January 2014
Seeing moonlight here at my bed
and thinking it’s frost on the ground
I look up, gaze at the mountain moon,
then back, dreaming of my old home
-Li Po
The white outside my bedroom window is neither frost nor moonlight. It’s three feet of snow. Winter is back to its old ways this year, leaving much of eastern and central North America wondering what hit it. The brilliant winter stars beckon. But with the nighttime temperatures hovering near -30 ºC in eastern Canada, my desire to avoid frostbite prevails. The climate is warming, the experts say, but the weather is not.
And yet. January is a splendid month for stargazing. The hexagon of bright stars in Orion, Canis Major, Gemini, and Auriga rises high in the eastern sky. They’re joined and outshone this year by Jupiter which reaches opposition on January 5. The planet is about as well placed for observing as it ever gets. It’s visible to northern and southern observers, but it’s particularly well-placed for northern observers in the constellation Gemini. Venus speeds towards conjunction with the Sun, a respectably-bright comet lingers in the morning sky, and a brief meteor shower may transpire for those in the right place at the right time. Here’s what to see in the night sky this month…
1 January. New Moon, 11:14 UT
2-3 Jan. A thin crescent Moon shares the southwestern sky with Venus after sunset. The planet is on its way to inferior conjunction on the 11th, lying roughly between the Earth and the Sun, so it appears in a telescope as a slender crescent more than 60″ across, larger than Jupiter.
The slender crescent Moon and Venus, along with the stars Altair and Vega, as seen looking west about 30 minutes after sunset on Jan 2, 2014.
3 Jan. The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks at about 19:30 UT. This shower is brief but occasionally intense. The timing this year is best for observers in northeastern Asia, but North American observers may get lucky and see a few this evening. Take a look… you never know. The radiant of the meteor shower lies in the defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis near the star Arcturus and constellation Corona Borealis, but the meteors may appear anywhere in the sky.
3 Jan. Mars reaches greatest western quadrature. The red planet brightens considerably this month from magnitude +0.9 to +0.3 and grows to an apparent size of about 9″. That’s big enough to reveal some detail in a good scope at moderate to high magnification and steady sky. The planet will continue to brighten as it approaches opposition in April.
5 Jan. Jupiter reaches opposition, rising in the northeast as the Sun sets. You can’t miss it. It’s the brightest thing in the night sky save for the Moon and Venus. The planet shines at magnitude -2.7 for most of the month and reaches an apparent diameter of nearly 50″. Look on this website for a mini-guide to observing Jupiter later this month.
- Comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) passes the star Rasalhague (to its upper left in this image) in the constellation Ophiuchus as seen looking SE before sunrise on Jan. 15, 2014.
8 Jan. First Quarter Moon, 03:39 UT
15 Jan. The star Rasalhauge in Ophiuchus helps you find Comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) in the sky before dawn. The comet is visible without optics in very dark sky, and is an easy sight in binoculars with a small tail visible. If you have a DSLR camera, put it on a tripod, set your aperture as wide as possible, your ISO to 1600, and your focal length to 20-30 mm and a try an exposure of 20-30 s to see if you can get an image of this pretty little comet.
Click here to see an excellent image of the comet taken on 27 Dec 2013 by John Chumack of Galactic Images.
16 Jan. Full Moon, 04:52 UT
22 Jan. The waning gibbous Moon lies near Mars in the eastern sky before sunrise. Mars, in turn, lies near the bright white star Spica in the constellation Virgo.
Mars, the waning crescent Moon, Saturn, Venus, and the bright stars Spica and Antares as seen looking SSE on Jan. 24, 2014.
24 Jan. Last Quarter Moon, 05:19 UT
25 Jan. A waning crescent Moon can be seen about one degree from the planet Saturn, which hangs nearly balanced in the scales of Libra this month. At magnitude +0.6, the planet is relatively dim and small, but its rings are beautifully tilted about 22º from edge on. Look also at month’s end for brilliant Venus reappearing in the morning sky. As at the beginning of the month, the planet presents a slender and large crescent to telescopic observers.
28 Jan. Mars lies 5º north of Spica in the constellation Virgo.
31 Jan. Mercury is at greatest elongation about 18º east of the Sun. Look for the speedy little planet low in the west-southwestern sky about 45 minutes after sunset. At magnitude -0.7, it is quite bright. Binoculars will help you pick it out of the twilight glow.
31 Jan. New Moon, 21:39 UT
