Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events.
Date | 45° N | 30° S | Event | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sat | |||
2 | Sun | Conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus (last of the triple conjunction which began last year) | ||
3 | Mon | Earth at perihelion | ||
4 | Tue | Dark skies make this a perfect year for observing the northern hemisphere's Quadrantids (theoretical peak activity: from 01:00 UT but some computations suggest a peak sometime between 21:00 UT the previous evening and 06:00 UT). | ||
A partial solar eclipse is visible from northern Africa, Europe, the Middle East and central Asia. | ||||
New Moon | ||||
5 | Wed | |||
6 | Thu | |||
7 | Fri | Saturn at west quadrature | ||
8 | Sat | Venus at greatest elongation west | ||
9 | Sun | Mercury at greatest elongation west | ||
10 | Mon | Moon at apogee | ||
11 | Tue | |||
12 | Wed | First Quarter Moon | ||
13 | Thu | |||
14 | Fri | |||
15 | Sat | |||
16 | Sun | |||
17 | Mon | |||
18 | Tue | |||
19 | Wed | Full Moon | ||
20 | Thu | |||
21 | Fri | |||
22 | Sat | Moon at perigee | ||
23 | Sun | |||
24 | Mon | |||
25 | Tue | |||
26 | Wed | Last Quarter Moon | ||
27 | Thu | |||
28 | Fri | |||
29 | Sat | |||
30 | Sun | |||
31 | Mon |
The word planet is derived from the Greek word for "wanderer." Unlike the background stars, planets seem to move around the sky, keeping mostly to a narrow track called the ecliptic, the path of the Sun across the stars. Dwarf planets and small solar-system bodies, including comets, are not so constrained, often moving far above or below the ecliptic.
Constellations are patterns of stars in the sky. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognises 88 different constellations. The brightest stars as seen from the Earth are easy to spot but do you know their proper names? With a set of binoculars you can look for fainter objects such as nebulae and galaxies or some of the closest stars to the Sun.
Descriptions of the sky for observers in both the northern and southern hemispheres are available for the following times this month. Subtract one hour from your local time if summer (daylight savings) time is in effect.
Local Time | Northern Hemisphere | Southern Hemisphere |
---|---|---|
1730 hours (1830 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
1930 hours (2030 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
2130 hours (2230 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
2330 hours (0030 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
0130 hours (0230 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
0330 hours (0430 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
0530 hours (0630 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
Much of this information can be found in this month's issue of your favourite amateur astronomy magazine available in your local bookshop. Another excellent source is the current edition of the Astronomical Calendar by Guy Ottewell and published by the Universal Workshop.
The SkyEye banner features the beautiful planetary nebula NGC 2818. A planetary nebula is a glowing shell of gas surrounding a dying star. When a star begins to run out of fuel and expands into a red giant, the outer layers of the star are expelled into space, enriching the surrounding area with the heavy elements manufactured by the parent star. The remaining hot stellar core ionises the ejecta, causing it to glow for a few tens of thousands of years. Eventually the star fades away and nebula is no longer visible. This image was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in November 2008 and is courtesy NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA). The red colour represents nitrogen, green represents hydrogen and blue represents oxygen.