The new moon occurs on February 9, 17:59 pm EST (2259 GMT), in New York, According to the US Naval ObservatoryOn the same day, Mars, Venus and Mercury form a series of planets in the morning hours.
When the moon is directly between the sun and the earth, we have new moon. Both bodies share the same celestial longitude, a projection of Earth's own lines of longitude onto the celestial sphere, an alignment also known as a conjunction. New moons are not visible until the Moon passes directly into the Sun and causes a solar eclipse (next on April 8). The lunar phases depend on the position of the Moon relative to the Earth, so the resulting differences in time zones are similar.
February's new moon occurs a few hours before the moon reaches perigee, the closest point in its orbit to Earth. During full moons, this makes the moon appear slightly larger than at other times, leading to the popular term „supermoon”. Because of its proximity to Earth, while the Moon technically appears larger during new moon, it is almost invisible when lost in sunlight.
Related: Full Moon Calendar 2024: When to See the Next Full Moon
In many cultures — especially Hebrew, Muslim and Chinese — new moons mark the beginning of lunar months. For example, in Hebrew the new moon of February is the last day of the month of Shevad, and in the Islamic calendar it is the 28th day of the month of Rajab; It is the day after many Muslims celebrate Prophet Muhammad's night journey to Jerusalem.
In the Chinese calendar, it is the 30th day of the last month, known as Làyuè (腊月), or Preserved Month, for the tradition of preserving food ahead of the Spring Festival, which is the next day, the first day, on February 10. Zhēngyuè (正月) or the opening month for the beginning of the year.
Visible planets
Before sunrise on February 9, Venus can be seen in the southeast; This planet rises in New York 5:27 am local time. Not until sunrise 6:58 am. and civil twilight at 6:29 a.m., (the time when streetlights begin to turn off in many places).
Venus rising is relatively easy to spot; Venus is the third brightest object in the sky, so it should be easy to spot, and you can use it to find Mars, which (from mid-northern latitudes) is to the left and below it. As Mars ascends it will be very difficult to see 5:53 am, when the sky begins to lighten. Mars is only about 9 degrees ascendant at sunrise.
Mercury rises last, at 6:28 a.m., and is mostly lost in sunlight as it is 5 degrees higher, below and to the left of Mars at sunrise. A note of caution: Care must be taken when observing any object near the Sun – care must be taken as accidentally pointing an optical aid (such as binoculars) at the Sun can cause permanent eye damage. The same is true in the light part of the sky just before sunrise.
When moving south, the angle that all three planets make with the horizon is vertical. In Miami, Venus ascends 5:17 am local time and Tuesday follows 5:43 am Mercury rises at 6:21 am through sunrise 7:00 am All three planets are higher in the sky than New York City—Mercury is exactly two degrees higher, about 7 and a half degrees above the horizon. Still more difficult to see, but easier to find than at higher latitudes. With a flat horizon and clear conditions, it can be seen coming up. At sunrise Mars is 15 degrees above the horizon, and Venus is almost 20 degrees above the horizon.
All three planets rise near the equator; In Quito, Venus appears to be above Mars, which is above Mercury. At 6 AM Venus is 21 degrees above the horizon; The planet is rising 4:20 am local time. Mars ascends in 4:43 am and rises at 5:33 a.m. on Wednesday, nearly an hour before sunrise at 6:25 a.m. on Feb. 9 By sunrise, Venus is at 27 degrees and Mars at 21 degrees; Mercury reaches about 12 degrees, while Mars is 19 degrees above the horizon. Venus makes it easy to find the inner planet; If one has a flat horizon and clear conditions, one can see it coming up.
Our line of planets moving in the Southern Hemisphere begins to tilt toward the horizon again (albeit in the opposite direction from the Northern Hemisphere). From Santiago, Chile, Venus appears above and to the left of Mars, which is above and to the left of Mercury. Santiago is about 33 degrees south below the equator to Charleston, South Carolina. Feb. 9 at sunrise at 7:13 a.m., Venus at 27 degrees, Mars at 22 degrees; Mercury reaches about 13 degrees.
