Fantastic sky-watching opportunities this February

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - From a green comet to a near conjunction between two giant planets, our cold February evenings will offer some spectacular sky-watching opportunities.

“This February we start off with a very unique event and that is being the comet, the long period comet, that is going to be visible near the Little Dipper, otherwise, near the North Star, and that should be bright enough to just barely see with the naked eye,” said Mark Pitts, senior lecturer at Eastern Kentucky University.

It turns out the winter months are actually perfect for watching the sky at nighttime. The reason is the typical cold and dry weather we experience.

“A very cold atmosphere, it tends not to be so humid, drier, there’s less water in the sky above you,” said Pitts. “One of my favorite apps that I’ve downloaded to help me navigate the nighttime sky, is an app called SkySafari. You download it, point your phone toward the sky, it will help you identify what you are looking at.”

That will make it a lot easier to see the Big Dipper.

“The Big Dipper is going to particularly be predominate in the northern sky and one of those two end stars on the cup of the Big Dipper is known as the star of Mizar,” said Pitts.

Near the end of the month, you’re also going to want to look west.

“We are going to be witnessing a near conjunction. So, both Venus and Jupiter will be very, very close together in the sky and that will make them, on the one hand, easier to find, but also, at times when bright planets like this come very close together, sometimes, they’ll even almost appear as a single bright light,” said Pitts.

So, grab the family, head to the backyard, and look up for some amazing sky-watching opportunities.

Before heading out, make sure you download our weather app, so you know what to expect weather wise. An almost clear sky with less light pollution is perfect for sky-watching.

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