Stargazing in February: Trying to catch clusters

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Nearby in the sky, the Hyades star cluster is an older cousin to the Pleiades, dating back around 625 million years. More mature star clusters lack the zest of their younger cousins, as their original brilliant blue-white stars have died and left behind mainly their longer-lived yellow, orange and red siblings So the Hyades are more lack-lustre than the Seven Sisters, even though the cluster lies three times closer – near enough that its stars are clearly visible as individuals. On the evening of 16 February, the Moon passes just below the centre of the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters star cluster, hiding some of its fainter outlying stars. Dairy 2 February, 11.18pm: Last Quarter Moon 7 February, early hours: Moon near Venus 9 February 10.59pm: New Moon 14 February: Moon near Jupiter 15 February: Moon near Jupiter 16 February, 3.53am: First Quarter Moon occults the Pleiades 20 February: Moon near Castor and Pollux 23 February: Moon near Regulus 24 February: Full Moon 28 February: Moon near Spica Nigel Henbest’s latest book, ‘Stargazing 2024’ is your monthly guide to everything that’s happening in the night sky this year