For the Northern Hemisphere
January 20 - February 19, 2008
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Look Up!
Planetary Treats
Mars Is Eye Catching!
See the Unseen Side of Mercury!
Jupiter and Venus ~ A Dazzling Predawn Duo
Saturn Moves Backwards and Gets Bigger!
Celestial Delights
Orion Gives Birth ~ His Babies Are Artists!
Plus ...
Sky Lights
Printabale Date Tables
Moon Dances 1/8-2/6
Moon Dances 2/6-3/7
The Night Sky ~ Home Page
Planetary Treats
APOD: December 25, 2007
Mars and Orion Over Monument Valley
Credit & Copyright: Wally
Pacholka (Astropics.com)
The following image description was ehanced and culled from APOD’s 12/25/07 Image/Explanation.
Mars at Its Best!
Wally Pacholka took this awesome photo the week preceding Christmas 2007. During this time Mars was at its best, biggest and brightest until 2016 and at its highest overhead until 2040! The Red Planet glowing brilliantly at the left of this image outshines all the celestial objects in this skyscape.
At the photo’s center, to the right of Mars, lies reddish Begelgeuse the shoulder star of giant Orion the Hunter, an hourglass shaped constellation. Farther right are the three evenly spaced stars that form Orion’s belt (middle of the hourglass). Hanging from the belt is Orion’s sword and the Orion Nebula, a stellar nursery (more below). Finally, the bright blue star Rigel, the left foot or knee of Orion, appears above Merrick Butte.
Buttes are composed of hard rock left behind after water eroded away the surrounding soft rock. The two buttes on the image left are known as the Mittens. APOD: 12/25/07
TWAN
This stunning view is one of many remarkable photographs that are part of The World At Night. TWAN reveals how the same sky, above the most beautiful and historic sites around the globe, unites us all.
Mars remains
big and beautiful through January. During February its disk size
decreases from 12" (arc
seconds) to 9" and its brightness dims from magnitude –0.6
to magnitude 0.2.
Early February offers the final opportunity for those telescoping Mars to observe the planet’s surface details. Through May unaided eye observers will easily notice the planet’s conspicuous rouge-gold glow.
Mars changes size! This link's image is from
The 2007-2008 Apparition of MarsSky & Telescope’s Mars Profiler
Compare what you telescopically see on Mars with a map.
A particular feature comes to Mars' central meridian
about 40 minutes later than it came the night before.
International Mars Watch
A repository for images and observation information
Locating Mars
Mars is seen high overhead now between 8:00pm-10:00pm. The planet sets in the beginning of Aquarius at 5:00am and by its end at 3:30am.
January 30 Mars ends its westward, retrograde motion below the bright star Elnath, the northern horn tip of Taurus the Bull. Afterwards it resumes a normal eastward movement toward the Gemini Twins. Mars Path 10/1/07-4/23/08 This reverse direction is explained in the following section.
Orbital Motions of Mars and Earth
An apparent zig zag motion of Mars (eastward – westward – eastward) occurs, as orbiting Earth catches up to, aligns with and passes orbiting Mars. December18, 2007 the orbits of Earth and Mars brought the two planets to their closest approach during the 2007 Mars Apparition. The Earth’s faster inner orbit is now moving it past the Red Planet and separating the two. Mars appears to dim and decrease in size as its distance from Earth increases. Orbital Motions of Earth and Mars
The Red Triad
Look for the red triangle formed by the planet Mars, the bright red star, Betelgeuse in Orion, almost directly south of Mars and the reddish star Aldebaran in Taurus, southwest of Mars.
Note: As Mars changes its position in the sky this triangle shifts its shape. The current movement of the Red Planet is keeping it in close alignment with Betelgeuse.
January 19, the night before Aquarius began, the Gibbous Moon was near Mars shining its light upon the Red Triad. Click Moon Dances to see a 1/19/08 map; then scroll down to January 19 and ponder the reflections regarding this Red Triad.
BTW: When using the Moon as a guide on January 19 one could see bright Mars in a blue sky before darkness fell! February 15, Friday evening, Mars is near the Moon again. Will you be able to see it in a blue sky? Mark your calendar! 2/15 8pm Star Map
Compare the red color, brightness and size of each of these three celestial bodies. Over time, as its distance from the Earth increases, watch Mars dim and shrink to the brightness and size of Aldebaran!
Mars glows red because reddish dust covers its surface and reflects that shade back to Earth. Betelgeuse and Aldebaran produce their own light in the same way the Sun does. They shine red simply because they have relatively low surface temperatures. Astronomy Magazine 2/08
One of the Red Triad stars is our Valentine's Star!