At mid-northern latitudes (like in New York) Jupiter is high in the western sky on the evening of February 9 in the constellation Aries. By 6 p.m., it's almost 60 degrees above the horizon, and it's easy to see the sky darkening (in New York, sunset is 5:23 p.m.) and the planet sets at 11:54 p.m. Meanwhile, Saturn is much closer. Horizon at sunset; Only 13 degrees in the southwest; Visitors won't have much of a chance to catch the planet before it sets at 6:45 p.m
In Kyoto, Jupiter is similarly high in the sky on February 9; A full high of 67 degrees west at sunset (6:31 p.m. local time). After a while the planet became more visible; At 7:30 PM it is still 55 degrees west of the horizon, and the planet sets at 11:24 PM, meanwhile, Saturn sets at 7:38 PM, which means the sky will be dark by then. SKY – Approximately 7 PM – The planet's elevation is only 8 degrees.
In Santiago, Chile (Australian cities such as Cape Town and Sydney are also near this latitude) the sun sets late at 8:40pm (summer in the southern hemisphere) and Jupiter is lower than in the northern hemisphere. At sunset it rises only 35 degrees in the northwest; Feb. 10 sets at 12:16 p.m. Saturn's elevation at sunset is only 10 degrees; Set at 9:34 PM local time. As the sky darkens, the planet is too close to the horizon to be immediately visible.
Constellations
By about 7pm the Big Dipper will rise in the northeast, with the „bowl” to the north (to the left) and the „handle” to the horizon. The two stars at one end of the Dipper are Alpha and Beta Ursa Major, also known as Jupiter and Merak. Dube is not only the brightest star in Ursa Major, but the name „Dube” is an Arabic word for „bear”. Both stars point to the North Star, Polaris. Using the same „pointers” one goes in the opposite direction and finds Leo the Lion rising above the eastern horizon. The two stars on the back of the dipper's bowl point to Regulus, Leo's brightest star.
Turning south at mid-northern latitudes you can see Canes Major, Orion and Taurus. Like Sirius, the „dog star” in Canis Major, Orion's famous belt is visible from urban locations. Heading towards the summit from the north, you will see the charioteer Aureka and the famous Greek warrior Perseus. Sirius will be due south by 9pm – the star crosses the meridian between 9pm and 10pm local time (depending on how close it is to the eastern or western edge of the time zone boundary).
When Sirius reaches its highest point, one can see a large six-sided star known as the winter hexagon. It is a clockwise pattern formed by Capella (northern and highest of the group) and Aldebaran, Rigel, Sirius, Procyon and Pollux. Procyon is a bright white star, Alpha Canis Minoris, the dog's alpha star, and one of our closest stars at a distance of 11.5 light-years; Sirius is the only bright star in the Northern Hemisphere sky, 8.6 light-years away.
As the night progresses visitors can witness the rising of the Virgin at midnight. The Big Dipper can help here; Use the handle to draw a sweeping arc to Arcturus, the orange-yellow star in Hertzman, and reach Spica, the brightest star in Virgo. The dipper is high in the northeast, the bowl is low and to the left.
In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be completely dark around 9:30 p.m., and the Southern Cross will rise in the southeast. There is no parallel to Polaris in the southern sky; Crux, the Southern Cross, can be used to point in the direction of the South Celestial Pole, but the constellations Chameleon and Octon (Octans) in that area are composed of faint stars (none are at the South Celestial Pole. )
A good method to find the pole is to draw an imaginary line through the center of the Crux (what would be the vertical part of the cross) and continue until it hits another bright star called Achernar on the opposite side. The same distance as the cross from the side and the pole. The South Celestial Pole is halfway between them. Below Crux is the constellation of Centaurus the Centaur, which contains our nearest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri; To the left of Alpha Centauri is Hadar, the second brightest star in Centauri.
If I look up to the southeast—following the Milky Way, if in a dark sky—one encounters the three constellations that make up the Argo, the famous ship that carried Jason and the Argonauts: Puppis the Deck, Vela the Sail, and Carina Keel. Even though the Milky Way cannot be seen by city lights, a „cluster” of relatively bright stars in the region is noticeable. Vela, the sail, an approximate circle of eight medium-bright stars. To the right of Vela is Carina, whose brightest star is Canopus, one of the brightest stars in the solar neighborhood. It is 310 light-years away and has a magnitude of -0.76, making it 10,000 times brighter than the Sun. Observations from the European Southern Observatory.
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