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[ ♪ ]

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What's Up for February?

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Let's look at some
celestial pairs

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in honor of Valentine's Day.

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Hello and welcome. I'm Jane
Houston Jones from

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NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in Pasadena, California.

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The constellations Perseus and
Andromeda are easy to see

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high overhead this month.

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According to lore,
the warrior Perseus

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spotted a beautiful woman--
Andromeda--

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chained to a seaside rock.

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After battling a sea
serpent, he rescued her.

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As a reward, her parents
Cepheus and Cassiopeia

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allowed Perseus to
marry Andromeda.

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The great hunter Orion
fell in love with

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seven sisters, the Pleiades,

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and pursued them
for a long time.

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Eventually Zeus turned both
Orion and the Pleiades

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into stars.

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Orion is easy to find.

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Draw an imaginary line
through his belt stars

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to the Pleiades, and

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watch him chase them
across the sky forever.

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[whoosh]

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A pair of star clusters is
visible on February nights.

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The Perseus Double Cluster
is high in the sky

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near Andromeda's parents
Cepheus and Cassiopeia.

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Through binoculars you can see
dozens of stars in each cluster.

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Actually, there are more
than 300 blue-white

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supergiant stars in
each of the clusters.

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[whoosh]

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There are some
colorful star pairs,

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some visible just by looking up

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and some requiring a telescope.

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Gemini's twins, the brothers
Pollux and Castor,

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are easy to see without aid.

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Orion's westernmost,
or right, knee, Rigel

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has a faint companion.

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The companion, Rigel B, is
500 times fainter than

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the super-giant Rigel

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and is visible only
with a telescope.

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Orion's westernmost
belt star, Mintaka,

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has a pretty companion.

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You'll need a telescope.

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Finally, the moon pairs up with
the Pleiades on the 22nd

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and with Pollux and Castor
on the 26th.

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You can find out about all of
NASA's missions at:

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www.nasa.gov

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That's all for this month.
I'm Jane Houston Jones.

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NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory