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    Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

    Wednesday, 18 February 2026 23:07

    Monday 23rd February to Sunday 1st March 2026

     

    Last week, I mentioned a thin crescent Moon, waxing as it starts to become more-illuminated, heading towards a Full Moon.  If you look towards the west around 11pm on Tuesday 24th, the Moon will now appear to be 44%-lit, which is almost a first quarter Moon.  At the same time, the constellation of Orion with the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel will be found to the left of the Moon.  The Pleiades open cluster of stars will be below and a little to the right of our celestial neighbour.

    By Thursday 26th, the Moon will have gone beyond its first quarter phase and will appear slightly gibbous in shape, around 75%-lit.  This is the optimum time to try spotting the clair-obscur visual effect known as the "Jewelled Handle" on the lunar surface.

     

    If you look towards the west at 11pm on the Thursday, you will notice that the Moon now appears to be above Orion and quite close to Jupiter.  At the same time, you can observe three more of the brightest stars in the night sky - Sirius, Procyon and Capella.

    "Clair-obscur" is a French artistic term describing the interaction between light and dark.  It is used to categorise a number of different visual effects that occur on the Moon's surface at various times during the lunar month and many astronomers have fun trying to spot them in their telescopes.

     

    The Jewelled Handle occurs when the illuminated arc of the Montes Juras in the Mare Imbrium (or Sea of Rain) towards the northern part of the Moon's surface is projected into the dark shadow of the terminator line.  The terminator line marks the boundary between the portion of the Moon that is lit by sunlight and the portion that is not.

    www.starsoversomerset.com

    Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium

    Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2026

     

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