Click Moon Dances for a February 13-15 Sky Chart and Valentine reflections.
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Seeing the Unseen Side of Mercury!
MESSENGER'S First Mercury Flyby - January 14, 2008
Image: MESSENGER
Teams / JHU APL / NASA
When Mariner 10 flew past Mercury three times in 1974 and 1975, the same hemisphere was in sunlight during each encounter resulting in less than half the planet being imaged.
Now more than 30 years later, on January 14, 2008, the MESSENGER spacecraft camera snapped the above image giving us the first look of about half of the hemisphere missed by Mariner 10! The image shows features as small as 10 kilometers (6 miles) in size. The photo was taken at a distance of about 27,000 kilometers (about 17,000 miles).
Like the previously mapped portion of Mercury, this hemisphere appears heavily cratered. … On the upper right is the giant Caloris basin … Formed by the impact of a large asteroid or comet, Caloris is one of the largest, and perhaps one of the youngest, basins in the Solar System. … it is brighter than the surrounding regions and may therefore have a different composition.
… other MESSENGER instruments will soon provide a detailed global view of the surface of Mercury, yielding key information for understanding the formation and geologic history of the innermost planet. Full Image Description
MESENGER was launched August 2/3, 2004. This first Mercury flyby is one of three (1/14/08, 10/6/08, 9/29/09) in preparation for orbit insertion March 18, 2011.
Mercury, above the sunset horizon for this apparition, achieves its greatest distance (elongation) from our central luminary just as Aquarius begins, January 20. On this night Mercury can be viewed 90 minutes before it sets. Each following evening the planet is seen for a shorter period of time, as it sinks back toward the southwestern horizon.
By the beginning of February elusive Mercury is lost in the Sun’s glowing embrace reaching inferior conjunction February 6. At this time it begins its journey to the opposite side of the Sun and the opposite horizon. February 25 begin looking for a difficult to see dim Mercury, north of twilight Venus, on the southeastern horizon.
Note: When any planet is lost in the bright glow of our Sun, try viewing it on the SOHO site. First click THE SUN NOW and then click the LASCO C3 (or C2) image. Clicking More LASCO C3 will give you a series of images taken about every half hour or so. Mercury is expected to transit the coronagraph's field of view February 3-10 from the left to the right.
Mercury is retrograde January 28-February 17. A shift or change in direction begins to take place now. Allow the new incoming energies to break up the old patterns. Surrender and maintain.
... the first 11 days of the retrograde are designed to herald in latent intuitive information that is usually in conflict with the way you thought things would play out in regards to your agendas. This conflict is the precursor of the chagrin we so commonly associate with this astrological cycle.
While the 1st half of the retrograde can be quite disorienting, the 2nd half – or last 10 days - of the retrograde are about reorientation. ... The last ten days of the retrograde cycle thus become a time to be passively receptive to the new, and ensuring you’ve let go of the old. This will allow more time for holistic agendas to emerge as well as better strategies for their enactment. Once Mercury begins its next cycle of going direct, action can then be taken on the newly formed visions. Robert Ohotto
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A Dazzling Predawn Duo
Venus and Jupiter – Looking Southeast
Friday, February 1, 2008 – 45 Minutes Before Sunrise
Image: Astronomy
Magazine / Jay Smith
Note: Begin looking for Venus and Jupiter in the southeast at 5:30am; sunrise occurs at 7:15am. Use binoculars to view the duo for an added treat. Keep your eyes safe by not looking directly at the Sun with binoculars. Try following Venus after sunrise into the day sky.
February
1-4 ~ A Weekend of Predawn
Planetary Treats!
The Waning Crescent Moon Approaches Jupiter and Venus
February 1 the morning’s waning Crescent Moon lies near Anatares the heart of the cosmic Scorpion, west of the dazzling duo. Sky Map Watch the slimming Moon move closer to the predawn pair until they are all strikingly close February 4. Sky Map Thank you NASA Headline News for the maps below.
Mark
your calendar!
Feb.
1 / Feb.
2 / Feb.
3 / Feb.
4
Click Moon Dances for reflections and to learn how the star Nunki, Sigma Sag., is activated during this dazzling weekend.
Venus and Jupiter have been approaching each other for three weeks now. Jupiter began appearing in the morning sky below Venus after the first week of January. Dedicated night owls and early birds with clear skies and an unobstructed southeastern horizon have been able to observe the dynamic duo’s daily approach.
