Jan. 24: Moon And Antares
The Moon peeks into view shortly before dawn tomorrow. It is the
barest of crescents low in the southeast. It’s just below Antares,
the orange star that marks the
”
heart
”
of Scorpius, the scorpion.
By The University of Texas McDonald Observatory
Jan. 24: Moon And Antares
The Moon peeks into view shortly before dawn tomorrow. It is the barest of crescents low in the southeast. It’s just below Antares, the orange star that marks the “heart” of Scorpius, the scorpion.
Jan. 25: Saturn at Opposition
The planet Saturn is putting its best showing of the year. It lines up opposite the Sun in our sky, so it rises around sunset, climbs high overhead during the night, and sets around sunrise. It looks like a bright golden star.
Jan. 26: Moon and Venus
Look for the planet Venus as the “morning star” quite low in the southeast beginning about an hour before sunrise tomorrow, and climbing higher over the next few weeks. Tomorrow, the crescent Moon will stand to its lower right.
Jan. 27: Technological Constellations
The technology of the 18th century is on view in the southern sky on winter evenings, in a series of small, faint constellations. French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille created them more than 250 years ago to fill the gaps between brighter constellations.
Jan. 28: Winter Circle
A fiery ring of stars highlights the winter night sky. All of its stars are so bright that they are clearly visible even from light-polluted cities. At the center of the great Winter Circle is the orange star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion, the hunter.
Jan. 29: New Moon
The Moon is “new” today at as it crosses the line between Sun and Earth. It is lost in the Sun’s glare, but should return to visibility as a thin crescent in early evening either tomorrow or the next day.
Jan. 30: Morning Lineup
The planets Venus and Jupiter line up in the south and east at first light tomorrow. Venus is the “morning star” low in the east-southeast about an hour before sunrise. At the same time, Jupiter, which is second only to Venus in brightness, is well up in the south.
