February 2023

Welcome to my February 2023 Astronomy Blog photos. These are images I took in February: the shortest and longest month of the year.

I took photos several times of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) this month. It is the green comet that has been in the news lately. The “C” in its name means it is not a periodic comet and will not visit us again anytime soon. The “2022 E3” means that it was the third comet to be discovered in the first half of 2022. The “(ZTF)” means that it was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility, which is a telescope at Palomar Observatory in California that looks for these kinds of things. This comet is about a kilometer in size and if we could see the full tail it is leaving behind, it would be millions of kilometers in length. The last photo shows the comet when it appeared near to Mars.

The constellation Orion is a constant source of amazement for me, so I was on it! First up are images of the Orion Nebula and the Running Man Nebula nearby.

Then the Flame Nebula and the Horseshead Nebula which are close by in Orion.

Also nearby these more well-known nebulas were some others in Orion. M 78, HIP 26816, two unnamed nebulas, a variable star, and two of NGC 2174 (the Monkeyhead Nebula. I think I can almost see the monkey’s head if I flip the image, but it’s a bit of a stretch.

Here are a couple of other images I also took of winter nebulas outside of Orion. I keep hoping I get a little better photo….

My favorite target of the month is one I go to every night the skies are really clear—M1, the Crab Nebula. Getting the “tentacles” to show up clearly is a challenge. I got lucky this time. It is just so spooky!

I only captured one galaxy this month—M 33, the Triangulum Galaxy. It’s in our Local Group of galaxies.

Phases of the Moon. Marianne and I were talking about how the Moon changes over the course of its 29.5-day, New Moon to New Moon, cycle and after some research the vocabulary of the Moon is making a little more sense. It starts with a New Moon, which is when the Moon does not rise in the evening. It’s when the stars in the sky are allowed to really shine and astrophotographers are out with their telescopes. Next comes the Waxing Crescent, which is when the Moon starts to gather light until it gets to the First Quarter, when half the Moon is illuminated. Waxing comes from an Old English word which means to “increase,” as when candles are dipped in wax to increase their size. Then as the bulge gets bigger it enters the Waxing Gibbous phase until it reaches the Full Moon, when the Moon is fully illuminated on the side that faces Earth. Gibbous comes from the Latin word for “hump.” The brightness of the Moon really blocks us from seeing the stars, much like the light from our cities does. Then as the Moon loses light but still has its “hump” it is in the Waning Gibbous phase until it reaches the Third Quarter when it is a half circle. Then the Waning Crescent appears until it is finally a New Moon again.
One thing that is interesting about viewing the Moon, is that it appears different in the Northern than the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere as the Moon is waxing, the bulge is on the right. In the Southern, the bulge is on the left. What? Doesn’t make sense. Check out: http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/moon/hemispheres.html#:~:text=The%20Moon%20orbits%20near%20the,opposite%20from%20the%20Northern%20Hemisphere.
Here is a photo of the Waxing Crescent Moon for you. If you are reading this from the southern hemisphere, it looked more like the 2nd photo.

Finally, I was able to capture a photo of the conjunction of the Moon, Jupiter and Venus just after sunset with my iPhone. It won’t be until 2032 that Jupiter and Venus will be seen this close together again.

Until next month, clear skies! -Hank