This page shows a brief summary of what interesting things we can see in the sky this month.
A more detailed version of 'What's Up' this month is available as a downloadable Word document right at the bottom of this page.
Always the darkest month of the year, the sky is dominated by Orion and his retinue, worth a trip into the country just to see them; Uranus Conjoins with Mars.
The Sun - is at sunspot minimum, and has been quiet of late.
The Moon
The phases of the Moon are as follows:
Darkest nights for observing will be from the 10th to the 17th January.
Becomes an evening object this month, ok in last two weeks, best on 24th January.
A morning planet in the sunrise and getting lower each day.
Still the best and brightest planet, highest about 7:00 pm in Pisces.
Still low in the Southwest, best about 5:00 pm before he sets in the dusk.
Still close to Jupiter from which he is easy to find.
Easy to find this month, visible all night near Mars (see 'Conjunction' below).
Between Mars and Jupiter, but getting lower every night.
On the 1st Uranus is 10 degrees left of Mars, on the 31st it is 6 degrees right but on the 18th it will be less than 2 degrees below Mars and in the same telescope field of view.
Comets
No bright comets visible month.
Asteroids
No bright asteroids visible this month.
Meteors
The Quadrantid meteor shower of January 3rd and 4th spoiled by a bright Moon.
Deep Sky
Good Objects this month are :
The detailed version of What's Up this month is available below by clicking the link:
Copyright © 2020 Walsall Astronomical Society - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy Website Builder