January starry sky. A year in a thousand years

On a clear winter evening, at the first opportunity, look towards the western part of the sky. Against the background of the evening dawn, you will definitely see a very bright star of dazzling white color - this is the planet Venus. In terms of brilliance, Venus now occupies the first place in the starry sky, so it is impossible to confuse it with any other planet or star.

Recall that there are eight planets in the solar system. As they move away from the Sun, they are arranged as follows: Mercury rotates closest of all, then Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Venus is thus the second in this series. It is closer to the Sun than the Earth, therefore, due to the laws of celestial mechanics, it can be seen and observed only in the morning before dawn or in the evening after sunset. During periods of morning visibility, the name of Venus (not scientific, but folk, poetic) is the Morning Star, and during periods of evening visibility, the Evening Star. Venus is now the Evening Star.

In terms of size, Venus is not the largest of the planets, but in terms of brilliance it has no equal and surpasses even the giant planet Jupiter in this parameter. Why? Mainly due to the presence of a thick atmosphere, which, like a mirror, reflects three-quarters of the sunlight. Through this atmosphere, not a single telescope could see its surface, so Venus was also called the planet of mysteries.

A continuous cloud layer up to 30-40 km thick, beyond which nothing is visible, has become the reason that the surface of Venus has been a favorite setting for science fiction novels. In them, as a rule, it was believed that Venus was covered with primeval rainforests, in which terrible monsters like our dinosaurs teemed. One of the most famous works on this subject was the novel by Vladimir Vladko "The Argonauts of the Universe" with amazing illustrations by the artist Georgy Malakov.

But those days are long gone. Space rockets rushed to Venus, which penetrated the clouds, saw the surface of the mysterious planet, and even made several soft landings in different areas. The real, real world of Venus turned out to be a little like the supposed one. It turned out that the temperature on the surface of this beautiful planet reaches plus 470 degrees Celsius, that is, higher than on Mercury, which rotates in an orbit closer to the Sun. Nobody expected this. At night, red-hot stones, and there are many of them on Venus, glow with a reddish light, like smoldering coals in a dying fire.

Another stunning result was reported by scientific automatic stations that studied Venus. Atmospheric pressure on the surface of the planet reaches 90 atmospheres - as at a kilometer depth of the Earth's ocean. Oxygen, without which we cannot breathe, is practically absent on Venus, but carbon dioxide turned out to be 97%. What else is there a lot, so it's stones. Wherever spacecraft have landed, the surface of Venus is literally strewn with rocks of various sizes. But water - ordinary, clean, transparent, cool, tasty, so necessary for all of us - apparently does not exist at all on Venus.

Until recently, Venus was considered the sister of the Earth, assuming that if the sizes and masses of the planets are approximately equal, there are atmospheres, then, therefore, the conditions for life should be similar. Maybe they thought that someday they would have to move there if the earth's resources were coming to an end. But in fact, the conditions on Venus turned out to be much more severe: terrible heat, enormous pressure, lack of oxygen and water, and in addition constant hurricane-force winds blowing at speeds of up to 100 meters per second - something between a good steam room and supposed hell! And the rest of Venus is a planet as a planet. A significant part of its surface is a hilly plain, but mountainous areas have also been discovered. One of the mountain ranges, the Maxwell Mountains, reaches a height of almost 11 kilometers.

It would seem that by the beginning of the twenty-first century, the main secrets of Venus have finally been unraveled. Now we even know that the Venusian day lasts almost a month and a half, 44 Earth days! However, it is also true that not a single woman, and even more so the goddess of beauty, can not be completely unraveled! There are questions related to Venus to which there are no answers yet. One of them is that if most of the planets of the solar system rotate around their axes in one direction from west to east, like our Earth, then Venus, on the contrary, in the opposite direction, from east to west. Why? A whim of a female character? Perhaps, if we consider that Venus does not rotate in the opposite direction alone, but, as it were, in a secret collusion with Uranus. There is no scientific explanation for this fact yet. Another mystery is connected with the question of the origin of Venus. If it had formed together with other planets of the solar system, then ancient observers would certainly have seen it, but for some reason, Venus is not mentioned in the list of visible planets in the earliest chronological records.

