The weather this week may actually work out for stargazers and astrophotographers. Tuesday and Wednesday night show promising signs of being clear or at least having some gaps in the clouds. Be warned – the temperature will be EXTREMELY low with windchill dropping as low as 4° F, so dress very warmly when stepping outside to gaze at the night sky.

Sunset is just after 5:40 PM and gives the perfect chance to step outside right after dinner. This week will give us the third quarter moon, a “variable star of the month”, some unique chances to spot the International Space Station and the faint arms of the Winter Milky Way overhead.

On Thursday the third quarter moon will rise just after 2 A. So, while it is sad that we have to wait so late into the night to see the moon, it does mean that we have darker skies (without the moon’s glow) that reveal more stars. The span between roughly third quarter phase to first quarter phase (with the new moon in between) are the best times to use binoculars and telescopes to peer dee into space and to hunt for faint celestial objects. When the moon is nearly full, or around that phase, it becomes a great time to shift your binocular’s focus onto the lunar surface for an amazing viewing opportunity.

The Third Quarter Moon, visible after midnight mid-week.

The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is an organization that engages in outreach and citizen science. The primary focus of this group is studying and gathering data on variable stars. Variable stars are simply stars that undergo some kind of variation in their brightness for one reason or another, perhaps a planet passes in front, it has a bright companion star orbiting and occasionally blocking it, or it just undergoes cycles of heating and cooling or expansion and contraction.

The AAVSO tries to showcase a new variable star each month. For February they are showcasing Betelgeuse. You can locate this special variable star in Orion’s right shoulder (from Orion’s perspective facing us). It will appear to be a very bright and subtly red star. This variable star has been the center of attention for quite some time, especially since it is pretty high up in the supernova candidate list this star can explode any day now- between tonight and a few hundred thousand years in the future. Whenever it happens, Earth will be safe. This star can be spotted easily by eye and its red color will “pop” when viewed through binoculars or telescopes.

Since the middle of this week may be clear, be on the lookout those nights for the International Space Station (ISS) flying overhead. Here are the times, directions to look, and how long to look for fly-overs Wednesday: 7:09 PM NW skies duration 4 min. Often there are two ISS flyover times separated by just 90 minutes. This is the amount of time it takes the International Space Station to do one full orbit of the earth. So, the second time you see it the astronauts onboard have just circled around the entire globe once! The ISS will look, at first, like an airplane flying overhead except it won’t have blinking lights and there won’t be any sounds from jet engines.

Stretching completely across the top of the sky at night are the arms of the Milky Way. These arms are more impressive in the summer where the northern hemisphere is more situated towards the core of the Milky Way where there are a lot more stars. But if you find yourself in a dark sky location and you see what looks like a thin cloud stretching from SE to NW, you’re actually looking at millions of faint stars sitting in the disc of our home spiral galaxy. Binoculars and telescopes may help pick out small details and features in the arms but they look most impressive with just your naked eyes.

With a sky absent of moonlight and two potentially clear nights this week it is extremely tempting to spend as much time out under the stars. But with temperatures and windchills so low, care must be taken to protect yourself from the harsh weather. Perhaps step outside briefly after dinner hours to gaze into heavens as more and more stars will appear after sunset. This week be on the lookout for the third quarter moon (or the lack thereof), the impressive featured variable star, Betelgeuse, some ISS passes, and the faint arms of the Milky Way.

Clear Skies!

A wide view of the fainter Winter Milky Way — A wide view of the fainter *Winter* Milky Way

Jared May: What's Up This First Week of February 2021