What’s Up This Month – January 2009

January 2, 2009

Happy new year, dear reader, and welcome to 2009.  This is a special year for you because UNESCO and the International Astronomical Union have designated 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy.  All over the world, you’ll find a number of special events and celebrations, including webcasts, live broadcasts from observatories, blogs from professional astronomers, and public star parties to encourage as many people as possible to experience the thrill of looking through a telescope at the night sky.  You’ll find more information at the international website or your national IYA website.



It’s January, so it may be cold where you are.  It’s sure cold here.  But let’s make an effort to step away from the television and the daily concerns of life, brave the cold, and get out under the bright winter stars to see some fine sights.  There is a lot to see.  And there are no re-runs in the night sky.

Celestial Events This Month

• Quadrantids meteor shower. The early morning of January 3 features a brief but sometimes spectacular meteor shower.  Named after the now-defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis, the Quadrantids often feature more than 100 meteors per hour.  But the peak occurs over a brief 2-3 hour period, and often occurs during daylight hours.  This year, observers along the west coast of North America will likely get the best view around 13h UT (5 a.m. PST).  The radiant lies in northern Bootes, off the tip of the handle of the Big Dipper.  No optics required.

• Moon Occults Pleiades. Last month, North Americans were treated to an occultation of the Pleiades by the Moon.  This month, northern Europeans get a similar show at 17h UT (around sunset) on January 7.  Binoculars give the best view.

• Annular Solar Eclipse. Just before sunset on January 26, observers in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and southeast Asia will get to see an annular eclipse of the Sun, in which the Moon blocks all but a ring around the edge of the solar disk.  This is not a total eclipse: the Moon is too far away from the Earth to block the full disk of the Sun.  You can’t observe this eclipse directly with your naked eye or optical equipment… the Sun is too bright.  You must use an appropriate solar filter or project the image of the Sun onto a piece of thick white paper.  As always, when pointing a telescope at the Sun, be careful… you can permanently damage your eye in an instant if you look directly at the Sun through a telescope (even during an annular eclipse).

Moon and Planets

• Mercury is visible at sunset in northern latitudes about 10 degrees above the horizon.  It’s paired with Jupiter early in the month; the great gas giant and the elusive rocky inner planet make a nice pair in binoculars.

• Venus puts on a splendid show in the evening sky all month.  On January 14, it lies at its greatest elongation east of the Sun.  Through a telescope at this time, the disk of Venus will look like a half circle.

• On January 4 at 15h UT, approximately, Earth makes its closest approach to the Sun.  I’ll bet it won’t make winter feel any warmer here in Canada, however.

• Saturn rises a little earlier each night, lying in the hindquarters of Leo and preparing itself for a fine show this spring.

• Uranus lies within 1.5 degrees of Venus on January 21-23.  You can see both planets with a low-power eyepiece.  But to see the disk of Uranus, you’ll need at least 80-100x, which will narrow your field of view enough to make it impossible to see both planets at once.

Sights To See (north and south)

Northern observers enjoy the sight of mighty Perseus high in the sky this month.  This constellation is flecked with stars and star clusters in the outer arm of the Milky Way.  The Double Cluster in Perseus is always spectacular.  And try finding the open cluster M34 in a telescope or binoculars.  This modest cluster of intermediate age lies some 1,400 light years from Earth and is part of an association of stars that includes the Pleiades and the alpha Persei cluster, a small grouping of stars around Mirfak, the brightest star in Perseus.  All these stars look especially beautiful against the dark winter sky.

Southern stargazers can observe a fine pair of galaxies: NGC55 and NGC300.  The former is an edge-on spiral galaxy that looks comet-like through a telescope, while the latter is a beautiful face-on spiral galaxy.  These two lie within 8 degrees of each other in the constellation Sculptor.  Use low power (<50x) in dark sky for the best view of these members of the Sculptor Group of Galaxies.

Have a fine month. Get outside and look up!

Idle lens longs for
Dazzling stars against dark sky.
Dreams of a new year.

Posted in Celestial Objects