February 7
The Outstretched Paw
Sun Position
The Sun is in Aquarius near +12° declination. Northern mid-latitude days hover around 10.5 hours; southern days begin their late-summer retreat.
Sky Highlight
No annual event today. Gemini is well-placed for evening viewing from both hemispheres this month, and the cluster M35 near the twins' feet is a binocular highlight.
Deep Sky Object
M35, an open cluster about 2,800 light-years away. A large, bright open cluster at the foot of Gemini, visible to the naked eye under dark skies, with the smaller, older NGC 2158 appearing as a faint smudge just behind it. Visible from both hemispheres; northern observers have a slight advantage in winter.
Featured Star
Mebsuta (ε Gem) is a yellow supergiant 840 light-years away with spectral class G8Iab, at that distance, a star radiating around 8,500 times the Sun's luminosity. The outstretched paw of the eastern twin, reaching across eight centuries of light-travel time to meet your eye.
Around This Date
- February 7, 1999NASA's Stardust spacecraft launched, eventually collecting particles from Comet Wild 2 and returning them to Earth in 2006, the first solid extraterrestrial material returned since the Apollo missions.
- February 9, 1986Halley's Comet reached perihelion (its closest approach to the Sun) during its 1986 apparition, which was notably less favorable for Earth-based viewing than previous returns.
840 years of travel for a single point of light, the paw of the twin, still outstretched.