27th January – Between 8 and 11.30 pm, the half Moon moves across the top of the Pleiades star cluster, hiding a couple of the brighter Seven Sister stars.
January is always a great treat for astronomers. On the 3rd night of the month we have the first of this years three supermoons. We will also have a display of shooting stars in the hours before dawn of the 3rd into the 4th January from the Quadrantids meteor shower. Add to that the Moon moving in front of the Seven sisters star cluster on the 27th January.
The long nights of mid-winter give us the opportunity to observe a chorus line of brilliant stars, led by Betelgeuse, and Rigel, in the constellation of Orion. Nearby is Aldebaran, the bright red eye of Taurus. Capella adorning Auriga. Castor and Pollux, the celestial twins in Gemini, and glorious Sirius in the constellation Canis Major. The jewel in this scintillating crown is the brilliant planet Jupiter, at it’s closest to the Earth this month.
If you are out to watch some fireworks on New Years Eve, why not also look up and see if you can spot some of these classic winter star patterns. If you look south you should be able to spot the ‘winter triangle’ or the ‘winter hexagon’.
The winter triangle is made up of Betelgeuse (in Orion), Sirius (in Canis Major), and Procyon (also in Canis Minor), making a neat and almost perfect equilateral triangle. All three are bright stars, meaning this is easy to spot even in a light polluted area.
If you want to extend your geometry theme further, you could also find the six stars from six different constellations that make up the winter hexagon. The stars in the asterism are Sirius and Procyon, along with Rigel (in Orion), Aldebaran (Taurus), Capella (Auriga) and Pollux (Gemini).
Amongst these stars Rigel, as a blue supergiant, and Aldebaran, as a red giant, will be differentiated by their colours. Let your eyes adjust to the darkness, have a careful look and see if you can appreciate the bluish colour of Rigel to the red or orange of Aldebaran.
The Earth will reach perihelion (its closest point to the Sun in its orbit) on the 4th January. On this date we will be 147 million kilometres away from the Sun. It won’t make a difference to the weather, but maybe the thought of our star close at hand will keep you warm whilst stargazing during the could January nights.
The planets:-
MERCURY, VENUS, MARS.
The three innermost planets of the solar system will be too close to the Sun for observation this month.
JUPITER
The gas giant planet is putting on its most magnificent display of the year as it passes closest to the Earth in January. Visible all night long in the constellation of Gemini. Jupiter is shinning more brilliantly than any of the stars, at magnitude –2.7, with a pure steady light. The full Moon passes right above Jupiter on the 3rd of the month. The four largest moons will be visible using binoculars. Two good nights to observe and identify Jupiter’s Moons are on the 15th January around 6pm and on the 29th of the month about 9pm. The moons will be arranged in order on the same side of the gas giant planet. Io is closest to Jupiter follows by Europa them Ganymede and Callisto.
SATURN
The only significant object in the south western sky is the planet Saturn. Shinning at magnitude +1.0 on the borders of Aquarius and Pisces. The ring world falls below the horizon around 10pm. The crescent Moon is nearby on the 22nd and 23rd of the month.
URANUS
You may see it with the naked eye, but binoculars will be an advantage to locate this gas giant. Look in the constellation of Taurus; it will be shinning at magnitude +5.7, and will set around 4am.
NEPTUNE
Faint Neptune, which does well to have a magnitude of +7.8. It is located about three degrees above Saturn in the constellation of Pisces in the south west. You will need good binoculars or a telescope to track it down. It falls below the horizon about 10pm.
PLUTO
This distant planet will be below the horizon during the hours of darkness this month.
CERES
The largest body in the asteroid belt is dim with a magnitude of +9.0. It falls below the horizon around 10.55pm and is located in the constellation of Cetus.
Special Events:-
3rd January – The first of this years three supermoons tracks just above Jupiter.
4th and 5th January – The almost full Moon grazes over the top of the Beehive star cluster M44.
6th January – The Moon is near the star Regulus.
11th January – The half Moon is near the star Spica after midnight.
15th January – The crescent Moon is near the star Antares after midnight.
22nd January – Bright Saturn lies to the upper left of the crescent Moon.
23rd January – Saturn is below the crescent Moon.
27th January – Between 8 and 11.30 pm, the half Moon moves across the top of the Pleiades star cluster, hiding a couple of the brighter Seven Sister stars.
30th and 31st January – The almost full Moon passes over magnificent Jupiter.
Meteor Showers:-
The Quadrantids meteor shower extends from the 28th December to 12th January, but it peaks on the morning of the 3rd and into 4th January. It can be a fantastic firework display of its own, with showers sometimes peaking at 110 meteors per hour. Unfortunately, the bright light from the Full Moon will wash out all but the brightest shooting stars.
They are also unusual for a number of reasons. Meteor showers are usually named after the area of the sky they appear to originate from. The Quadrantids are named after Quadrans Muralis, which is a constellation that no longer exists. It was first named in 1795, but omitted from the ‘official’ list of constellations that was set by the International Astronomical Union in the 1920’s. This shower is not only interesting in being named after a now non-existent constellation, but the origin of the shower is also unusual. Most meteor showers are caused by comet debris, but it’s been suggested that this shower comes from asteroid 2003EH1.
Phases of the moon for January are :-
Full Moon 3rd January
Last quarter 10th January
New Moon 18th January
First quarter 26th January