SINCE January the night sky has moved around. Ursa Major or the Plough can be found high up in the North East, still with its tail pointing to the horizon. The "W" shape of Cassiopeia is still high in the North West.

Orion is still very well placed but is now in the South West, with the bright yellow star Capella in the constellation of Auriga the Charioteer just west of the overhead point. If you follow the three stars of Orion’s belt and point down and to the left, you will find Sirius the Dog Star which is now at its very best.

To the left of, and slightly above the bright red star Betelgeux which can be found above Orion’s belt, are the two bright stars Pollux and Castor, the two brightest stars in the constellation of Gemini the Twins. Castor is white in colour and is above the decidedly red coloured Pollux.

During February look at Orion and notice that Betelgeux is orange red in colour, while Rigel, the bright star below Orion’s belt, is blue white in colour. These colour differences tell astronomers the temperatures of the stars, with blue stars being much hotter than red stars.

What’s up in the solar system?

The Planets in February

Jupiter can be seen throughout the night this month and cannot possibly be missed. On February 3, the Moon will be close to Jupiter. If you have binoculars, look at Jupiter and you will be able to see up to four bright dots around the planet. These are its four big moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Calisto, discovered by Galileo in 1610. It is not always possible to see all the moons at the same time because sometimes moons can be in front of or behind Jupiter.

The other bright planet visible in the evening sky is Venus which can be seen in the West just after sunset. Venus, or the ‘Evening Star’, can be seen near the crescent moon on February 21.

Although visible in the West just after the Sun sets, Mars is fainter than Venus and is therefore much more difficult to see. Saturn and Mercury can both be seen in the morning sky, with Saturn being easy to identify as a bright yellow dot in the eastern sky before the Sun rises. Mercury, on the other hand, rises just an hour before the Sun and is not easy to find.

Meteor Showers

There are no major meteor showers during February.

Phases of the Moon for February

Full Moon 3rd, Last Quarter 12th, New Moon 18th, First Quarter 25th

The full Moon this month is called the Wolf Moon. Tradition says that this is the time when wolves were heard howling outside villages, warning any unwary travellers that they had survived winter and were looking for food.

The next meeting of the Earby Astronomical Society will be at All Saints’ Church, Earby, tomorrow from 7.30pm to 9pm. The speaker will be Martin Lunn MBE FRAS from the Earby Astronomical Society, and the talk will be The Winter Sky.