News on what is visable in this months sky as posted by Adrian Zielonka's in his monthly sky notes.

Thank you Adrian and thank you CADAS.

 

Hi All

Here is the astronomy news for January.

Wishing you all have a very Happy Christmas and A Happy New Year.

From Adrian

Astronomy News

Night Sky 2021 - January

At midnight on the 1^st the star Epsilon Leonis (2.9 mag) in Leo is 7 degrees to the left of the Moon in the south east... and at 6:05am on the 2^nd the stars Rasalas (3.8 mag) and Epsilon Leonis point the way to the moon in the south west.

From the 1^st – 10^th Comet C/2020 M3 Atlas (9.4 mag – Dec 9^th) passes close to the star Capella (0 mag). On the 3^rd at 8:00pm they are high in the west, with Comet Atlas is just ½ a degree above Capella. 

On the 2^nd at 9:00pm the star Eta Leonis (3.4 mag) in Leo is ¾ of a degree above the Moon in the ENE... and at 6:00am on the 3^rd with the star Regulus, all three form an equilateral triangle. Eta Leonis is to the right of the Moon. 

The Quadrantids meteor shower reaches its peak on the 2^nd/3^rd though they can be seen from the 1^st – 5^th. 

At midnight on the 3^rd the star Chertan (3.3 mag) in Leo is 4 degrees to the left of the Moon and 2½ degrees above... and at 6:00am on the 4^th the star Iota Leonis (4 mag) is 2 degrees above left of the Moon. 

On the night of the 5^th at 1:00am the star Porrima (2.7 mag) in Virgo is 2½ degrees upper right of the Moon. 

From the 5^th - 20^th Comet C/2020 P1 Neowise (11.5 mag – Nov 28^th) passes close to the star Unukalhai (2.6 mag) in Serpens. On the 10^th at 6:00am Neowise is just ½ a degree below right of Unukalhai. The crescent Moon is directly below them near the horizon in the south east. 

At 6:00am on the 7^th the star Spica (0.9 mag) in Virgo is 7 degrees to the right of the Moon and 2½ degrees below. 

On the 8^th at 6:00am the star Zubenelgenubi (2.7 mag) in Libra is 3 degrees below the crescent Moon and ½ a degree to the left.

At 6:30am on the 9^th the star Acrab (2.5 mag) in Scorpius is 5½ degrees to the lower left of the crescent Moon. The moon is at perigee (367,387km) at 3:37pm. 

From the 9^th – 12^th Mercury passes close to Jupiter and Saturn. On the 10^th at 5:00pm Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury will be low in the south west. Jupiter is 4½ degrees above the horizon at 231 degrees azimuth. Mercury is 2 degrees below Jupiter. Saturn is 2¼ degrees to the lower right of Jupiter and 1¾ degrees slightly upper right of Mercury. On the 11^th Mercury is 1½ degrees to the lower left of Jupiter. On the 12^th Mercury is 2 degrees to the left of Jupiter. 

On the 10^th at 6:45am the star Antares (1 mag) in Scorpius is 5 degrees to the lower right of a thin crescent Moon. 

At 7:30am on the 11^th a very thin crescent Moon maybe seen low in the south east 6½ degrees to the right of Venus. The Moon is 4 degrees above the horizon at 139.5 degrees azimuth and Venus just 2 ½ degrees above the horizon at 133 degrees azimuth. 

On the 14^th at 5:00pm the crescent Moon is due south west at 225 degrees azimuth with Mercury 4 ½ degrees to its right. Jupiter is 4¼ degrees to the lower right of Mercury, with Saturn 1½ degrees above the horizon at 235.5 degrees azimuth, and just 2¾ degrees lower right of Jupiter. 

Pluto is at superior conjunction on the 14^th.

At 5:00pm on the 15^th the star Delta Capricorni (2.8 mag) in Capricornus is 4 degrees to the right of the Moon. 

On the 16^th at 5:00pm the star Tau Aquarii (4 mag) in Aquarius is 1 degree to the lower right of the Moon. 

At 5:00pm on the 17^th Neptune is 5½ degrees to the right of the Moon and 3 degrees above. 

