Section updated: Feb. 23rd, 2026.
At 0346 h, the Moon will touch the Earth’s penumbral shadow as it enters into it for a total lunar eclipse. By 5 am, the Moon will be crossed nearly north to south by the curved leading edge of our shadow. It will continue to enter into the deeper umbra as it sets in our west. Here on the East Coast, we are not going to see the complete eclipse. Even still, I hope that people will get up to see it, at least around 5 am and note the curvature of the shadow across its surface. 25 centuries ago, the ancient philosopher Pythagoras observed any lunar eclipses he could, even those that would soon set in the west like this one will, to see if there was anything different about that curvature that our planet casts out upon the Moon. He looked because he realized that the curvature is always part of a circle, when the Moon enters the shadow and is the opposite curvature when it leaves the shadow. No matter if it happens near the western horizon, like it will for us that morning, high over our heads, or when it is rising in the east, the shadow is always round. The only object that always casts a round shadow is a sphere. So, do get up and take a look at the Moon to observe humanity’s first true evidence of the sphericity of our planet Earth.
For Friday night’s session, we’ll have M33 the Triangulum galaxy and the M45 the Pleiades open cluster. And can see Orion’s Great Nebula and try once again to see if we can enter “Cluster 37” or just look in from the outside. Plus, there will be the open clusters of M35 in Gemini the twins and M44 Praesepe in Cancer the crab. The planetary nebula NGC 2392 will also be available to look in, too.
While the pale aqua planet Uranus will be seen near the Pleiades. Its spin axis is obliquely tilted over by 98° from the ecliptic plane. Because angular momentum is conserved, its axis always points out in the same direction in space. But now in its 84 year orbit, the planet has traveled around the Sun so that its north pole is oriented back at the Sun and us as well. So, when we observe it, we’ll look right upon its north pole.
Jupiter will be bright and easy to see overhead which will be south of Castor and Pollux in Gemini. Ganymede will be about 5 arcminutes away from the planet on one side, while Callisto, Io and Europa will appear on the other.
That night, we may be able to see the planets Venus just after sunset. We’ll have M33 the Triangulum galaxy and the M45 the Pleiades open cluster. And can see Orion’s Great Nebula and try once again to see if we can enter “Cluster 37” or just look in from the outside. Plus, there will be the open clusters of M35 in Gemini the twins and M44 Praesepe in Cancer the crab. And there will be the planetary nebula NGC 2392 to look in, too.
While the pale aqua planet Uranus will be seen near the Pleiades. Its spin axis is obliquely tilted over by 98° from the ecliptic plane. Because angular momentum is conserved, its axis always points out in the same direction in space. But now in its 84 year orbit, the planet has traveled around the Sun so that its north pole is oriented back at the Sun and us as well. So, when we observe it, we’ll look right upon its north pole.
Jupiter will be bright and easy to see overhead which will be south of Castor and Pollux in Gemini. Ganymede will be about 5 arcminutes away from the planet on one side, while Callisto, Io and Europa will appear on the other. Its Great Red Spot should reach mid-transit by 9 pm.
The Sun will appear to cross the celestial equator here at 9:40:59 am marking:
Such a defining position is called the “first point of Ares”, even though now it occurs in constellation of Pisces. When the ancient astronomer Hipparchus (190–120 BC) compared his map of the sky to earlier maps made over 150 years before, he realized that this point (and so all the measured coordinates in the sky) had shifted by over 2° or the width of 4 full Moons side by side. Hence, he called this the “precession of the equinoxes”. And this affects the timing of when the Sun appears in the different zodiac constellations. As it’s been ~2177 years since he made his observations, then the Sun will have shifted 30.4° along the ecliptic. Hence, no one today has their birthdate happen in the zodiac sign that is described in the newspapers. In general, everyone is “born under the previous birth sign” that they think they are!
We have progressed forward in our orbit about the Sun so that the distant planet Neptune is behind the Sun on the far side of the solar system. Expect to see the planet again on the “flip side of the night” emerging from the solar glare in the eastern horizon before dawn in April’s mornings.
We have progressed forward in our orbit about the Sun so that the planet Saturn will be behind the Sun on the far side of the solar system. Expect to see the planet again on the “flip side of the night” emerging from the solar glare in the eastern horizon before dawn in April’s mornings.
