Monthly Night Sky information provided by Chris Vaughan (@Astrogeoguy) at Starry Night Education (@StarryNightEdu).
Named for a now-defunct constellation called the Mural Quadrant, the Quadrantids meteor shower runs from December 26 to January 16 every year. Quadrantids meteors always radiate from a point in the northeastern sky below the tip of the Big Dipper’s handle. This shower commonly produces bright fireballs because it is produced by particles dropped by […]
The Earth will reach perihelion, its minimum distance from the sun for the year, on Saturday, January 4 at 8 a.m. EST, or 5 a.m. PST, or 13:00 GMT. At perihelion Earth will be 91.404 million miles (or 147.101 million km) from our star, about 1.67% closer than our mean distance of 1.0 Astronomical Unit. […]
In the southwestern sky after sunset on Saturday, January 4, the yellowish dot of Saturn will appear several finger widths below (or celestial WSW of) the waxing crescent moon – close enough to share the view in binoculars (orange circle). Venus will gleam to their lower right. The moon and Saturn will be visible from […]
The star Algol in the constellation of Perseus represents the glowing eye of Medusa from Greek mythology. Also designated Beta Persei, it is among the most accessible variable stars for skywatchers. During a ten-hour period that repeats like clockwork every 2 days, 20 hours, and 49 minutes, Algol dims noticeably and re-brightens by about a […]
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 […]