February 1 Venus blazes at magnitude –3.9 and Jupiter shines brilliantly at magnitude –1.9. Venus appears bigger and brighter only because it is closer to Earth. Compare the actual diameter of Venus and Jupiter in kilometers and miles. Which is over 11x larger?
Although they appear close to each other in the sky, Venus is far closer to Earth. It lies 124 million miles away, compared with 562 million miles for Jupiter. Despite its greater distance, Jupiter appears much bigger through a telescope. Its disk spans 33", [arcseconds] nearly 3 times larger than Venus' 12" diameter. Venus also displays an 85-percent-lit gibbous phase [Image]. Astronomy Magazine 2/08
Note: Venus and Jupiter are 438 million miles apart during this close encounter!
During February the planetary duo meet and pass each other in the predawn sky. Venus continues to descend toward the twilight horizon rising later each day, while Jupiter ascends rising earlier each day. Venus rises in the beginning of Aquarius at 5:00am and by its end at 5:30am. Jupiter rises in the beginning of Aquarius at 5:45am and by its end at 4:30am.
Venus is appearing smaller and dimmer as its faster inner orbit moves it past the Earth toward the far side of the Sun. Jupiter is growing brighter and bigger in appearance as Earth in its faster orbit catches up to Jupiter in its slower outer orbit. Jupiter’s close approach to Earth occurs at opposition 7/9/08. Venus’ close approach to Earth occurred at inferior conjunction 8/18/07.
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Saturn rises
in the beginning of Aquarius at
8:00pm and by its end at 6:15pm. It's retrograde
motion (12/19/07-5/1/08) is moving it westward back toward
Regulus the blue-white heart star of Leo
the Lion. When
the ringed planet lies low above the eastern horizon, Mars
lies overhead. 2/10
7pm Map
Note: An eclipsed Moon occurs below Regulus near Saturn during the Feb. 20/21 total lunar eclipse. More about this in the Pisces Night Sky!
Saturn's orbit is bringing it closer to Earth. Watch it's golden orb grow brighter and bigger until it reaches opposition 2/24/08.
Saturn's rings are exciting to see with any telescope! These rings are now closing toward their 2009 edge-on view. Saturn's dark Cassini Division, which separates the outer A ring from the brighter B ring can also be seen with any telescope.
The
Planets
Is it
a planet? ... What planet? When you look up at the night sky, how do you
know you are looking at a planet? Click
here.
When gauging distance in degrees, please note:
*2 degrees is hardly more than a finger's breadth at arm's length.
**10 degrees is one width of your fist at arm's length.
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Celestial
Delights
Orion
Gives Birth ~ His Babies Are Artists!
Baby
Stars Create a Masterpiece
Image: NASA / JPL – Caltech / STScI
This Spitzer/Hubble infrared and visible-light composite shows an artistic masterpiece of turbulent and chaotic energies that baby stars are creating 1,500 light years away in the Orion Nebula. Four monstrously massive stars, collectively known as the Trapezium located at the center of this cosmic cloud may be the main culprits of this gorgeous chaos. "These behemoths are approximately 100,000 times brighter than our sun." JPL
A new image from NASA’s Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes looks more like an abstract painting than a cosmic snapshot. … It was "painted" by hundreds of baby stars on a canvas of gas and dust, with intense ultraviolet light and strong stellar winds as brushes. NASA's Full Caption / Description
The
Splendor of Orion: A Star Factory Unveiled
SPACE.com’s informative account of the current science
relating to the Orion Nebula and its Grand Nebula replacement.
The Orion Nebula is the nearest star formation region to the Earth and consequently particularly well studied. Despite this, star formation is not all that well understood. astro.nineplanets.org
Orion the Hunter gives birth to stars! More than half of the 25 brightest stars appear overhead in the winter sky making it the brightest night sky of all the seasons. Well, here's the reason why these bright stars are in the winter sky.
It is no coincidence that the brightest stars congregate here [the winter sky], for this is where many stellar nurseries reside, including the marvelous Orion Nebula (M42). Massive stars begin their lives in such cocoons and burn most brightly. Scan this region with binoculars to see one marvel after another. Astronomy Magazine 2/03
The Orion Nebula (M42) is easily visible as a fuzzy star with the unaided eye. Here's a fun quote about its location and size that will expand your horizons:
Everyone loves Orion's bright stars but it is one of his dimmer stars that will blow you away. Face southeast in the early evening and below Orion's three belt stars you'll see three dimmer stars which make up his sword. But no matter how sharp your eyesight the middle star always seems to look fuzzy, out of focus. That's because it isn't a star at all but a humongous cosmic cloud of gas and dust where new stars are being born. We call it the Orion Nebula and there is enough material here to produce over ten thousand stars the size of our Sun. Indeed, this nebula is so huge we could line up 20,000 of our solar systems end to end from one edge of it to the other. How's that for a fuzzy little star? Star Gazer
Happy
Valentine's Day!
