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Contact
615-355-4983
vghart2@cs.com
615-355-4983
vghart2@cs.com
CURRENT MOON
Starry, Starry, Night....
January 2012
Venus, Jupiter, and Mars — three of our four closest planetary neighbors — adorn the evening sky as the new year breaks.
Venus is the dazzling “evening star” in the west at sunset, with only slightly fainter Jupiter high in the south at the same hour.
Orange Mars rises by around 11 p.m. as January opens, but about two hours earlier at month’s end.
Here’s what’s up in the night sky this month…
January 1. First Quarter Moon (06:15 Universal Time)
4 Jan. Jupiter’s moons Europa and Ganymede cast simultaneous shadows on the big planet from 6:27 to 7:57 UT. Given the
constraints of daylight, this event is best viewed from the Americas. Use a telescope at 100x or more to see this event.
4 Jan. After watching shadows on Jupiter, grab a cup of hot coffee and head back outside to look for the brief but sometimes
intense Quadrantids meteor shower between moonset and dawn on the early morning of January 4. The peak shower peaks this
year about 07:00 to 08:00 UT, so North Americans will get the best view this year (if the prediction is correct). The shower is quite
short… about 2 hours on either side of the peak. Western Europeans may see a few meteors before dawn. The radiant of the
shower lies between the handle of the Big Dipper and the head of Draco in the now defunct constellation northern Quadrans
Muralis.
4 Jan. Earth passes through perihelion, its closest point to the sun, at a distance of 147,097,907 km
4,5 Jan. The waxing gibbous Moon passes near the Pleiades (on Jan. 4) and the Hyades (on Jan. 5) in the constellation Taurus.
9 Jan. Full Moon (07:30 UT)
16 Jan. Last Quarter Moon (09:08 UT)
19 Jan. The bright star Antares lies just southwest of the crescent Moon in the southwest before dawn.
22 Jan. New Moon (07:39 UT)
22 Jan. Jupiter, which hovers fat and bright overhead all month, reaches quadrature (90 degrees east of the Sun). The planet
fades slightly from magnitude -2.4 to -2.1. It also shrinks to an apparent diameter of 39″ (arcseconds) by month’s end. Still worth
observing closely with a telescope.
Saturn, Mars, and bright stars Spica and Antares as seen looking south at 5 a.m. on January 25, 2012 at mid-northern latitudes.
Southern observers will get a similar view looking nearly overhead. Click to enlarge.
24 Jan. Mars halts its eastward motion and retrogrades westward today. The red-orange planet brightens slightly, but it’s still
small at just 12″ by month’s end. The planet reaches opposition on March 3. Some detail is visible now at high magnification in
steady sky.
25, 26 Jan. Brilliant Venus is about 8 degrees from the crescent Moon. The bright planet shines at magnitude -4.1 all month in
the southwestern sky after sunset.
27 Jan. Saturn rises near midnight. The best time to observe the planet is before dawn this month. The rings are tilted to a
generous 15 degrees from edge-on. The planet lies near the bright star Spica in Virgo
31 Jan. Last Quarter Moon (04:10 UT)
.
Venus, Jupiter, and Mars — three of our four closest planetary neighbors — adorn the evening sky as the new year breaks.
Venus is the dazzling “evening star” in the west at sunset, with only slightly fainter Jupiter high in the south at the same hour.
Orange Mars rises by around 11 p.m. as January opens, but about two hours earlier at month’s end.
Here’s what’s up in the night sky this month…
January 1. First Quarter Moon (06:15 Universal Time)
4 Jan. Jupiter’s moons Europa and Ganymede cast simultaneous shadows on the big planet from 6:27 to 7:57 UT. Given the
constraints of daylight, this event is best viewed from the Americas. Use a telescope at 100x or more to see this event.
4 Jan. After watching shadows on Jupiter, grab a cup of hot coffee and head back outside to look for the brief but sometimes
intense Quadrantids meteor shower between moonset and dawn on the early morning of January 4. The peak shower peaks this
year about 07:00 to 08:00 UT, so North Americans will get the best view this year (if the prediction is correct). The shower is quite
short… about 2 hours on either side of the peak. Western Europeans may see a few meteors before dawn. The radiant of the
shower lies between the handle of the Big Dipper and the head of Draco in the now defunct constellation northern Quadrans
Muralis.
4 Jan. Earth passes through perihelion, its closest point to the sun, at a distance of 147,097,907 km
4,5 Jan. The waxing gibbous Moon passes near the Pleiades (on Jan. 4) and the Hyades (on Jan. 5) in the constellation Taurus.
9 Jan. Full Moon (07:30 UT)
16 Jan. Last Quarter Moon (09:08 UT)
19 Jan. The bright star Antares lies just southwest of the crescent Moon in the southwest before dawn.
22 Jan. New Moon (07:39 UT)
22 Jan. Jupiter, which hovers fat and bright overhead all month, reaches quadrature (90 degrees east of the Sun). The planet
fades slightly from magnitude -2.4 to -2.1. It also shrinks to an apparent diameter of 39″ (arcseconds) by month’s end. Still worth
observing closely with a telescope.
Saturn, Mars, and bright stars Spica and Antares as seen looking south at 5 a.m. on January 25, 2012 at mid-northern latitudes.
Southern observers will get a similar view looking nearly overhead. Click to enlarge.
24 Jan. Mars halts its eastward motion and retrogrades westward today. The red-orange planet brightens slightly, but it’s still
small at just 12″ by month’s end. The planet reaches opposition on March 3. Some detail is visible now at high magnification in
steady sky.
25, 26 Jan. Brilliant Venus is about 8 degrees from the crescent Moon. The bright planet shines at magnitude -4.1 all month in
the southwestern sky after sunset.
27 Jan. Saturn rises near midnight. The best time to observe the planet is before dawn this month. The rings are tilted to a
generous 15 degrees from edge-on. The planet lies near the bright star Spica in Virgo
31 Jan. Last Quarter Moon (04:10 UT)
.
"I know nothing with any certainty, but the
sight of the stars makes me dream."
- Vincent Van Gogh
sight of the stars makes me dream."
- Vincent Van Gogh
