Taipei Astronomical Museum points out that winter is the season when the brightest stars are densest in the sky. In February this year, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Mars and other bright planets also appear in the evening. If the moon is counted, the sky will be rarely seen. All 14 bright stars of first magnitude appear at the same time!
According to the Museum, there are 22 bright stars with brightness of 1.5 magnitude or above in the whole sky. Among them, 4 are too far to the south to be seen. Half of the other 18 stars, including Sirius, Rigel, Betelgeuse, and Procyon, are not visible. , Aldebaran, Pollux, Canopus, Castor, Sagitta VII (sorted by brightness) are all concentrated in the winter starry sky. In addition to Mercury, the four naked eye visible planets that patrol the ecliptic also gather in the winter starry sky at the same time. The opportunity to see it is very rare, plus there is a bright moon, for many years this February evening has been the only time to see such a beautiful view!
In addition to many bright stars, the International Space Station flew over Taiwan from 17:56 to 18:07 on the evening of February 3 (Monday), and passed between Jupiter and Mars near the zenith at around 18:01. At this time, the maximum brightness can reach about -3.8 magnitude, which is close to the bright Venus!
The "Mars-Moon conjunction" on the early morning of February 10 (Monday) is also worth watching. Since the night before, Mars, with a brightness of -0.8 magnitude, and the waxing gibbous moon have gradually approached each other, and a "lunar occultation" will occur at 4:50 a.m. on the 10th. Mars", but by then the moon have already fallen to the western horizon and is difficult to observe. It is quite rare for the moon to occult Mars at night. The last time in Taiwan was 39 years ago on August 17, 1986, and the next time will be in 15 years on March 22, 2040!
February 17 (Monday) to 18 (Tuesday) is the brightest day for Venus, reaching magnitude -4.9. After sunset, Venus appears in the western sky. It is so bright that it can even cast a shadow on objects in the dark. If you use a telescope to observe, the Venus appearance shows obvious phase changes like the moon. The Observatory will open on the evening of the 15th (Saturday) for the public to enjoy this most beautiful star! For detailed information, please refer to the Taipei Astronomical Museum website.
