The Planets in February 



Mercury will put in a good evening ap- 

 pearance early this month. On the 1st, ap- 

 proximately one hour after sunset, look for 

 Mercury as a bright, starlike object very 

 near to the western horizon. That night 

 you can also use Mercury as a guide to 

 find Saturn. The two planets will be in 

 conjunction, with the fainter Saturn posi- 

 tioned on a line below and to the left of 

 Mercury. You may need binoculars to lo- 

 cate Saturn in the evening twihght. Mer- 

 cury will be at its greatest elongation — its 

 greatest angular distance east of the sun 

 ( 1 8°) on the 4th, and should remain visible 

 for at least another week before becoming 

 deeply immersed in the solar glare. Mer- 

 cury will arrive at inferior conjunction 

 with the sun on the 20th. 



Venus emerges from behind the sun late 

 this month to become an evening object, 

 but it remains too near the sun to be seen. 



Mars is a morning object but, like 

 Venus, is too near the sun to be visible this 

 month. Recent studies of the red planet's 

 southern hemisphere give further support 

 to the theory that water once flowed on 

 Mars. Two astronomers in California have 

 been studying Viking images of a large 

 crater called Argyle Planitia. A network of 

 channels on both the north and south sides 

 of the crater could easily have been carved 

 by running water. Sediments deposited in 

 this impact basin indicate that it once con- 

 tained a large body of water. 



Jupiter rises about 12:30 a.m. local 

 time on the 1st, and about two hours ear- 

 lier at the end of the month. The planet is 

 unmistakable, appearing as a brilliant, sil- 

 very-white object in the south-southeast 

 sky at dawn. During the morning hours of 

 the 3d, look for Jupiter hovering well 



above and to the left of the last-quarter 

 moon. Use Jupiter to locate the star 

 Zubenelgenubi, whose Arabic name 

 means "southern claw of the scorpion." 

 Look just above Zubenelgenubi for an- 

 other star of similar magnitude, and you 

 will have found Zubeneschamali, the 

 "northern claw of the scorpion." With 

 these two stars located, the curved body of 

 Scorpius, just below them, is easy to find. 



Saturn may be glimpsed at the very be- 

 ginning of the month shortly after sunset 

 by using the brighter Mercury as a guide. 

 But within a few days. Mercury moves up 

 and away from Saturn, while the ringed 

 planet drops toward the westem horizon 

 and gets lost in the glow of the evening 

 twilight. Saturn will reach conjunction 

 with the sun on the 21st. 



Uranus and Neptune are theoretically 

 far enough west of the sun to be seen in 

 predawn skies, although their altitude 

 along the southeastern horizon is low. 

 Both of these blue-green orbs (visible in 

 very dark skies as fuzzy patches of light in 

 binoculars) will remain in Sagittarius all 

 year. On the 8th, a waning crescent moon 

 passes just above them at sunrise, marking 

 their position in the sky. 



Pluto is just northeast of Jupiter, not far 

 from the star the Arabs call Zed Prior in 

 the constellation Ophiuchus the Serpent 

 Bearer. This distant planet is only visible 

 with a fairly large telescope. 



The Moon reaches last quarter on the 

 3rd at 3:06 a.m., EST; is new on the 10th at 

 9:30 A.M., EST; reaches first quarter on the 

 18th at 12:47 p.m., EST; and is full on the 

 25th at 8:15 P.M., EST 



Gail S. Cleere lives in Washington, D.C., 

 and writes on popular astronomy. 



You'll board a Time Machine, tailed Ihe 

 Kokomis. Travel only a Tew hundred yards, 

 and 50 years. You step olT onlo a private 

 island, it's 1935. Today's hectic world 

 disappears. There are ni) crowds. No cars. It's 

 quiet. Just the sound of the sea on lour miles 

 of secluded beach. You can actually think. 

 There are over 150 species of birds. 150 

 tropical plants. 200 varieties of shells. 100 

 species offish. Rich Florida history. Tennis 

 and sailing. All for you and your family to 

 discover Enjoy tasteful olde Florida 

 accommodations. Superb dining and service. 

 Time travel to the Florida resort experience 

 of 50 years ago .Tciday. Call. 

 1-800-688-1935 

 or 8I-V262-4I49 

 for a brochure. 



I S L A / N D 



26 (I Hay Road. Naples, Florida 3 3 94 II 



The Quality 



Alternative To 

 High Cost Boats 



SE GT-15 Inflatable Boat 

 • Holds 5 adults • 15 HP 

 • 11' 8" long 



Why spend 



$1,000, $2,000 or more 



for a boat? Our Sea Eagle GT-15 



inflatable boat doesn't need a trailer, 



goes safely over 20 mph and costs far 



less to buy or use. It's perfect for 



fishing, yacht tending, skindiving, 



camping or just plain motoring. The 



GT-15 also can be used for exploring 



scenic harbors, bays, rivers, bayous, 



lakes and oceans. 



Call or write for FREE BROCHURE: 



1-800-852-0925 



Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM East Coast Time 



200 Wilson Street, Dept. NH24B 

 Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776 



61 



