The above starchart  taken from heavens-above.com shows how the sky will look at our observing evenings at the start of February at 10pm, mid-February at 9pm and the end of February at 8pm.

 

 

The Moon:  will be best placed for viewing at the 3rd February session (four days before full moon) whilst it will rise

shortly after 9pm at the 10th February session, brightning the sky quite considerably.  The best dark sky sessions will be on the 17th and 24th February.

 

The Planets:  Early arrivers at Chelveston should be able to spot Venus before it sets in the west.  Jupiter is still nicely placed for viewing during the month high up in the west, whilst Mars will be seeking the attention of telescopes as it continues to brighten amongst the stars of Leo.

 

Meteors:  Some meteors from the Apha Aurigid shower may be seen at the 3rd and 10th February sessions, although the bright Moon will make these challenging to spot.

 

The Stars:  Orion continues to dominate the southern aspect of the sky and the Great Orion Nebula (M42) will continue to be a popular object for both binocular and telescopic observers.  Towards the south-east lies Sirius, whilst beneath Sirius can be found M41, a nice open star cluster containing around 50 stars.  M41 is an easy object in a small telescope and can also be spotted through binoculars. 

 

To the north-west of Orion lies Taurus, with the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters being particularly suited for binocular observation.  Requiring a telescope though is M1 an eighth magnitude supernova remanant which we'll be tracking down when the Moon is out of the evening sky.

 

Lieing more or less overhead is the constellation of Auriga, headed by the first magnitude star Capella.  Auriga contains three nice star clusters, all within the range of binoculars.  M37 is the richest of the three containing around 150 stars, with M38 around 100 stars and M36 around 60 stars.  Observing with bincoulars at this altitude can be challenging, so a reclining chair may be useful!

 

Towards the west can be found the constellation of Perseus, with the famous double cluster and the constellation of Andromeda with the galaxy M31.  Again all viewable through binoculars.

 

Gemini lies more of less on the meridian, with another star cluster offering.  M35 contains around 120 stars which can be glimpsed through binoculars, or a telescope will improve the view.  Following Gemini is the faint constellation of Cancer with it's star cluster offerings of M44(the beehive) and M67.

 

Finally for this month, the constellation of Ursa Major is rising steeply in the north-east, bringing with it two galaxies worth tracking down through a telescope when the Moon is out of the sky.  M81 and M82 of eighth and ninth magnitude respectively can be seen through the same low power eyepiece field of view, both are around 18 million light years from us and are the furthest objects on our tour this month.