Mankind has known Venus since ancient times. The ancient Greek myth says that one fine morning a girl of dazzling beauty emerged from the sea foam, not far from the island of Cyprus.

We could talk about other interesting details about Venus. Due to its exceptional brightness, for example, Venus is the only object in the starry sky that is visible with binoculars even during the day. It turns out that the phases of Venus are clearly visible in a small telescope, which are very similar in appearance to the phases of the moon, and the crescent of Venus is no different from the crescent of the moon.

Interestingly, most of us simply do not notice Venus. Of course, we see some bright luminous dot in the sky. It is even brighter than distant street lamps, but we do not pay much attention to it. In general, we rarely look above our heads, except perhaps at the number of an approaching trolleybus or minibus.

Anatoly KOPYLENKO, astronomer, popularizer of science

Time inexorably runs forward, and now 2018 is already counting its last days. Ahead of the New Year's Eve of the new, 2019. Time for new starts, hopes, plans. We hope that one of our readers will certainly plan to become seriously interested in astronomy in the new year or simply expand their horizons with knowledge of the star patterns of the night sky. But even if you don't plan on either, your attention is likely to be caught by the night sky covered in stars from time to time. And, perhaps, one of these moments can be New Year's Eve, during which many are awake and spend time on the street "under the starry dome of the sky" (if, of course, the weather permits). And today we will tell you what the starry sky will be like on the first night of the upcoming 2019.

Evening December 31, 2018

The last light day of the outgoing 2018 will end at sunset, which at the latitude of Moscow will happen at 16:04. And after about an hour and a half, the last rays of the evening dawn will go out in the southwestern part of the sky, and the dome of the sky will be decorated with patterns of constellations.

With the onset of darkness, we first look into the southern part of the sky, where the planet Mars is located low above the horizon, which in these months is visible in the sky as a bright reddish star, comparable in brightness to the brightest stars in the night sky. However, there are no bright stars in the southern part of the sky in the early December evenings, so Mars in December 2018 shines here as the only bright “star”, which will undoubtedly allow anyone to accurately find it in the sky.

Mars in late December 2018 - early January 2019 moves through the constellation Pisces from west to east. This extended constellation is completely devoid of bright stars and is unlikely to attract your attention. But above Mars, notice a large square of fairly bright stars high above the horizon. This is the central part of the constellation Pegasus. From the upper left of the star of the "square" Pegasus, a chain of stars of the constellation Andromeda stretches, above which the constellation Cassiopeia is clearly visible in the form of the Latin letter W.

Below Cassiopeia and to the left of Andromeda, we find the T-shaped constellation Perseus and turn our gaze to the eastern part of the sky, where the stars of bright winter constellations are already rising. Above the horizon, constellations such as the Charioteer, Taurus have already risen. Gemini and Orion are rising, which is perhaps the most beautiful constellation. As for the well-known bucket of Ursa Major, it can be found low in the northern part of the sky.

And in the western part of the sky, you can still find three bright stars. Deneb (α Cygnus) is visible high in the sky, below and to the right of which the bright Vega (α Lyra) shines, and very low above the horizon, the bright white star Altair (α Eagle) is visible. And these three bright stars, being the decoration of summer and autumn starry evenings, form in the sky summer-autumn triangle.

Midnight January 1, 2019

Take note of the positions of the stars tonight, and then look back up at midnight on January 1, 2019. And you will notice how much his appearance has changed. All the bright winter constellations are located in the southern part of the sky. First of all, this is Orion, distinguished by three stars lined up in one slender line, above which the reddish Betelgeuse (α Orion) flickers, and below and to the right is the bright white Rigel (β Orion). Above and to the right of Orion, high in the southwestern part of the sky, are the stars of the constellation Taurus with bright orange Aldebaran (α Taurus), as well as open star clusters clearly visible to the naked eye - Hyades and Pleiades. High in the sky in its southern part, a large pentagon of the constellation Auriga is visible with a bright yellow Capella (α Aurigae). Below and to the left of the Charioteer (above and to the left of Orion), the stars of Gemini are striking. These are, first of all, two bright stars: Castor (the one that is higher) and Pollux (the one that is lower and slightly brighter). On star charts, these stars are denoted by the Greek letters α and β, respectively. Below Gemini is a small constellation Canis Minor with a bright white Procyon (α Minor Canis). And finally, at a small height above the horizon in the southern part of the sky, we will find a very bright white-blue star. This is Sirius (α Canis Major) - the brightest star in the earth's night sky. Its brilliance has a negative value - minus 1.4 stars. led. Now look for Procyon and Betelgeuse again and you will notice that in the sky these three bright stars form an almost equilateral triangle, which is called - winter triangle.

