January 2014 - Vol. 18, No. 1

This Month's Night Sky - NOTE: The next paragraph describes the sky as it appears at 10 pm EST (11 pm EDT) near mid- month. The sky also looks this way at 11 pm EST (midnight EDT) during the beginning of the month and at 9 pm EST (10 pm EDT) by month's end.

Sirius (Canis Major), the brightest star in the night sky, shines brilliantly in the South. It forms the bottom leg of the Winter Triangle. The triangle's upper stars are reddish Betelguese (Orion) to the right and whitish Procyon (Canis Minor) on the left. Capella (Auriga) appears directly overhead later in the evening and you might even glimpse Canopus (Carina) very low (below Sirius) in the South. Looking North you will find the "Big Dipper" (Ursa Major) with its handle still pointing towards the horizon. Cassiopeia's famous "W" asterism is high in the Northwest and Regulus (Leo) shines in the East. Don't forget to look for Castor and Pollux (Gemini "twins") above the Winter Triangle.

MERCURY re-appears in the middle of the month, reaching greatest elongation at month end. VENUS, sinking in the early evening sky is heading toward inferior conjunction on Jan 11. JUPITER, in the constellation of Gemini, reaches opposition on January 5. MARS, in Virgo rises at midnight, moving into opposition in April, the disk is growing and the north polar cap should be visible. SATURN is in the morning sky before sunrise.

Review how to determine Angular Measurement.

Calendar of Events

NOTE: For those observers not in the ET zone, convert the calendar times to your zone's time by subtracting one hour for CT, two for MT and three for PT. Don't forget to adjust for Daylight Savings Time when necessary by subtracting one hour from your planisphere's time. Dawn and dusk times must also be corrected. See your local newspaper, TV news, or cable TV's Weather Channel for sunrise and sunset times. Unfortunately some of these events may occur during daylight hours in your area.

DATE	EVENT
01	Moon at perigee, large tides expected twice this month, from Jan 1-4 and again on 30 and 31.
02	Venus 2 deg S. of the Moon.
03	Quadtantid meteor shower, a good shower produces 120 per hour. This year the shower is fairly close to new Moon and should be a great show at a dark site. The radiant is from the constellation of Bootes. Mars at aphelion.
04	Earth at perihelion.
05	Jupiter at opposition.
11	Venus at inferior conjunction.
15	Jupiter 5 deg N. of Moon.
16	The Moon is at apogee.
23	Spica (Alpha Virginis)1.3 deg S of the Moon. Mars 4 deg N. of the moon. Watch these three as they dance together.
25	Saturn .6 deg N of the Moon, an occulatation in New Zealand, tip of S. America and Antarctica.
28	Mars 5 deg N. of Spica.
30	Moon at perigee (again!) Large tides expected.
31	Mercury at greatest elongation (E).

Lunar Almanac for January 2014

Phases of the Moon	Phase and Date(s)	Best viewed before local midnight
	New 01	Deep Space Objects
	1st. Qtr 8	Planets & Moon
	Full 16	Moon
	Last Qtr 24	Deep Space & Planets

Gemini, the Northernmost Ecliptic Constellation

The constellation Gemini is prominent in the winter Milky Way, it is the northernmost constellation on the ecliptic and is the home of the soltice Sun when the northern hemisphere is enjoying Summer temperatures. This fall, the constellation of Gemini has been hosting the planet Jupiter. The giant planet will remain in the constellation through opposition on January 5, 2013.

Gemini is also resplendent with multiple and double star systems. The most famous of them all is Alpha, known as Castor. Alpha is a 6 star multiple system that separates into three pairs. Zeta is a binocular double as well as a cepheid variable. This star would seem to be an excellent target for those beginning to study variables, it fluctuates from 4.4 mag to 5.2 in a period of ten days. Nu is also a double consisting of a 4th magnitude star with a 9th magnitude companion.

Amatuer astronomers will want to look for an object in the constellation of Gemini known as NGC 2392 or the Eskimo Nebula. This object is an excellent planetary nebula. Although it is not quite as large as the more popular "Ring Nebula", M57 in Lyra, NGC 2392 is brighter at 8th magnitude. The central star of this planetary is also much brighter. At 8th magnitude it is easily seen in amateur telescopes, whereas the central star of the Ring is too faint for the small telescope. Don't look at CCD images and expect your view to approach the color and detail of those. The visual observation has its own charm and wonder.

No discussion of Gemini is complete without mention of the huge star cluster known as M35. This cluster spans an area greater than the full moon and is visible at dark sites with the naked eye. The cluster contains at least 120 stars covering an area of 30 light years. Viewing this object with an amateur instrument gives one the impression of many double stars. Also visible as a fuzzy patch of light in the same field of M35, is the rich cluster NGC 2158. This cluster is more distant than M35 and would take a large amateur instrument at high power to resolve into stars.

--See You Under the Stars!
Astra for Astra's Almanac

This installment of "Whats Up?" is ©2014 by Dawn Jenkins for Astra's Stargate. View Ron Leeseburg's Farewell Issue for information on where to find information such as is presented in this almanac.