a few things for January 2016

2nd January sees the Earth at perihelion – the closest point to the Sun in its orbit. While it might make a little difference to the weather, that difference is not so much as the effect that day and night and that the seasons have.

The night 3rd/4th sees the maximum of the Quadrantid meteor showers (shooting stars) and should be reasonably visible round about midnight after which the waning Moon appears.

Mercury might be visible just before sunset at the beginning of the month but it reappears in the dawn sky at the end of the month.

I sometimes complain about the light pollution which spoils our view of the night sky in our neck of the woods. However, it is worth remembering that it takes some time for our eyes to adapt to low light levels – typically about 20 minutes to get our ‘night vision’. So we need not give up too quickly. Wrap up warm and try to find a sheltered spot out of any wind and not lit by street lamps or security lights and a be prepared to be patient. Of course, if it is cloudy, no amount of human night vision is going to make much difference!

December 2015

13th – 14th see the maximum of the Geminid shower but it lasts several days either side of this.

As the Moon wanes to New Moon (on the 11th) you may see its crescent near Jupiter, then Mars and then Venus from 4th to 8th December in the predawn sky.

You might just spot Mercury low in the evening sky on 29th.

Some November highlights

May I recommend the Jodrell Bank website? It has useful information for each month. For instance, you can read up about this month’s predicted meteor showers (“shooting stars”) which we might see early this coming week or the week following. There is also some help in finding the Andromeda Galaxy which is about 2 million lights years away. Under the right conditions it is the furthest naked-eye object in the sky.

Don’t forget SMAG meet next weekend on the 14th.

November 2015

This month’s meteors are the Leonids with a maximum on 17th – 18th. The best time for spotting shooting stars is a few hours before dawn because when you look overhead then it is roughly towards the direction that the earth is travelling. (Think of a car windscreen – you get more insect splats on the front car windows than on the sides or the back – similar process here as the Earth’s atmosphere smacks into rock particles rather than flies.)

The distinctive shape of the constellation Orion is now more prominent and is a reminder that hereabouts winter is near.

Jupiter, Mars and Venus are early morning features.

August 2015

On the southern horizon you may just be able to make out the “teapot” which is part of the constellation Sagittarius.

On the 11th-12th is the maximum for the Perseid meteor shower. With no bright moon to spoil the view the conditions (weather permitting) should be good for spotting shooting stars.

During the middle of this month Venus passes in front of the Sun (inferior conjunction) and becomes visible before dawn – as the “Morning Star”. On 29th Venus and Mars are close together in the dawn sky.

July 2015

The Perseids meteor shower starts on 13th of this month although the maximum (and greatest chance of seeing any shooting stars) is next month on the 11th – 12th of August.

On 6th July the Earth is at aphelion – the point on its orbit when it is furthest from the Sun. The difference between perihelion (closest point) and aphelion is about 5 million kilometres (3 million miles) – roughly 3%. That difference has a lot less to do with the seasons and climate than the axial tilt which gives us differing lengths of days and nights during the year.

Unusually there are two full moons this month: on 2nd and 31st. This happens only once in a “Blue Moon”. There are other explanations for the phrase, Blue Moon, but I prefer this one.

April 2015

The full Moon on 4th April is the first one after the Spring equinox. The following Sunday, i.e. 5th April, is Easter Day. Because the date of Easter depends on the phase of the Moon, it varies from year to year with 22nd March being the earliest and 25th April being the latest

You might spot some shooting stars, the Lyrids, on the 21st/22nd April although they are not the brightest or most frequent.

Venus continues shine brightly in the evening sky.

Happy New Year 2015

This year I have been given a copy of Collins’ “2015 Guide to the Night Sky” as an alternative to the Philips’ equivalent. It has a good general introduction which you can skip if you like. The entries for each month include two star maps: looking North and looking South and are good for those of us around 50° North. A few highlights to look out for are taken from that book.

A few things to look out for during January

Shooting stars: the Quadrantids are visible from 1st to 6th January with the maximum round 3rd-4th. Unfortunately the moon is full on the 5th so may outshine all but the brightest meteors.

The earth is at perihelion (closest to the sun in its orbit this year) on 4th January this year.

The moon is near Jupiter in the morning sky on the 8th and near Saturn on the morning of the 16th.

Mercury reaches greatest elongation on the evening of the 14th but is low in the sky – you might try looking early in the evenings of 21st – 23rd January when the crescent moon passes near Mercury, Venus and Mars.