WHAT'S UP?

by Ronald A. Leeseberg, the Star Geezer

January 2007 - Vol. 11 No. 1

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Features: Calendar | Lunar Almanac | Monthly Topic

This Month's Night Sky - NOTE: The next paragraph describes the sky as it appears at 10 pm EST (11 pm EDT) near mid- month. The sky also looks this way at 11 pm EST (midnight EDT) during the beginning of the month and at 9 pm EST (10 pm EDT) by month's end.

Sirius (Canis Major), the brightest star in the night sky, glows low in the S. It is the bottom star in the inverted "Winter Triangle", one of winter's most famous asterisms. Betelgause (Orion) is the reddish star forming the top, right star of the triangle. It is also the upper left star of the famous Orion asterism. Orion reminds me of an "hour glass" with its three "belt" stars at the "pinch". Can you see the hazy patch of light below the middle belt star? It is M42, the Great Orion Nebula. The upper left star of the winter triangle is Procyon (Canis Minor). For most of us, Capella (Auriga), shines directly overhead. The Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux, glow about half way between Procyon and Capella while the "Big Dipper" (Ursa Major) stands high in the NE and Regulus (Leo) sits on eastern Ecliptic.

MERCURY appears late in the month, "rising" towards Venus which shines low in the SW. VENUS is the "evening star" at dusk. Both Venus and Mercury set before the end of twilight. In the SE, about an hour before dawn, dim MARS will be difficult to find. JUPITER, much brighter than Mars, will be above and to right of it, while creamy SATURN rises in the NE soon after dark. Although the Quadrantid Meteor peaks on the 3rd/4th., the bright full Moon will put a damper on viewing.

Calendar of Events

NOTE: For those observers not in the ET zone, convert the calendar times to your zone's time by subtracting one hour for CT, two for MT and three for PT. Don't forget to adjust for Daylight Savings Time when necessary by subtracting one hour from your planisphere's time.; Dawn and dusk times must also be corrected. See your local newspaper, TV news, or cable TV's Weather Channel for sunrise and sunset times. Unfortunately some of these events may occur during daylight hours in your area.

DATE	EVENT
03	The Earth is at "perihelion". It is as close to the Sun as it will be this year. This month's full Moon is called the Wolf Moon or the Winter Moon
04	The Quadrantid Meteor Shower peaks between 1 am and dawn. Unfortunately the bright full Moon makes viewing prospects rather poor. Still...
05	Look low in the SE just before dawn to see a conjunction (5 degrees) of bright Jupiter and reddish Antares (Scorpius).
06	At 10 pm, look E for a close conjunction (1+ degrees) of the Moon and the bright star Regulus (Leo). Saturn floats high above and to the right of the Moon .
16	Look for a conjunction (5 degrees) of the Moon and Mars at 9 pm.
19	If you have a clear view of the WSW horizon, you may see a conjunction of the Moon and Mercury about three quarters of an hour after sunset.
20	Just after twilight, look for the very thin crescent Moon low in the WSW in conjunction with Venus.
31	Look low in the WSW at dusk to see Venus and Mercury standing together. Venus will be about 10 degrees above the horizon.

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Lunar Almanac for January 2007

Phases of the Moon	Phase and Date(s)	Best viewed before local midnight
	New 18	Deep Space Objects
	1st. Qtr 25	Planets & Moon
	Full 03	Moon
	Last Qtr11	Deep Space & Planets

Topic of the month: Lunar Feature: M31, Copernicus

Lunar feature: Copernicus (NW Quadrant)

This year (our 11th!), we will study our closest neighbor, the Moon.

Each month this year, we will highlight a lunar feature that is big enough to see, even with binoculars.

A word of caution: the Moon is the brightest object in the night sky and prolonged viewing can lead to eye strain.It is not too bad when using binoculars but it can become intolerable when observing through a telescope.nbsp; I recommend, for serious viewers, a special "moon filter" that screws into the eye piece (ocular). It is a neutral density filter that reduces the moon's brightness and eye strain while revealing more surface details. Another alternative is a polarizing filter with which you can very the amount of light reaching your eye. (If you use a refracting telescope, HAVING NO MIRRORS IN ITS OPTICAL PATH, you might be interested in a "V-Block" filter which allows sharper images at higher magnifications. Please send me an email for a further information.) These filters are available on line and probably at a store near you that handles optical instruments (cameras & telescopes).

Have you tested your telescope's image orientation? Binoculars generally produce images that are right side up and not reversed left to right. Unfortunately most telescopes do not! During daylight, aim your 'scope at a distant road sign and observe its image. It may be inverted or reverse left to right or both! Keep this in mind as you view the Moon!

Copernicus, a large impact crater, dominates the Moon's NW quadrant at approximately 20 degrees W by 9 degrees N. It is so large that it is considered the Moon's best example of a "walled plain". It is about 56 miles in diameter and its walls (mountains) rise a bit more than 2 miles (12,000 feet)! It is located at the northern tip of Mare Nubium, a region once believed to be an ocean due to its relative lack of craters. Note the "rays" extending outwards from the crater. These are the result of the impact that formed the crater.

--See you next month !
Ron

The above image was taken from the Digital Lubar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon Database, "Copernicus" search item at the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Used with permission. The original image was modified for Astra's Stargate, "What's Up, Ron?" feature page.

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