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A map for each month of the year, to help you learn about the night sky
February 2013
www.sydneyobservatory.com.au
This star chart shows the stars and constellations visible in the night sky for Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart and Adelaide for February 2013 at about 8.30pm (summer time) and at about 7.30pm (local standard time) for Perth and Brisbane. For Darwin and similar locations the chart will still apply, but some stars will be lost off the southern edge while extra stars will be visible to the north. Stars down to a brightness or magnitude limit of 4.5 are shown. To use this star chart, rotate it so that the direction you are facing (north, south, east or west) is shown at the bottom. The centre of the chart represents the point directly above your head, called the zenith point, and the outer circular edge represents the horizon.
Star Brightness
Zero or brighter 1st magnitude 2nd 3rd 4th
LYNX
Moon Phase
Last quarter: New Moon: First quarter: Full Moon:
PERSEUS
Capella
Pleiades
Pollux GEMINI
TRIANGULUM
Jupiter Hyades
TAURUS Aldebaran
M44
CANCER
Moon on 18 February
ARIES
Orion (the Hunter) MONOCEROS HYDRA Canis Major (the Great Dog)
Sirius
M42
Rigel ERIDANUS LEPUS CETUS
Sirius
CANIS MAJOR SEXTANS Adhara COLUMBA CAELUM PYXIS PUPPIS PICTOR Canopus FORNAX
Mercury on 15 February
NW
AURIGA
P
ERIDANUS
SCULPTOR HOROLOGIUM PHOENIX Achernar AQUARIUS
HYDRA
CRATER
RETICULUM DORADO
Mars on 15 February
LMC
HYDRUS MENSA TUCANA GRUS PISCIS AUSTRINUS
FALSE CROSS
SMC
SOUTHERN CROSS
CHAMAELEON
CRUX
MUSCA INDUS Mimosa MICROSCOPIUM PAVO Hadar TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE Alpha Centauri CIRCINUS
Chart Key
POINTERS
APUS
Bright star CENTAURUS Faint star Ecliptic Milky Way P Planet LMC or Large Magellanic Cloud SMC or Small Magellanic Cloud
SW
TELESCOPIUM
NORMA
South
ARA
In the north is Jupiter, visible as a bright star-like object in Taurus. At 9pm on the 18th, Jupiter is located next to the 1st quarter Moon. The best time to view the Moon using binoculars or a small telescope is a few days either side of the first quarter Moon. Visible in the sky are the constellations Canis Major (the Great Dog), Orion (the Hunter) and Gemini (the Twins). Crux (the Southern Cross) remains low in the south-east.
Sydney Observatory is part of the Powerhouse Museum. The Sydney Observatory night sky map is prepared by Dr M Anderson using the software TheSky. 2013 Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney.
West
North
E N
ANDROMEDA
East
SE