May
the Love Light in Your Heart
Expand to Include All.
Look Up … Be Dazzled!
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I'd
like to know your thoughts about The Night Sky and
if you'd like reminders to Look Up! ...
send me an email.
May your Night Sky traveling always be filled
with Celestial Delights and Treats!
Susan Sun
Sky Lights ~ Aquarius
January 20 - February 19
Mercury at greatest elongation 1/20 sets in the southwest about 90 minutes after the Sun. The following nights it continues to sink back toward the horizon. By the beginning of February the elusive planet is lost in the glowing embrace of the Sun. It reaches inferior conjunction 2/6 and then switches horizons. Begin looking for a difficult to see dim Mercury, north of twilight Venus, on the southeastern horizon 2/25. Mercury is retrograde 1/28-2/17.
Mars remains big and beautiful through January. For those with telescopes early February offers the final opportunity to observe the planet’s surface details before the distance between Mars and Earth becomes to great. The planet is seen high overhead between 8:00pm-10:00pm. It sets in the beginning of Aquarius at 5:00am and by its end at 3:30am. Almost directly south of Mars lies red Betelgeuse. Look west of Betelgeuse to find red Aldebaran and you'll see all members of the shape shifting Red Triad. 1/17-21 Map Mars is retrograde through 1/30/08. Mars Path 10/1/07-4/23/08
Saturn rises in the beginning of Aquarius at 8:00pm and by its end at 6:15pm. It's retrograde motion (12/19/07-5/1/08) is moving it westward back toward Regulus the blue-white heart star of Leo the Lion. The eclipsed Moon occurs below Regulus near Saturn during the Feb. 20/21 total lunar eclipse. When the ringed planet lies low above the eastern horizon, Mars lies overhead. 2/10 7pm Map Saturn's orbit is bringing it closer to Earth. Watch it's golden orb grow brighter and bigger until it reaches opposition 2/24/08. Saturn's rings are closing toward their 2009 edge-on view.
Venus is dazzling in the southeastern morning sky, as it slowly descends toward the sunrise horizon. The planet is dimming as its orbit moves it further from Earth. Look for Jupiter low in the southeast below Venus. Watch this brilliant pair of predawn planets move closer to each other until they reach their conjunction 2/1. Afterwards Venus sinks below Jupiter. Venus rises in the beginning of Aquarius at 5:00am and by its end at 5:30am.
Jupiter is brilliant below blazing Venus in January. Look for the pair low in the southeast just before sunrise. The distance between these two dazzling planets decreases until they are at their closest 2/1. Afterwards Jupiter can be seen ascending above Venus, as their distance increases during February. Jupiter rises in the beginning of Aquarius at 5:45am and by its end at 4:30am.
The Pleiades star cluster lies above and to the left of the bright red star, Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus the Bull. Look for the reddish Aldebaran overhead in the early evening (west in the later evening) to find the mini dipper-shaped sparkling Pleiades, the Bull's shoulder. Star Map Note: In 2008 the brighter, redder Mars lies northeast of Aldebaran near Elnath the northern horn tip of Taurus the Bull. 2/10 7pm Map
Capella is the very bright star overhead and northeast of the Pleiades. It is the brightest star seen the most often. It lies in the constellation Auriga, our celestial Santa. Star Map Note: In 2008 it is the brightest object north of bright red Mars.
Orion The Hunter, the cosmic giant, lies overhead between 8pm – 9pm. Navigating with Orion introduces you to the winter stars. Use his belt stars to locate Sirius and Aldebaran, Betelgeuse and Rigel. Notice the colors of these 4 stars. The three belt stars of Orion represent the Three Wise Men. Orion helps one find the Winter Triangle, the Great Winter Hexagon and the Valentine's Star!
Sirius the brightest star in the heavens can be seen in the east as the Sun sets. Sirius sets in the beginning of Aquarius around 4:00am and by at its end about 2:00am.
Arcturus, a bright golden star, rises in the beginning of Aquarius around 11:00pm and by at its end around 9:30pm. Use the handle of the Big Dipper to arc down to Arcturus from there spike down to blue-white Spica in the south!
For a print-friendly version of this page click here.
I'd
like to know your thoughts about The Night Sky and
if you'd like reminders to Look Up! ...
send me an email.
May your Night Sky traveling always be filled
with Celestial Delights and Treats!
Susan Sun
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