February 20
February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 315 days remain until the year's end. It falls in winter (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Pisces.
Day of year
51
Days remaining
315
ISO week
8
Zodiac
Pisces
Season
Winter
Sun declination
-11.6°
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Wikipedia: this day →Britannica: this day →LoC: Today in History →History.com: this day →On-This-Day.com →BBC: On This Day →NYT: this day →Time and Date →NASA APOD archive →U.S. Naval Observatory →Wolfram|Alpha →Wikidata →Google Books →JSTOR →Internet Archive →
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Astronomy
Computed via Cooper's formula. Positive declination = Sun north of the celestial equator (Northern Hemisphere summer).
On February 20 the Sun's declination is approximately -11.6°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a February 20.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- World Day of Social Justice (UN)
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
- 1792 — U.S. President George Washington signed the Postal Service Act, establishing the U.S. Post Office Department. ↗(234 years ago)
- 1872 — The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened in New York City. ↗(154 years ago)
- 1962 — American astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, aboard Friendship 7. ↗(64 years ago)
- 1986 — The Soviet Mir space station's core module reached orbit. ↗(40 years ago)
Notable births
Notable deaths
- 1707 — Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor. ↗(319 years ago)
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (51) | 3 × 17 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (315) | 3^2 × 5 × 7 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 20022026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | -11.57° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 62 days |