Sun
|
Date |
Sunrise |
Sunset |
| February 1, 2014 | 7:03 a.m. | 5:06 p.m. |
| February 14, 2014 | 6:48 a.m. | 5:23 p.m. |
| February 28, 2014 | 6:27 a.m. | 5:40 p.m. |
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Times are Central Standard Time for Chicago, Illinois, from US Naval Observatory calculations. |
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Daylight continues to increase during the month, with the Chicago area gaining about 1 hour, 10 minutes of daylight during the month. The sun continues to rise south of east and set south of west.
Moon
| Phase | Date/Time | Moonrise | Moonset |
| New Moon | March 1, 2014 (2:00 a.m.) | 6:19 a.m. | 6:30 p.m. |
| First Quarter | February 6, 2014 (1:22 p.m.) | 10:45 a.m. | 1:13 a.m. (02/07) |
| Full Moon | February 14, 2014 (5:53 p.m.) | 5:27 p.m. | 6:44 a.m. (02/15) |
| Last Quarter | February 22, 2014 (11:15 a.m.) | 12:33 a.m. | 10:41 a.m. |
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Times are Central Standard Time for Chicago, Illinois, from US Naval Observatory calculations. (For mjb) |
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The length of the month (29.5 days) is longer than the number of days in February. This year, February has no “official” New Moon, which occurs at 2 a.m. on March 1. The times of the phases have been added to this monthly summary. These phases can occur at any time and the moon is not necessarily above the horizon in Chicago when the phase occurs.
Evening Sky
Elusive Mercury appears in the western sky during evening twilight early in the month.
Jupiter is “that bright star in the eastern sky” during early evening hours. It rises in the east before sunset and Jupiter is well up in the eastern sky as the sky darkens. By mid-month it is in the south at 9 p.m. and sets in the west as Venus rises in the east. On February 10, the waxing gibbous moon makes a nice pairing with Jupiter. The pair is separated by about 5.5 degrees.
Jupiter continues to move westward compared to the starry background (retrograde) during the month. Its change is evident from week to week. Notice Jupiter’s separation from Delta Geminorum (the star delta in the constellation Gemini). The constellation’s brightest stars, Castor and Pollux, are nearby. The numbers indicate the days in February.
Morning Sky
Brilliant Venus outshines all other stars in the night sky. It rises in the eastern sky over 2 hours before the sun throughout the month. At mid-month, the planet reaches its greatest brilliancy of this morning appearance, which is about 2 months after the planet passed between Earth and the sun (inferior conjunction). For more about Venus as Morning star, see this summary.
While Venus sparkles in the predawn eastern sky throughout the month, the moon pairs with the planet late in the month:
- February 25, 5:30 a.m. — The waning crescent moon appears 10 degrees to the upper right of Venus
- February 26, 5:30 a.m. — On the next morning, the moon is 4 degrees to the lower left of the planet.
After appearing in the evening sky earlier in the month, Mercury moves into the morning sky.
On the morning of February 27, the crescent moon appears about 5 degrees to the upper right of Mercury.
A few days before its grouping with Venus, the moon passes Mars and Saturn:
- February 19: The waning gibbous moon is 3 degrees to the right of Spica and 7 degrees to the lower right of Mars.
- February 20: The moon appears, 10 degrees to the left of Spica; 6 degrees to the lower left of Mars; and 20 degrees to the right of Saturn.
- February 21: The moon is 6 degrees to the right of Saturn.
- February 22: The moon is 7 degrees to the lower left of Saturn.
Either early in the month or late in the month, all five planets visible to the unaided eye can be seen.
The Visible Solar System
The chart above shows the solar system as seen from north of the sun on February 14, 2014. (Click the image to see it larger.) On this date, Jupiter is the only planet visible in the evening sky. Mercury is nearing its inferior conjunction, between Earth and Sun. Saturn, Mars and Venus appear on the morning side of Earth.