February 19
The She-Goat's Horn
Sun Position
The Sun is in Pisces near +7° declination. Days in the northern hemisphere are just crossing 11.5 hours at 45°N; southern days continue to shorten.
Sky Highlight
No annual event today. Auriga is transiting the meridian around 8 pm this week, a good time to sweep its three Messier clusters (M36, M37, M38) in binoculars.
Deep Sky Object
M37, an open cluster about 4,500 light-years away. The richest of Auriga's three Messier clusters, containing over 500 stars including a notable concentration of red giants, unusual in an open cluster this age. Visible from both hemispheres; best for northern observers in winter.
Featured Star
Capella (α Aur) is actually two yellow giant stars (G8III + G1III) orbiting each other just 42.9 light-years away, so close in the sky they appear as one spectral class composite. The mythological she-goat whose broken horn became the Cornucopia, and the closest giant-star system to the Sun.
Around This Date
- February 19, 1473Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Torun, Royal Prussia, the astronomer who placed the Sun at the center of the solar system and began the Copernican revolution.
- February 20, 1962John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, completing three orbits aboard Friendship 7 in just under five hours.
Copernicus was born today, the man who moved the Sun, and by extension moved us.