As the nights grow shorter during February, the stars of winter reign for much of the night. Beautiful Orion is in the south at nightfall, with dazzling Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, twinkling fiercely to its lower left. By late in the month, though, the stars of spring slide into better view. Leo clears the horizon by mid-evening, with Virgo trailing behind him. Venus reigns as the "morning star," while Jupiter dominates in the evening, although it slides lower in the sky each day. More stargazing information: http://stardate.org/nightsky
Radio Program Highlights
Hear StarDate every day on more than 360 radio stations nationwide or subscribe to our podcast: http://stardate.org/feeds/podcast.xml
February 1-6: Stellar Messengers. The stars send out countless messengers -- particles of light that carry information about the stars themselves. We'll have details. And we'll also talk about messages from deep inside the Moon.
February 7-13: Planets Galore. The population of known planets beyond our own solar system is getting a lot more interesting. It includes a world with water in its atmosphere, plus a system of at least five planets. Join us for these and many more exoplanets.
February 14-20: Machines. The night sky is filled with machines. The stars are all factories that forge chemical elements deep in their cores, for example, while a few constellations honor the machines forged by people. Join us for details this week.
February 21-27: A Changing Dipper. The Big Dipper is probably the best-known star pattern in the sky. But it won't always look like a dipper. We'll explain why. And we'll also tell you why the end of the dipper is really the leader.
February 28-March 6: Underground Astronomy. Most astronomy is conducted on high: from mountains, balloons, and spaceships. But some astronomy is conducted down low: from deep under water, under ice, and under ground. Join us this week for details on the depths of astronomy.
February Program Schedule: http://stardate.org/radio/calendars
Find an Affiliate: http://stardate.org/radio/affiliates
Coming up in StarDate Magazine
Coming up in our next issue, take a peek into the life of the French astronomer who predicted Neptune's existence before anyone spied the planet: Urbain Leverrier. We'll celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth in March. And learn about one of the least expensive, easiest to use telescopes: the Dobsonian.
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News from the Observatory
Astronomers 'Weigh' Heaviest Known Black Hole in our Cosmic Neighborhood
Astronomers led by Karl Gebhardt of The University of Texas at Austin have measured the most massive known black hole in our cosmic neighborhood by combining data from a giant telescope in Hawai'i and a smaller telescope in Texas. The result is an ironclad mass of 6.6 billion Suns for the black hole in the giant elliptical galaxy M87. This enormous mass is the largest ever measured for a black hole using a direct technique. Given its massive size, M87 is the best candidate for future studies to actually "see" a black hole for the first time, rather than relying on indirect evidence of their existence as astronomers have for decades.
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