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February 13: Catch the zodiacal light
This Valentine’s Day, the sky is serving up the perfect target: the Heart Nebula (IC 1805) in Cassiopeia the Queen. Best seen in the early evening after dark, there’s no Moon in the sky to interfere with the view.
Look north after dark to spot the familiar W shape of Cassiopeia, now tilted nearly on its side so that it looks like the capital letter E. The Heart Nebula lies above this figure, just less than 5° east-southeast of magnitude 3.4 Epsilon (ε) Cassiopeiae.
Glowing at magnitude 6.5, the Heart Nebula is large (more than 2° across); it’s generally recommended to view it through a larger telescope if possible. Smaller imaging scopes should be able to pick it up as well, so it’s a great target to try with one of these. If you’re having trouble making out the glowing gas, try using a nebula filter to reduce the light of the stars in your field of view.
The Heart itself is an emission region stretching more than 2° across. It surrounds a young star cluster known as Melotte 15 or Collinder 26, which is sometimes called the Heart of the Heart Nebula. Nearby is another nebula, IC 1848, also called the Soul Nebula. This fainter emission nebula lies just 2.5° southeast of the Heart Nebula, and the pair is a popular target for astroimagers, who like to capture the Heart and Soul together.
Sunrise: 6:54 A.M.
Sunset: 5:35 P.M.
Moonrise: 5:29 A.M.
Moonset: 2:39 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waning crescent (6%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.