Dawn January 1, 2019

And those of you who find the strength to wait for the first morning of the new year will be rewarded with an amazingly beautiful heavenly picture that will appear before us at about 6 o'clock in the morning in the southeastern part of the sky. Here, the golden crescent of the waning moon will decorate the sky, below and to the left of which the planet Venus will shine with a bright yellowish star. And after 7 o'clock in the morning, against the background of the morning dawn, a yellowish Jupiter will appear low in the southeastern part of the sky, which can be found in the morning sky on January 1, drawing a mental line from the crescent of the Moon through Venus to the horizon. Jupiter, although inferior to Venus in brilliance, is still quite bright, so it is noticeable even against the background of the dawn. But it is advisable to try to find it before 8 o'clock in the morning, since then Jupiter will quickly disappear in the bright rays of the rising morning dawn.

As the sun sets, January still offers a chance to see some constellations in the autumn sky. They inevitably lean towards the horizon, and their period of visibility is fleeting. In the first hour after sunset, you can still see the Summer-Autumn Triangle formed by the brightest stars of the constellations Lyra, Cygnus and Eagle - Vega, Deneb and Altair. High - almost at the zenith - Perseus and Cassiopeia shine, and just below them - high above the southern side of the horizon - Pegasus and Andromeda. Even lower - in the extended constellation of Pisces, one can note an unusually bright luminary for this constellation, moreover, a red color - quite unusual for stars. This is the planet Mars. In January, Mars is visible in the evenings and will spend the entire month in this constellation.

Winter constellations will surely rise above the horizon by 9 pm. In mid-latitudes, the appearance of the brightest star in the entire sky - Sirius, and the front paws of the figure of the constellation Canis Major, to which the brightest of the stars belongs, can serve as an indicator of the complete exit of the winter constellations to the sky.

The winter sky is rich in bright stars, and only in winter you can see so many celestial diamonds in the sky at the same time. The main decoration of the January sky is considered to be the constellation of Orion. It is compared to a Christmas tree decorated with garlands. And really, in what other constellation can you count 7 stars from the first magnitude and brighter? But Orion is not only rich in bright stars.

At 11 pm, the main winter constellation rises to its maximum height above the horizon and shines majestically in the southern part of the sky. Armed with binoculars, a spyglass or a small telescope, an observer can easily find the famous nebula under the three stars of Orion's belt, in which the formation of new stars is taking place right now - the Orion Nebula. A significant part of the visible stars of this constellation began their life path in this nebula, and it is capable of giving birth to many hundreds more hot blue stars.

The photographs taken by high-aperture astrocameras with a large field of view show that the Orion Nebula is huge - it envelops the entire constellation and even goes beyond it. Of course, it is hardly possible to see this with the eye, even when viewed through a strong telescope. But there are many other interesting objects in Orion for telescope owners - double and multiple stars, open star clusters and a number of fainter nebulae.

South of Orion, along the horizon, the constellations of Eridanus, the Hare and Canis Major are located in the direction from west to east with Sirius already known to us - sparkling in the frosty air like a diamond. Eridanus is a very large constellation and symbolizes the mythical river, which the ancient Greeks associated either with the Nile, or with the Euphrates, but for certain it remained unknown where and when this river flowed.

Most of Eridanus in the middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere is invisible, including its brightest star - Achernar - located on the southernmost outskirts of the constellation.

