIGA 3 Gemini (the Twins) PERSEUS
th ANDROMEDA 4 NW
Pleiades TRIANGULUM First quarter Moon Pollux on the 23rd
GEMINI M44 TAURUS ARIES CANCER Hyades Aldebaran
Betelgeuse ORION PISCES CANIS MINOR Procyon
Regulus Orion (the Hunter) M42 MONOCEROS Rigel HYDRA Sirius ERIDANUS Canis Major Sirius LEPUS (the Great Dog) CETUS
East CANIS MAJOR SEXTANS Adhara COLUMBA FORNAX CAELUM
West
PUPPIS PYXIS HYDRA ERIDANUS PICTOR SCULPTOR AQUARIUS Canopus HOROLOGIUM
RETICULUM CRATER ANTLIA DORADO PHOENIX Achernar VELA LMC CARINA FALSE CROSS VOLANS HYDRUS MENSA TUCANA PISCIS AUSTRINUS SMC GRUS
SOUTHERN CROSS CHAMAELEON South Celestial Pole OCTANS
MUSCA CRUX INDUS Mimosa MICROSCOPIUM Chart Key SE POINTERS APUS Bright star PAVO CENTAURUS SW Faint star Hadar TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE Ecliptic Alpha Centauri CIRCINUS Milky Way TELESCOPIUM P Planet LMC or Large Magellanic Cloud South ARA SMC or Small Magellanic Cloud NORMA
CORONA AUSTRALIS
The best time to view the Moon using binocularLUPUSs or a small telescope is a few days either side of the first quarter Moon on the 15th of this month. The constellation of Orion (the Hunter) is high in the sky throughout February. The three stars that make up SAGITTARIUS the belt of Orion form the base and the dagger hanging from Orion’s belt forms the handle, of an asterism that is colloquially known as “The Saucepan”. The v-shaped head of Taurus (the Bull) can be seen further to the west of Orion, while the companions of this hunter are found further to the east, in Canis Major (the Great Dog) and Canis Minor (the Little Dog). Crux, (the Southern Cross) is low in the south east. SCORPIUS
Sydney Observatory, with a magnificent view overlooking Sydney Harbour, is open 10am to Zubenelgenubi 5pm daily – except closed Good Friday, ChristmasCentre Day of the and Galaxy Boxing Day, and open 10am to noon on New Year’s Eve. Open Monday to Saturday for night sessions (times vary depending on the season) for sky viewing through one of our telescopes (cosy planetarium session if cloudy), and 3D movies about the Universe. Bookings are essential for night programs.
For more information, check the website at www.sydneyobservatory.com.au or call (02) 9921 3485. Sydney Observatory is at 1003 Upper Fort Street, Observatory Hill, in the
historic Rocks area of Sydney.
Sydney Observatory is part of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. The Sydney Observatory night sky map was created by Dr. M Anderson using the TheSky software. This month’s edition was prepared by Brenan Dew © 2016 Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney.