As the skies darken on New Year’s Day, Venus is the first star to pop into view above the western horizon amongst the stars of Capricornus. Saturn, dimmer than Venus, is next to pop into view as he ascends over the eastern horizon just before twilight, in the constellation Gemini. Mars, dimmest of the three, will then appear almost due south, along the Ecliptic. He is currently residing among the dim stars of Pisces. The Moon, in the constellation Aries, will be east of Mars.
For U.S. observers, Venus will set around 7:30 p.m. Jupiter will rise around 10:50 p.m. at the end of the constellation Leo. Mars sets around 12:30 a.m. on the 2nd, followed by the Moon around 3:15 a.m. Saturn sets around 7:30 a.m. as sunrise encroaches.
For Australian observers, Venus will set around 9:30 p.m. Jupiter will rise around 11:20 p.m. Mars sets around 11:50 p.m. followed by the Moon on the 2nd around 1:00 a.m. Saturn sets around 4:50 a.m.
On January 3rd, the Moon reaches apogee at 3:17 p.m. EST. This is the furthest she will be from Earth in her current orbit around us, reaching 252,095 miles. At this afternoon time she can be found rising over the U.S. eastern horizon. This occurs at 7:17 a.m. on the 4th for Australian observers, at which time the moon is below the horizon.
Jupiter stations retrograde shortly thereafter on the 3rd at 6:47 p.m. EST. This means that over the next three months, we will be able to watch Jupiter travel west toward the beginning of the constellation Leo.
As mentioned earlier, Jupiter is rising around 10:50 p.m. over the U.S. at the end of the constellation Leo. On the 12th, the Moon joins Jupiter in the evening sky. The pair conjunct at 8:18 a.m. EST. The moon rises just ahead of the greater benefic this evening. As they gain height, Jupiter will be the bright ‘star’ you see below the Moon in the northern hemisphere. By mid-month Jupiter rises around 9:50 p.m., but due to the station he is still hanging out practically on top of Leo’s hind leg that is represented by the fixed star Sigma Leonis. By the 31st you will be able to notice the retrogradation as Jupiter pulls west of this star. He rises around 8:50 p.m. at month’s end.
Jupiter rises around 11:20 p.m. over Australia at the onset of January. Jupiter will rise just ahead of the Moon on the 12th. As they gain in height, Jupiter will be the bright ‘star’ hanging above the Moon in the southern hemisphere. By mid-month Jupiter rises around 10:30 p.m. and by month’s end around 9:20 p.m. Observers in both hemispheres will of course notice the apparent retrograde motion of Jupiter by taking note of his position on the 1st and 31st against the fixed star Sigma Leonis.
The Quadrantid Meteor Shower is active from January 1st through the 5th, peaking on the 4th. The parent comet of this annual shower is unknown. The shower is named after a constellation that is no longer in existence. Quadrans Muralis can be found on early 19th century star maps between Draco, Hercules, and Bootes. It was 1922 when the International Astronomical Union removed this constellation (along with a few others) from the over-crowded star maps to come up with the current 88 officially recognized constellations. Thus, the Quadrantid Meteor shower moved to the boundary of Bootes and you may hear reference to it as the Bootids. The shower is known to produce a wide range of meteors between 12 and 120 per hour. However, this year the nearly Full Gibbous Moon, will significantly hamper their viewing and not many meteors are expected.
For observers in the U.S., Bootes clears the eastern horizon by about 1:40 a.m. He culminates just after sunrise, which is another indicator that not many meteors will be visible. Meteor activity is best sighted when the constellation the shower radiates from is directly overhead. For Australian observers, Bootes does not fully clear the horizon until after sunrise. The chance of catching a shooting star before sunrise is quite slim.
Also on the 4th, the Earth reaches perihelion to the Sun at 1:00 p.m. EST. This is the closest to the Sun we will travel in our elliptical orbit around our parent star. At this time Earth will be 91.4 million miles from the Sun. This equates to 0.983 AU. Astronomers often measure distance of objects in Astronomical Units, which is the average distance between the Earth and Sun. One astronomical unit is 93 million miles or 149,597,870 kilometers.
Mercury stations direct on the 6th at 8:44 a.m. EST. However he is not visible at this time. Mercury reaches greatest western elongation on the 17th at 5:00 a.m. EST. Therefore the viewing window of the speedy messenger is from around the 10th to the 24th. Being that he is traveling west of the Sun, he will be visible as a morning star. On the morning of the 10th Mercury rises over the U.S. around 6:20 a.m. On the morning of the 24th Mercury rises around 6:30 a.m. The morning twilight will be upon us less than an hour later. On the 19th a sliver of a Balsamic Moon rises with Mercury. If the moon seems particularly large this morning, it is because she is about to reach perigee. Her closest distance to Earth of 225,415 miles occurs on the 19th at 2:25 p.m. EST
Over Australia, Mercury will rise around 4:00 a.m. on the 10th, and around 3:50 a.m. on the 24th. On the morning of the 20th, look for Mercury to hang just below the last sliver of a Balsamic Moon. Sky Maps of this viewing for both the northern and southern hemispheres are located in the OCA public library. http://www.astrocollege.com/campus/libraries.cgi
Saturn is joined by the Moon on the 6th. The conjunction perfects at 8:03 p.m. EST. Both will rise before daylight diminishes at sunset. As the skies darken, watch for Saturn to pop into view just below and slightly west of the nearly full moon. Both are hanging out near the knees of the western-most Gemini twin, Castor. On the 7th, the Moon reaches opposition to the Sun at 10:40 a.m. EST resulting in her Full Moon phase. By that evening, the Full Moon will be just right of the star known as Pollux, representing the eastern-most twin. She will rise as the sun sets. Throughout the month, Saturn continues to rise earlier in the daylight hours. As a result he will pop into view higher in the sky each night. By midmonth, Saturn sets around 6:40 a.m. over the U.S. By month’s end Saturn sets around 5:30 a.m.
Australian observers can watch the Moon dance with Saturn on the evening of the 7th. The Full Moon will rise as the Sun sets. As the skies darken, watch for Saturn to pop into view above the Moon. The Moon on this evening will be between Saturn and Castor. On the evening of the 8th, the Moon will be just east of Pollux. By midmonth, Saturn descends into the Australian horizon around 3:50 a.m., an hour earlier than on the 1st. By month’s end he sets around 2:40 a.m.
The Moon reaches her Third Quarter Phase on the 14th at 11:46 p.m. EST. On the 15th Venus conjuncts Uranus at 2:22 a.m. EST. While they are below the U.S. horizon at this time, this is still a good night to try to catch a glimpse of Uranus before the pair set. However you will need binoculars or a telescope to do so. The New Moon occurs on the 21st at 4:05 p.m. EST. Another reference for finding Uranus occurs on the 23rd. The Moon conjuncts Uranus this day at 6:28 p.m. EST. By this time Venus has pulled away from Uranus and hangs higher along the western horizon than the Moon. Try to find Uranus with your binoculars slightly above and to the west of the Moon. If you can set your telescope to find objects, the co-ordinates you will need for Uranus are as follows: RA=22h 13.812m and Decl=-11*44.699 The Moon’s declination on this day is -16* , which accounts for it being lower in the skies of the northern hemisphere.
Observers in Australia can also attempt to locate Uranus with these two conjunctions. As the skies darken on the evening of the 15th, look through binoculars to locate Uranus just below Venus before the pair set. On the 23rd the Moon will be west of Uranus low along the western horizon. The co-ordinates Australian telescope observers will need are: RA=22h 13.702m and Decl=-11*45.312. Sky maps depicting the moon, Uranus, Venus and Mars on the 23rd for both hemispheres are available in the OCA Public library. http://www.astrocollege.com/campus/libraries.cgi
The Moon joins Venus on the 24th. The conjunction occurs at 1:48 p.m. EST. A waxing crescent moon hangs just to the east of a brilliantly shining Venus in the northern hemisphere. Venus is pretty much due west in the southern hemisphere with the Moon slightly to the SW on this evening. The next evening she will be 1/3 of the way to Mars as she travels east along the ecliptic. On the 26th, the Moon makes her way 2/3 of the distance from Venus to Mars. She conjoins Mars on the 27th at 11:59 p.m. EST. This evening you will notice the moon hanging just below Mars as the skies darken over the northern hemisphere. Southern hemisphere observers will locate Mars just east of the Moon. The First Quarter Moon occurs on the 29th at 1:03 a.m. The Moon reaches apogee for a second time this month on the 31st at 8:59 a.m. EST. This time her furthest distance from Earth is 251,536 miles.
Remember that stars twinkle and planets don’t, as this also helps to find which wandering stars are planets.
Happy stargazing!
Julene M. Johnson, NCGR-III
Media Director, OCA
Instructor, OCA
ONLINE College of Astrology
www.astrocollege.com
FIRST in Online Astrological Education
