The Moon
Last Quarter on the 7th rising at 00:24 and setting at 10:49
New Moon on the 15th rising at 08:18 and setting at 16:39
First Quarter on the 23rd rising at 10:13 and setting at 01:00
Full on the 31st rising at 19:03 and setting at 08:07.
Planets. Jupiter will be setting by 8.45pm on the 1st and by 6.30pm at the
end of the month, so not a lot of time left to observe it, and most of that
time will be with it low in the sky, but it'll be big and bright.
Neptune will be widening the gap with Jupiter, 2° ahead on the 1st and 7° on
the 31st, but at mag 8, too faint for naked eye observation, both will be
sat right on the Ecliptic. Its setting times will be the same as Jupiter's.
Uranus next, also narrowing the gap with Jupiter, 26° behind it on the 1st
and 21° on the 31st but at mag 5.9 almost visible without optical aid.
Binoculars will be needed in Doncaster's skies though. Actually, relative to
the background stars, it's Jupiter that's moving backwards towards Uranus.
The rest of the planetary activity is in the east, where Mars will be rising
at 7.15pm on the 1st, and at mag -0.8 and 13arcsec, getting easy to see. By
the 31st it will be rising at 4pm and will be at mag -1.3. Its bright orange
will make it stand out too, sat there in the middle of Cancer by the end of
Jan having moved from Leo. Look for detail on the disc with telescopes and
take pictures with webcams, all this month. From February it starts to
recede again, becoming smaller and dimmer, so don't miss this opportunity.
It will be in the sky all night, every night.
Saturn will rise in Virgo about midnight on the 1st, and at mag 0.9 and
yellow in colour not as easy to find as Mars. By the end of the month it'll
be up by 9.45pm and be a little brighter but will still not be a good
competitor for Mars. The rings will also be difficult to see without a good
telescope.
Venus continues all month to be too close to the Sun for safe observing.
Mercury on the other hand may be observed from the 11th in the east rising
at 7.15am in the south east, 45 mins before the Sun, in dawn twilight, but
at mag 1.5, theoretically naked eye visibility, but binoculars will be
needed, but take care as the Sun isn't far behind. It will get progressively
easier to see till the end of the month, getting to its brightest at
mag -0.1 from the 25th to the 28th all in dawn twilight, but it'll be the
only thing to be seen there, in the south east near the horizon, at that
time.
Meteor Showers. There are seven recognised showers, but only the Quadrantids
are worth the effort. These peak on the 3rd, and boast a flow of up to
120/hour. They radiate from a point near the top of Bootes, which used to be
in the defunct constellation Quadrant. The Moon will be a bit of a pain,
being nearly full and rising about 8pm, and will be there close to the
Radiant, all night.
Comets. None currently brighter than mag 9 and none forecast, yet, to
brighten into naked eye visibility in the near future, but they are nothing
if not inscrutable, so keep your ear to the ground, figuratively, of course,
we have members with big feet.
What else? The Summer Triangle will have lowered into the west so will be
pretty much out of contention for the rest of the winter and spring being
low in the north with the light dome of Doncaster to contend with. Deneb and
Vega don't actually set as they are circumpolar and could be seen creeping
along the northern horizon to emerge in May.
This leaves the winter sky to Orion and his cohorts, led by the Pleiades in
Taurus, and Auiga and Perseus. Lots of fine things to look for with
binoculars and telescopes. The Hyades and Pleiades and the Auriga clusters
above them are beautiful in binoculars, the Beehive cluster rising an hour
before Mars too.
For nebulae hunters, the Orion region into Monoceros, Taurus, Gemini and
Auriga will provide fruitful regions to explore, and for galaxy aficionados
Leo will be coming up too late nights in December followed by Virgo and Coma
Berenices and of course, Ursa Major is always there, being circum-polar.
Satellites
ISS.
11th 17:40 from SW to ESE up to 29° high
12th 18:01 from WSW to SE up to 45° high
15th 17:30 from WSW to E up to 57° high
18th 16:59 from W to ESE up to 59° high
Iridium Flares
5th at 18:04:47 in the NE, 51° high. Mag -7
6th at 17:58:39 in the NE, 52° high. Mag -2
14th at 17:18:47 in the NE, 64° high. Mag -3
www.heavens-above.com has more details
Or go to www.donastro.org.uk and ask the Observatory for sky charts.
Brian