February 2023 - On & Off Earth
By the time you read this, a groundhog will have been held aloft by a man in tails and a top-hat and a forecast of more or less winter will have been decreed. Punxsutawney, PA will have had their day in the national spotlight, an old Dutch tradition will have been carried on and that rodent’s take on what’s left of winter will be about as accurate and reliable as any almanacs or other folklore prognostication. The reality on Earth, almost seven weeks of the winter season remain.
Meteorologist, crunching data from buoys across the vast Pacific, report that we remain in a La Niña cycle and forecast, after a short cold snap, February will be mostly mild with above average temperatures here in the southeast.
The mostly steady Trade Winds of Earth’s tropics push warm Pacific water across that ocean allowing cold water to fill in along the west coasts of Central and South America; that’s La Niña. When the winds fade a bit, and they do, that water sloshes back across the ocean covering the cold water and creates an El Niño. Both cycles drive weather worldwide and our ability to monitor water temperatures across that ocean have lead to fairly accurate predictions of long-ish term weather trends.
February, although shorter, is to winter as August is to summer, still peak season but changes are afoot and underfoot in February. The sun angle grows higher, the daylight hours longer (2 minutes every day) and the gradual warming has life stirring. Trees and grasses are beginning to take in water from the fairly soggy ground and gear up for spring growth spurts. By month’s end hints of color begin to appear; the buds of maples and poplars far above our heads and a greenish hue will be visible in yards and fields.
If clear skies allow the groundhog to see its shadow on the morning of the 2nd, it will have a second chance just after sunset. The bright gibbous moon will cast moon shadows that evening. The Full Snow Moon, not living up to the name, yet… will, 3 days later, also light the evening sky, great for an after dark stroll on the planet. You likely will need to bundle up this weekend.
In addition to the moon, the early evening sky is still dominated by three bright planets. Venus climbs higher in the southwest as it chases Earth down. Jupiter, losing ground rapidly to Earth, drops lower, towards a March 1st very close encounter with Venus. For the entire last week of the month, the moon, back as a thin crescent, will slide past the planets again.
Mars, the third of the evening planets, is also moving ever so slowly westward, like Jupiter, losing to Earth in the round-the-sun race. The Red Planet sits high overhead to the south at dusk out shining the bright stars of winter sparkling just below. Mix in some jet trails (contrails) as they become cirrus clouds, to add a little color and February sunsets are likely to be an eye treat.
Up early? Well before sunrise? There is a comet out there. Comet ZTF is faint, and in the northern sky between the Big and Little Dippers. Bring binoculars, check a sky chart before going out and be prepared to be underwhelmed; it’s not very bright, a hazy patch but won’t be back our way for 50,000 years! And, rest assured, you are very unlikely to encounter any groundhogs at that time of day.
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