The Skies

Sun and Moon Data

To find sun and moon rising and setting times for your park or office, go to the U.S. Naval Observatory’s Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day webpage.

Night Skies

An update on the moon, planets and night skies for the next few weeks. Visible planets during the period:

• Mercury climbs higher and higher in the evening sky just after dusk and is at its greatest elongation on February 16th. It then drops back toward the horizon.
• Mars is low in the southwest after sunset until about mid-February, when it begins fading slowly from view.
• Jupiter is high and bright in the evening sky – a magnitude –2.4 it shines brighter than any other point of light in the sky.
• Venus is visible before dawn in early February but soon disappears into the pre-dawn twilight.
• Saturn rises shortly before midnight by mid-February and appears highest in the south as morning twilight begins.

Calendar of upcoming celestial events:

• Monday, 1/21 – The waxing moon passes a half degree south of Jupiter.
• Saturday, 1/26 – Full moon.
• Sunday, 2/3 – Last quarter moon.
• Friday, 2/8 – Mercury passes less than a half degree north of Mars.
• Sunday, 2/10 – The moon is new (dark).
• Monday, 2/11 – Mercury appears between the crescent moon (above) and Mars (below) about a half hour after sunset.
• Saturday, 2/16 – Mercury appears at its 2013 best in the evening sky.
• Sunday, 2/17 – First quarter moon.
• Monday, 2/18 – The moon passes a degree south of Jupiter.
• Monday, 2/25 – Full moon.

For more information on stars, planets and other night sky phenomena, go to “The Sky This Week” page at the U.S. Naval Observatory page at http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/tours-events/sky-this-week

The Weather

Watches and Warnings

The principal watches and warnings posted as of early this morning were as follows. Note that these change over the course of a day and represent only initial daily forecasts. Click on this link for a full-sized map showing these hazards:

• Winter storm watches, warnings and advisories – A diagonal band across much of the eastern United States from Louisiana to Maine.
• Flood watches, warnings and advisories – A similar band from Louisiana to northern Ohio and Virginia.
• High wind watches, warnings and advisories – Southwest California, western Montana, western South Dakota and western New York.

For additional information on severe weather, go to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center at http://www.spc.noaa.gov/ .

In Memoriam

There were no NPS line of duty deaths on this date. Click here for a full list of on-duty deaths.

From The Morning Report Archives

Today’s incident from the Morning Report archives:

Suitland Parkway – A Park Police officer was among the first on scene at a vehicle fire in the parkway’s median just after 1 a.m. on February 23, 1989. He discovered that there were two people inside the burning car (a third had been thrown clear during the accident). The officer and a passing motorist were able to get one of the occupants out and were attempting to remove the second when the vehicle exploded. Investigation revealed that the car had been heading westbound on the parkway at a high rate of speed when it left the road and struck several trees. All three of the people in the car had been at a party prior to the accident and it appeared that drug intoxication was a contributing factor in the accident. The officer received second degree burns on his right hand; he was treated at a hospital and released.

Contact Information
Name: Bill Halainen, Editor