The hare, on the contrary, is inconspicuous and small, although the main figure of its stars is clearly visible under the “feet” of Orion.

In addition to the Great Dog, the celestial hunter Orion also has a Small Dog - also a hunting dog. Together they pursue the angry celestial bull - Taurus. Taurus, in turn, protects the beautiful sisters hiding in his withers - the servants of the goddess Artemis - it was their image that the ancient Greeks saw in the most beautiful open star cluster of the Pleiades, shining on the outskirts of the constellation Taurus. In this constellation there is another cluster - Hyades - it surrounds the brightest star of Taurus - Aldebaran - which is the eye of a heavenly bull. Aldebaran is an orange star. Its hue is clearly visible and especially contrasts with the blue stars of the Pleiades and Orion. By space standards, Aldebaran is within easy reach - only 16 light years away. Most of the other stars in the winter sky are much further away. For example, the brightest stars of Orion are about 1000 light years away. The Pleiades are about 400. Even the Hyades are further away - 150 light years. But there are also neighbors of the Sun in the winter sky. The brightest star in Canis Minor, Procyon, is only 11 light-years away. To Sirius - 8 and a half. As you can see, the apparent brightness of the stars says nothing about their distance. And a bright star can be both close and distant.

The bright orange-red star Betelgeuse, Alpha Orion, deserves special attention. This star is living its last days. In our earthly notion of time, they can stretch for years and even centuries. But astronomers expect a rare and dramatic event in the foreseeable future - Betelgeuse will burst into a supernova, become unusually bright for a couple of weeks - perhaps even brighter than the Moon, and who knows, maybe even be comparable to the Sun. Dying, this star will throw off the upper layers of burnt matter, which can no longer provide energy to continue its life. The shell of the star will dissipate in space, forming a beautiful planetary nebula around Betelgeuse. There are a lot of such nebulae - the remnants of dead stars - in the sky. And although the substance of which they are no longer suitable for the formation of new stars, it is an excellent material for building planetary systems, because they contain all the chemical elements necessary for planets - carbon, oxygen, iron ... Once upon a time, the Solar System arose precisely from matter dead star.

One such nebula easily accessible to amateur telescopes in the constellation Taurus is the famous Crab Nebula. Another beautiful nebula, but of a different nature - Rosette - is similar to the Orion nebula, and new stars are also born in it. It is located in the constellation of the Unicorn. Unicorn is an inconspicuous, but large constellation located between the Great and Lesser Dogs of Orion. But Orion does not hunt the Unicorn.

Above the Unicorn and Canis Minor, it is not difficult to find the constellation Gemini, ruled by two bright stars - Castor and Pollux. The stars are named after two twin brothers. Even though the brothers were twins, they had different fathers. Castor was the son of Tyndareus and Leda, who was very fond of the most powerful of the Greek gods - Zeus. Pollux, or otherwise - Polydeuces, was the son of Zeus and Leda, and therefore was immortal. When Castor was mortally wounded, his divine brother asked Zeus for death for himself, so as not to be separated from his brother. As a result, both went to heaven and became inseparable - turned into a constellation. At the same time, Pollux shines a little brighter, which emphasizes its divine origin.

In the opposite part of the constellation from the head of Gemini, with binoculars, you can find a beautiful open star cluster with the designation M35. It is very distant. Hundreds of these sparkling lights are about 4 thousand light years away.

At the zenith of the winter skies, the yellowish beauty Capella shines - the brightest star in the constellation Auriga. In the century before last, astronomers looked at Capella with hope, suggesting that this sister of our Sun, similar in everything to it. But now it is known that the yellowish color is all that the Sun has in common with Capella. What's more, the Dazzling Point in the sky - as Capella looks in any telescope - is actually a quadruple system of two giant stars and two dwarf stars. It is not yet possible to visually divide the Capella into separate components, but spectral analysis comes to the aid of astronomers, which makes it possible to recognize duality or even more complex structure in the star. By the same method, astronomers discovered several of the first extrasolar planets. Now some of them can already be seen in the usual optical-visual way. But whether there are planets in the Capella system is still unknown to astronomers. But if they are there, surely the sunrises and sunsets of the four suns of yellow and red hues would look very fantastic to our perception.

