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TOPIC: February 2010


L

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RE: February 2010
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Neptune is at conjunction: 25.4' from center of Sun on the 14th February, 2010.
The distance to the Earth is  31.011 AU

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L

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During the remainder of this month and into early March, sky watchers with binoculars have a great opportunity to see the brightest asteroid of them all -- 4 Vesta. Vesta was the fourth asteroid discovered (hence the number) and was found by astronomer Heinrich Olbers on March 29, 1807. It's 329 miles across and orbits within the asteroid belt at an average distance from the sun of 220 million miles. This month Vesta is at opposition to the Earth (making a close approach) and shining at 6th magnitude. From a dark sky site, it's very faintly visible to the naked eye but any pair of binoculars will show it easily.
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Lunar New Year unites Chinese

The whole country is celebrating. All worries, sadness and anxieties are gone on New Year's Eve. Spring Festival is the most important traditional Chinese holiday. Historians generally agree it was first celebrated 2-thousand years ago, in the Han Dynasty.
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If the western horizon is clear on the evenings of the 14th, 15th, and 16th, use binoculars to look for the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus right after the sun sets.
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Hopefully spring is on its way and perhaps we can expect some better weather in February so that we can get out and look up at the sky.
Mars is prominent in the sky looking south this month.
It's brighter than any star and slightly pink but recent information from the NASA Mars Rovers failed to find any signs of life on Mars.
By the end of the month, the planet Saturn will start rising higher in the east.

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Mars will be at its highest and brightest for the year during February, coming into view in the east as evening twilight fades. The red planet was closest to Earth in its orbit on Jan. 27, and it will remain near its best all month as it outshines every star except Sirius. This will be a fine opportunity to view Mars through a telescope, since it won't be bigger or brighter until 2014. The best views will be shortly before midnight, when Mars will be highest in the south and its light will pass through less of Earth's distorting atmosphere.
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Directly overhead this month is the brilliant constellation of Gemini, the Heavenly Twins, the home of the twin stars Castor and Pollux. For many centuries this pair was thought to be equal in brightness and distance. But in reality they are far from being twins. They are very dissimilar and in no way associated with each other.
Castor is 46 light-years away, while Pollux is the brighter of the two partly because it is much closer, at 36 light-years. Castor consists of four stars circling one another, but Pollux is one of those rare beasts - like the Sun - a single star.

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Jupiter sinks as Venus soars. It's time to change the evening star. These bright planets will only briefly share the sky, barely peeking above the west-southwestern horizon in the evening twilight.
To see this planetary duo, find a west-facing ridge with unobstructed views. Even with clear skies after sunset, most of us may miss this extremely low conjunction. If you can find a good spot, look just a few minutes after sunset on Valentine's Day.

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