SKY OF THIS MONTH, FEBRUARY 2023

Among all the astronomical events of February, the comet ZTF stands out, which will remain observable for the first days of the month. 

In the last days of January, the comet approached Earth, increasing its brightness to the sixth apparent magnitude. 

The ZTF will reach the minimum distance from our planet today, after which it will begin its departure which will be accompanied by an inexorable decrease in its brightness.

The comet is currently in the constellation of the Giraffe, as shown in this image taken from The Sky Live, and is of sixth apparent magnitude, at the limit of visibility to the naked eye.

In early February the observations will be disturbed by the light of the Moon, so to better observe the comet it is essential to use an instrument.

As the days pass, the comet will gradually move into the sky: first it will pass through the Auriga, near Capella, then it will enter Taurus.

As for the observation of the planets, February will be quite a poor month. Saturn will in fact be too close to the Sun to be observed, while Jupiter will begin to set more and more soon, becoming observable only in the first hours after sunset.

The opposite is true for Venus, whose visibility will increase with the passing of the days. If in fact at the beginning of the month will set around 19:30, at the end of the month will set an hour later.

Mercury at the beginning of the month will be visible just before dawn, but as the days pass it will get lost in the sunlight becoming invisible.

Mars will be visible almost all night throughout the month, as it will never set before 2:30. The Red Planet will also be the protagonist of some beautiful conjunction, such as the one with the Moon on the first quarter of day 27.