Throwing your head back even higher and knowing exactly where to look, you can see the completely starless - at first glance - the constellation Lynx. This is a fairly young constellation - it was placed on star maps 350 years ago by the Polish astronomer Jan Hevelius, who became famous for his elegant constellation maps, although this is the least of his merits to science. And before that, it was just a nameless place in the celestial sphere. And astronomers could not unequivocally resolve the question of which of the nearest constellations to attribute several dozen very faint stars.

The constellations adjacent to the Lynx are Cancer, Gemini, Charioteer, Giraffe, Lion Minor and Ursa Major.

By the middle of the night, the seven-star figure of the Ursa Major bucket is already beginning its rise to the zenith in the northeast, and in the early hours of the morning these stars replace the Capellas at the top of the northern skies. By this time, the spring constellations rise to the stage of the January sky, among which Leo with the bright star Regulus, Bootes with bright orange Arcturus and Virgo with bright blue Spica, whose name translates as “Ear of Ear”, attract attention first of all. These are the three most famous and largest of the spring constellations. But all the beauty of the spring sky is concentrated in the constellations of small or not shining bright stars. We'll talk about them in the spring.

And now let's pay attention to the eastern horizon, because of which, shortly before sunrise, several planets begin to rise one after another.

The dazzling Venus rises first above the horizon. Its brightness is many times greater than the brightness of the brightest stars. And outside the city, you can even see the shadows cast by trees and buildings in the light of the rays that the “Morning Star” sends to Earth. But, of course, Venus does not shine by itself. And its dazzling brilliance is just the reflected rays of the Sun, which Venus reflects very effectively. The reflectivity of its atmosphere - albedo - is about 70%.

In early January, Venus is still in the constellation of Libra, but very soon it passes into the constellation of Scorpio, then into the constellation of Ophiuchus, where in the last ten days of the month it is scheduled to meet with Jupiter, another morning planet of January.

At the very beginning of January, in the southern latitudes of our country, you can still catch Mercury, which is very quickly approaching the Sun, and it will take only a couple of days to find it low above the horizon in the flames of dawn.

In the last days of January, Saturn will begin to appear in the same flame of the dawn. But favorable conditions for its visibility will begin only in February.

On certain days or nights in January 2019, some interesting astronomical phenomena await us:

January 2 in the morning the thin crescent of the old Moon will pass north of Venus.

January 3 in the morning an exceptionally thin crescent moon near Jupiter.

January 3 The Earth passes perihelion - the point of the orbit closest to the Sun.

4 January maximum activity of the Quadrantida meteor shower. The stream's radiant is located in the constellation Draco.

January 6 new moon.

January 6 partial solar eclipse visible in the east of Russia.

January 6 Venus is at its furthest west from the Sun. Western elongation reaches 47 degrees.

January 12 and 13 Moon near Mars.

January 14 The moon is in its first quarter phase.

January 17 In the morning, Venus passes north of the star Antares - Alpha Scorpio.

January 17 In the evening, the Moon passes near Aldebaran and through the Hyades open star cluster.

January 20th Moon near Castor and Pollux - Alpha and Beta Gemini.

January 21 Full moon.

January 21 in the morning, a total lunar eclipse is visible in the northwest of Russia.

January 21 - 23 Approach of Venus and Jupiter.

January 23 The moon passes near the star Regulus - alpha Leo.

January 27 The moon passes near the star Spica - alpha Virgo.

28 January The moon is in its last quarter phase.

January 29 Maximum brightness of the long-period variable star U Orion (+4.8m).

January 30 In the morning, the Moon north of the star Antares is Alpha Scorpio.

January 31 Moon near Jupiter in the morning.

January 31 and February 1 Moon near Venus in the morning.

In January, the starry sky is especially beautiful. The winter constellations rise high and are quite curious in themselves, and contain many unique and interesting objects that can be observed with binoculars or a telescope. But in 2018, the astronomical calendar promises us many interesting moments. For example, at the end of the month we will be able to observe a total lunar eclipse.

