Monthly Night Sky information provided by Chris Vaughan (@Astrogeoguy) at Starry Night Education (@StarryNightEdu).
The moon will complete the first quarter of its 29.53-day journey around Earth on Monday, January 6 at 6:56 p.m. EST, or 3:56 p.m. PST, or 23:56 GMT. At first quarter, the moon’s 90-degree angle from the sun causes us to see it half-illuminated on its eastern side. First quarter moons always rise around mid-day […]
On early-January evenings, the constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer is positioned high in the eastern sky. The constellation is dominated by the very bright (magnitude 0.05), yellow, sun-like star Capella, nick-named the Goat Star. Look several finger widths to the right (or 4 degrees to the celestial south) of Capella for a narrow, sideways triangle […]
The three stars in Orion’s belt may look the same at a glance, but they are actually quite different under closer inspection. Magnitude 1.85 Alnitak (Zeta Orionis) on the left and magnitude 1.65 Alnilam (Epsilon Orionis) in the center shine at almost the same brightness, though Alnilam is almost twice as far away. The magnitude […]
Skywatchers in the Americas on Thursday evening, January 9 can watch the orbital motion of the bright, 82%-illuminated gibbous moon carry it through the Pleiades star cluster (aka Messier 45, Subaru, and the Seven Sisters). In the Eastern Time zone, the event will last from about 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EST (or 00:00 to […]
