February 2
The Camels at the Water
Sun Position
The Sun is in Aquarius at about +16° declination. Mid-latitude northern days are near 10 hours; southern days near 14.
Sky Highlight
No major annual event peaks today. The Orion Nebula region is at good evening altitude this month for observers in both hemispheres, a reliable winter (north) and summer (south) deep-sky target.
Deep Sky Object
M79, a globular cluster about 41,000 light-years away. An unusually isolated globular in Lepus that may have been captured from the Canis Major Dwarf galaxy rather than forming with the Milky Way. Visible from both hemispheres; highest in the sky around 9 pm local time in February.
Featured Star
Nihal (β Lep) is a yellow bright giant 159 light-years distant with spectral class G5II, considerably more luminous than its modest apparent magnitude suggests. Its Arabic name means 'the camels drinking', a small constellation with a name built on abundance.
Around This Date
- February 3, 1966Soviet Luna 9 made the first successful soft landing on the Moon, transmitting photographs of the surface and proving the ground could support the weight of a spacecraft, the first time any human-made object had softly landed on another world.
- February 2, 1612Galileo Galilei completed observations confirming the four Galilean moons of Jupiter continued their orbital motion, accumulating evidence that not all celestial bodies revolve around Earth.
A star 159 light-years away holds a name given by people watching camels drink at dusk.