In January, almost all winter constellations are perfectly visible. The constellation rises to an excellent height for observations in the evening, and there is something to see there, even with a small telescope. Sirius, the alpha of Canis Major, is clearly visible. The constellation with its beautiful clusters of Hyades and Pleiades adorns the sky.

The constellation also rises high above the horizon in the south. Pay attention to one of its brightest stars Castor - this is a sixfold system. The constellation is clearly visible below, and below - with bright Sirius. The "Great Winter Triangle", formed by the stars Betelgeuse, Sirius and Procyon, is perfectly visible.

In the north, the constellations Lyra and Cygnus descend to the horizon, the constellation Cepheus is visible a little higher. , on the contrary, goes up.

To the east rise the Northern Crown, Hercules and the Dragon. In the northeast, the constellation Bootes rises, in which a powerful meteor shower of Quadrantida is observed in early January.

Main events

January promises some interesting celestial phenomena worth taking a look at. So, for example, it will begin with a supermoon and a plentiful meteor shower (the Quadrantida meteor shower), and end with a total lunar eclipse.

The most important events (Moscow time):

January 1st- at 21:26 the Moon is at perigee, that is, at the point closest to the Earth, at a distance of 356,566 km.

January 2- at 5:04 full moon. The coincidence of a full moon and the moon at perigee is called a Supermoon. The moon is visible 14% more than usual and 30% brighter.

January 3- the maximum of the Quadrantida meteor shower in the constellation Bootes. About 120 meteors per hour.

January 3- The Earth will be at a minimum distance from the Sun - 147,100,184 km. This is 5 million kilometers less than the distance at aphelion. Therefore, on this day, the solar disk will be as large as possible, and this can be used for observations.

January 7- from 04:00 close conjunction of Jupiter and Mars. Mars will pass 12' south of Jupiter near Alpha Libra.

January 15- at 02:11 the Moon is at its apogee, the distance from the Earth is 406,449 km. This will be the largest removal of the moon for the entire year.

January 27- Moon occultation of the Hyades and Aldebaran clusters. It can be seen in Siberia and the Far East.

January 31- total lunar eclipse, beginning at 16:14, ending at 16:48, peaking at 16:30. You can observe throughout Russia, except for the western and southwestern regions - because of the bright sky, the eclipse can only be seen in the final stage.

The moon in January will delight us with two events at once - the Supermoon on January 2 and the total eclipse on January 31. The next total eclipse will occur on July 27.

moon from January 1-5 observed in the night sky (January 5 - last quarter phase), 6-10 - in the morning (January 11 - new moon), 13-19 - in the evenings (January 19 - first quarter), and 22-31 - again at night (January 27 - full moon).

View of the sky and the position of the moon in January around 1-2 am
View for the middle latitudes of Russia

The article will help you navigate the star maps:
"How to use the star map"

THE PATH OF THE CIRCOPOLAR CONSTELLATIONS

Ladle Ursa Major begins its journey in the evening to the right of Ursa Minor, balancing on the handle of the Bucket, turns around during the night polar star counterclockwise by about 120 degrees, while rising higher and higher above the northeast, by the middle of the night it completely overturns the Bucket, approaching the zenith over polar star. By the morning Big Dipper moves to the northwestern part of the sky, scratching the zenith with a pen.

Starry sky in January from the northern horizon in the middle latitudes of Russia:

In the evening around 23:00

Around 3 o'clock at night

Around 8 o'clock in the morning

The same turn is made by other circumpolar constellations. Cassiopeia, whose figure lines look like the letter "M" or "W", shines to the left in the evening sky Polar in the northwestern part of the sky, descending towards the northern horizon by morning (letter "W"). The Dragon with an easily distinguishable trapezoid Encircles the head in the evening Ursa Minor from below at the northern horizon, by morning climbing with its tail to the zenith above polar star. "House" Cepheus, located between Cassiopeia And dragon makes the same cycle around Polar on the left, moving to the northeastern part of the sky by morning.

The constellation is very noticeable over the northwestern horizon in the evenings. swan(in the form of a huge cross) with a bright star Deneb, and at the northernmost horizon a star sparkles Vega from the summer constellation Lyra.