From the 17^th – 23^rd the asteroid 39 Laetitia (10.4 mag) passes close to the star Meissa (3.3 mag) in Orion. During the evenings of the 20^th and 21^st Laetitia will be ½ a degree from Meissa.

On the 18^th at 5:00pm the star Iota Ceti (3.5 mag) in Cetus is 5½ degrees below the Moon and 1¼ degrees to the right. 

Mercury is at perihelion on the 19^th. 

From the 19^th – 22^nd the asteroid 8 Flora (10.1 mag) passes close to the star Mu Ceti (4.2 mag) in Cetus. On the 20^th Flora is ¾ of a degree from Mu Ceti and on the 21^st at 8:00pm Flora will be approximately midway between Mu Ceti and the Moon. 

At midnight on the 20^th Mars is 7 degrees above the Moon and 2 degrees to the right. Uranus is 6¼ degrees above the Moon and just ½ a degree to the right. Uranus is 1½ degrees to the lower left of the Moon.

The moon is at apogee (404,360km) on the 21^st at 1:11pm. At 8:30pm Mars is 7 degrees to the right of the Moon with Uranus 1½ degrees below Mars and ¾ of a degree to the left. 

From the 21^st – 26^th Comet C/2020 S3 Erasmus (5.6 mag – Dec 9^th) passes close to the star Albali (3.7 mag) in Aquarius. On the 24^th at 5:30pm Comet Erasmus will be midway between Albali and 102624 “Hipparcus Cat ID” (4.4 mag) will be low in the WSW and just 5 degrees above the horizon at 252 degrees azimuth. 

From the 22^nd – 25^th Mercury passes close to the star Delta Capricorni (2.8 mag) in Capricornus. On the 24^th at 5:30pm Mercury will be 2¾ degrees above right of Delta Capricorni which is 6½ degrees above the horizon at 235 degrees azimuth.

On the 22^nd at 8:30pm the star 16369 “Hipparcus ID” (4.1 mag) in Taurus is 3 degrees below the Moon and 1 degree to the left. 

At 11:30pm on the 23^rd the star Ain (3.5 mag) in Taurus is 1½ degrees to the left of the Moon. 

Mercury reaches maximum eastern elongation on the 24^th. 

Saturn is at superior conjunction on the 24^th.

From the 25^th – 31^st Comet 88P Howell (9.1 mag – Dec 9^th) passes close to Neptune. At 6:00pm on the 28^th Howell will be 1½ degrees to the lower left of Neptune. Neptune is 2½ degrees to the left of the star Phi Aquarii (4.2 mag) in Aquarius and 1 degree above. 

On the 25^th at midnight the star Propus (3.3 mag) in Gemini is 1¾ degrees to the left of the Moon and 1 degree below. Mu Geminorum is 3¼ degrees to the left of the Moon. 

At midnight on the 26^th the star Wasat (3.5 mag) in Gemini is 3½ degrees to the left of the Moon and 1 degree below. 

On the 27^th at 8:00pm the stars Castor (1.5 mag) and Pollux (1.1 mag) in Gemini point the way to the Moon. 

At 6:00pm on the 28^th the Beehive star cluster is 2¾ degrees to the right of the Moon. 

On the 29^th at midnight the star Eta Leonis (3.4 mag) in Leo is 2 degrees to the left of the Moon and ¾ degree below. 

Jupiter is at superior conjunction on the 29^th. 

At 11:30pm on the 30^th the star Chertan (3.3 mag) in Leo is 6¼ degrees to the left of the Moon. 

On the 31^st at 11:30pm the star Denebola (2.1 mag) in Leo is 8 degrees to the upper left of the Moon.

* = Dates and times are subject to change. 

News: Solar Orbiter: The science payload is composed of 10 instruments. 

10/10) SoloHI – Solar Orbiter Heliospheric Imager (United States): Images both the quasi-steady flow and transient disturbances in the solar wind over a wide field of view by observing visible sunlight scattered by solar wind electrons. SoloHi provides unique measurements to pinpoint coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

News: The planned launch date (at present) of the James Webb Space Telescope is October 31^st.

Facts: On December 12^th 1967, NASA launched the Pioneer 8 spacecraft on a mission to study the Sun and interplanetary space. It sent back data for nearly 30years.