February 10
The Twin Giants Rising
Sun Position
The Sun is in Aquarius near +11° declination. Northern hemisphere days are near 10.5 hours; Leo begins rising in the east around 9 pm local time.
Sky Highlight
No major annual event today. Leo's head, marked by the Sickle asterism, climbs into good viewing position in the evening sky in February, signaling the shift from winter to spring constellations.
Deep Sky Object
M95, a barred spiral galaxy roughly 33 million light-years away. A textbook barred spiral in Leo with a prominent ring of star formation around its central bar, host to a well-observed Type II supernova in 2012. Visible from both hemispheres; best in February–April.
Featured Star
Subra (ο Leo) is actually a twin-giant system (two F6III yellow-white giants orbiting each other 135 light-years away) its spectral class reflecting a near-identical pair. Two matched giants, indistinguishable at this distance, holding each other in a gravitational waltz the eye reads as a single star.
Around This Date
- February 10, 1990Voyager 1 captured the solar system 'Family Portrait' at Carl Sagan's request, a mosaic of 60 images taken from 6 billion kilometers that included the Pale Blue Dot photograph.
- February 11, 1970Japan launched its first satellite, Ohsumi, becoming the fourth country to achieve independent orbital spaceflight capability.
What looks like one star is two, most things bear closer inspection.