FROM EVENING TO MORNING...

In the evening, the constellation begins its ascent over the eastern horizon. lion, and bright winter constellations sparkle over the south: Taurus, Gemini, Orion, Canis Major and Minor. The constellation leans to the west Pisces, with the planet moving on it Uranus, and Square Pegasus. At the zenith they sparkle Auriga with a bright star Chapel and constellation Perseus. High in the southwestern sky is located Andromeda(between Perseus and Pegasus). Under Andromeda two bright stars visible Aries. The constellation rises above the northeastern horizon Bootes with a bright orange star Arcturus.

The evening sky in January from the southern horizon in the middle latitudes of Russia,
around 23:00:

The most beautiful constellation of the winter night is Orion. His figure with three stars in the Belt is hard to miss. Above and to the left Orion a pair of stars Castor And Pollux from Gemini, below them - a star Procyon from Small Dog, below and to the left Orion the brightest star in the entire sky shines low above the horizon Sirius from the constellation Big Dog. On right Orion swings at Taurus with bright Aldebaran who crowns Hyades(cluster of stars, similar to the horns of a bull). A significant addition to this abundance of luminaries in the winter of 2012-2013 was Jupiter shining a little higher Aldebaran.

Orion constellation over Loch Eske in Ireland


photo: Brendan Alexander

The night sky in January from the southern horizon in the middle latitudes of Russia,
about 3 hours:

At night in the southeastern region of the sky is the trapezoid constellation lion with a bright star Regulus. Orange sparkles in the east Arcturus from the constellation Bootes. The constellation moves near the southern horizon Big Dog with the brightest star in the sky Sirius. The stars are shining in the southwest Orion, and high above the western horizon the planet Jupiter next to a bright orange star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus above them a star shines Chapel from Charioteer. In the northwest they come Andromeda from Aries, high above them accompanies them Perseus.

The morning sky in January from the southern horizon in the middle latitudes of Russia,
about 8 hours:

By morning, the southeastern region of the sky is selected Hercules co Ophiuchus. A star shines over the south Spica constellations Dev s, here to the left of Spics located Saturn. Above Virgin located Bootes with a bright star Arcturus. Constellation lion now shining high over the southwest. At the zenith, directly overhead, is located Big Dipper And The Dragon. Constellations set in the northwest Gemini And Auriga. In the east, the constellations of the Summer Triangle begin their ascent: Swan, Lyra and Eagle.

DON'T MISS ON THE NIGHT SKY:

The bright galaxy M31 in the constellation Andromeda is visible in the evening sky above the western horizon. It is easily distinguishable even with binoculars as a large elongated foggy spot above the star ν Andromeda.

Andromeda Galaxy


photo: Martin Pugh

Jupiter in January continues to dominate the brightness of the night sky, shining brightly high above the horizon in the constellation of Taurus (just above Aldebaran). Even with simple binoculars you can see its four bright satellites - Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, and with a telescope you can observe changes in the giant's cloud cover and the movements of a huge cyclone on the planet - the famous Great Red Spot (GRR).

Planet Jupiter through a telescope (North - bottom)


photo: Pavel Presnyakov

A magnificent scattering of Pleiades stars (M45), similar to a small bucket, is easily visible to the naked eye in the constellation Taurus throughout the night. Long exposures reveal luminous blue nebulae that envelop the stars.

Pleiades open star cluster


photo from astrogalaxy.ru

Of course, the main decoration of deep space is the Great Nebula of Orion (M42), which can be found even with binoculars. The middle star of the three "sheathed" under the Hunter's Belt appears surrounded by a blurred glowing gas cloud when magnified. This is an area of ​​intense star formation, a kind of stellar nursery.

Great Nebula Orion
(picture with a telescope):


photo: Svetlana Kulkova (Bratsk)

In the first days of the new year, the meteor shower Quadrantid shows its activity. The largest number of shooting stars (up to two hundred per hour) can be seen on the night of January 3-4, flying out of the constellation Bootes.

Follow our announcements of events in the sky.

Clear skies and exciting observations!