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♪

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What's Up for February?

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Colors in the sky,

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some pretty pairings,

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and destinations visited
by NASA spacecraft.

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Each star and planet has
a characteristic color,

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and February is a good month
to look for sky objects

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that are distinctly
reddish or bluish.

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Look west in the first
couple of hours after sunset

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all month long to
spot reddish Mars.

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Turning to the south and
looking high in the sky,

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the red star
Aldebaran in Taurus

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is sometimes called the
"eye of the bull,"

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and red Betelgeuse is
Orion's shoulder.

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Contrast these colors
with blue-white Rigel,

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Orion's knee,

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and Canis Major's
blue-white Sirius,

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the brightest
star in the sky.

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[whoosh]

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On the 10th the crescent
Moon pairs up with Mars.

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Look for them in the west
about an hour after sunset.

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NASA's InSight mission landed
on Mars on November 26

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to study the planet's interior
and provide new insights

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about how the Red
Planet formed.

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NASA's OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft
is exploring asteroid Bennu;

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which is too faint to see
without a telescope.

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But on Valentine's Day,

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Bennu will be located just to
the right of Mars--

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about the width of your fist
held at arm's length.

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So on the 14th give a
little wave to Bennu--

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and OSIRIS-Rex
while you're at it.

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[whoosh]

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Venus and Saturn will
make a beautiful,

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super-close pairing for
early risers on the 18th.

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Look toward the southeast
an hour before sunrise.

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By the morning of the 27th,

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Venus and Saturn
have moved apart,

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forming a lovely
lineup with Jupiter,

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which itself receives a visit
from the crescent Moon.

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Look low in the southeast
an hour before sunrise.

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Mercury also makes its best
showing of the year on the 27th,

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for observers in the
Northern Hemisphere.

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If you have a clear
view of the horizon,

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look west just after sunset.

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Mercury will be only 10 degrees
above the horizon━

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the width of your
fist held sideways.

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This little planet is closer
to the Sun than Earth,

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and moves quickly
in its orbit,

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meaning it's lost in the Sun's
glare much of the year.

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So catch it
while you can.

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[whoosh]

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And here are the phases
of the Moon for February.

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You can catch up
on all of NASA's

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current and future
missions at nasa.gov.

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That's all for this month.

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[Logo: NASA / Jet
Propulsion Laboratory