Observe the moon

Ken Kennedy, of Dundee Astronomical Society, tells us what we can expect to see in the February sky. “Gemini, the twins, moves into a prime southerly position in February,” he says.

“It may be considered as the last of the winter constellations after which there is a gap before the arrival of Leo which marks the beginning of spring. The twins Castor and Pollux are marked by the two stars of the same names, Pollux lower than Castor, and fainter stars form the stick figure bodies of the twins.

“In 1603 Johann Bayer designated Castor as Alpha, or brightest star although it is less bright than Pollux. This may have been because Castor is a blue-white star which always looks brighter than an orange star like Pollux.

“February is an ideal month to observe the moon near first quarter. At this time of year the first quarter moon is high in the sky by about 7pm and a great deal of detail can be seen with even a small telescope. At first quarter the dividing line between light and dark causes deep shadows to form in craters along this division.

“Following the terminator, as the dividing line between dark and light is called, from north to south it is seen to cross Mare Imbrium showing the Alpine Valley cutting through the Alps then revealing the craters Aristillus and Archimedes before crossing the Apennine Mountains near to where Apollo 15 landed in July 1971.

“Moving southwards the confused jumble of large craters are an amazing sight with dark shadows giving a real 3D appearance, even in a small telescope. With a larger telescope there is an area near the centre of the moon where fissures and cracks called rilles can be seen within the small dark area called Sinus Medii. There are enough details on the moon for a lifetime of interest and study.

“I took this photograph of Kinpurnie, behind Newtyle, looking lovely under a covering of snow,” says reader Tricia Brown of Meigle.