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, shines brilliantly
in the South. It forms the bottom leg of the Winter Triangle. The triangle's
upper stars are reddish Betelguese (Orion) to the right and whitish Procyon (Canis
Minor) on the left. Capella (Auriga) appears directly overhead later in the evening
and you might even glimpse Canopus (Carina) very low (below Sirius) in the South.
Looking North you will find the "Big Dipper" (Ursa Major) with its handle still
pointing towards the horizon. Cassiopeia's famous "W" asterism is high in the
Northwest and Regulus (Leo) shines in the East. Don't forget to look for Castor
and Pollux (Gemini "twins")above the Winter Triangle.
Look for MERCURY low on the SW horizon at sunset beginning the second week of the month. VENUS glows high in the E sky during morning twilight. MARS shines high in the E sky at dusk and moves higher to the S and grows brighter as the evening progresses. JUPITER rises as Venus drops in the SE at dawn. By the end of the month Jupiter and Venus switch places as Venus plunges into the twilight while Jupiter climbs higher. SATURN rises around 9 pm in the SE. COMET 8P/Tuttle is visible, through binoculars, high overhead from dusk to about 10 pm early this month. It may even be visible to the naked eye.
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 |
03-04 |
The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks. It was named after an ancient constellation that no longer exists (Quadrans Muralis). This constellation was removed from star maps in 1922 when it was "rezoned" to Bootes. [Shades of Pluto!] Its parent appears to be the "Asteroid" 2003 EH1 and thought to be a piece of a comet that broke up some 500 years ago. This is a short but, during some years, strong shower with more than 100 event/hour. Its peak is predicted to be around 1:40 am on the fourth. The Moon won't rise until a couple of hours before dawn so it won't interfere with your observations. Be aware of how cold it is outside! Bundle up!! |
05 |
Look for a conjunction (7 degrees)of the Moon and Venus at 1 am.
|
06 |
Look for a "conjunction" (6 degrees) of Venus and the bright star Antares at 9 pm. |
10 |
Look for a very close conjunction (less than 1/2 degree) of the Moon and Neptune at 8 pm. This will require telescope to make the observation. Even then Neptune's disc may not be visible.) |
12 |
Look for a close conjunction (3 degrees) of the Moon and Uranus at 8 pm. Again, this observation will require a telescope. |
18 |
A fat gibbous Moon passes through the edge of the Pleiades from about 1:30 to 4:30 am. |
19 |
Look for a very close conjunction (1+ degree) of the Moon and Mars at 7 pm. |
22 |
Tonight's full Moon is often called "the Winter Moon". |
25 |
Look for a close conjunction (3 degrees) of the Moon and Saturn at 1 am. |
31 |
Look for a conjunction (1 degree) of Jupiter and Venus at dawn. |
Lunar Almanac for January 2008
| Phases of the Moon | Phase and Date(s) | Best viewed before local midnight |
 |
New |
Deep Space Objects |
 |
1st. Qtr |
Planets & Moon |
 |
Full |
Moon |
 |
Last |
Deep Space & Planets |
Topic of the month: Binocular Object: The Pleiades
The Pleiades or "seven sisters" are considered as one of the best binocular sights in the night sky. It ranks with the craters of the Moon and the rings of Saturn.
The cluster's five brightest stars form a "little dipper" surrounded by many dimmer stars, all embedded in a very faint nebulosity, the "silver braid" in Tennyson's famous poem. It is said that one can see this nebulosity, under good viewing conditions, in a pair of 10x50 binoculars. Unfortunately, if you see a bright glow around ALL of the brighter stars, it's probably an indication that your lenses are fogged or need a good cleaning! This cluster is believed to be some 440 light years from our solar system and is about 20 light years around. The entire group is about 2 degrees across which is about four times the size of the full Moon. This is why this cluster looks better in binocular that in most telescopes. The Pleiades are located between two of the most famous asterisms visible in the winter night sky. It you draw an imaginary curve between Orion's belt and Cassiopeia's "W", it will pass through the Pleiades. |
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--See you then ! * Also see Ron's What's Up? Bonus Issue December 2007 for more binocular information. |
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This installment of "Whats Up?" is ©2008 Ronald A. Leeseberg, encoded by Dawn Jenkins for Astra's Stargate.
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