BAS - MONTHLY SKY GUIDE - January 2018 - Brisbane Astronomical Society
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BAS - MONTHLY SKY
GUIDE
January 2018
January is often a challenging month for Brisbane astronomers as clouds and storms
are common and finding a clear night is a rare event. However, an interesting region
of the sky passes over us this month, so it is worth a try.
1
DARK SKY – BEST OBSERVING DATES - JANUARY
From January 9th the Moon rises after midnight
From January 20th the Moon gets too bright and does not set until after 8:00pm
Jan-2018
The most convenient observing days in January are between January 9th and 20th.
From January 9th the Moon rises after midnight and so we have a few dark hours after
sunset. But after January 20th the Moon gets too bright and does not set until after
8:00pm and so you spend more hours each night waiting for the Moon to set after
January 20th.
2
THE MOON
Lunar eclipse – January 31st
10:00pm to about 1:00am
Red Moon
Jan-2018
Australia enjoys a lunar eclipse on the evening of Wednesday January 31 st with the
Moon starting to turn red from around 10:00pm through until about 1:00am
Thursday morning. A great opportunity for some simple astrophotography with
camera and tripod.
3
THE PLANETS
Jupiter
Mars
Mercury
Saturn
Jan-2018
You’ll have to get up very early to see any planets this month. At about 4am from
January 5th to 10th Jupiter and Mars will be very close together in the eastern morning
sky. Around January 13th at around dawn Mercury and Saturn will be very close and
a slender crescent Moon will join the show on the morning of January 15 th.
4
USEFUL TELESCOPE ALIGNMENT STARS
Carina
Taurus
Alignment Stars:
Canopus
Aldebaran
Jan-2018
Two prominent and widely spaced stars that are good for telescope alignment are
Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus, the Bull, located on the ecliptic, and bright
Canopus in the constellation Carina. Aldebaran is a great alignment star as it is bright
and distinctly orange and so difficult to confuse with other stars in the eyepiece.
Similarly, Canopus is also very bright, the second brightest of all stars in the sky after
Sirius, and also easy to distinguish in the eyepiece.
5
CONSTELLATION OF THE MONTH - DORADO
Observing targets:
• NGC 2079 Open cluster
• Large Magellanic Cloud
Jan-2018
The constellation name Dorado means “the dolphinfish” in Spanish.
The Dorado constellation was created by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius from
the observations of Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de
Houtman who sailed from Holland to the “spice islands” of Indonesia in 1595-7.
There are very few deep sky objects within the Dorado asterism worth chasing with a
telescope. NGC 2079 is a small open cluster of stars with faint nebulosity. However,
just to the south, is the Large Magellanic Cloud, an irregular galaxy near the Milky
Way with an abundance of deep sky targets – particularly nebulae and star clusters.
6
NEW MOON - 9 PM MERIDIAN “CONSTELLATIONS”
Fornax
Taurus
Jan-2018
The Fornax constellation, Latin for “The Furnace” was added to the modern
constellation list by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille following his
southern sky observing program in Cape Town in 1751-53. It was one of number of
constellation created by Lacaille and named after scientific instruments of the time.
Fornax is notable for the bright galaxies in the Fornax Cluster, including the Great
Barred Spiral galaxy (NGC 1365) and Fornax A (NGC 1316).
The Taurus constellation lies in the northern sky and its name means “bull” in Latin.
Taurus is one of the 12 constellations of the zodiac, first catalogued by the Greek
astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation’s history, however, dates
back to the Bronze Age. Taurus is a large constellation and one of the oldest ones
known. In Greek mythology, the constellation is associated with Zeus, who
transformed himself into a bull in order to get close to Europa and abduct her. Taurus
is known for its bright orange star Aldebaran - the eye of the bull. The constellation is
probably best known for the Pleiades cluster (Messier 45), also known as the Seven
Sisters, and the Hyades, which are the two nearest open star clusters to Earth.
7
TAURUS
Jan-2018
A good binocular object in Taurus is the large open cluster, The Pleiades, or the Seven
Sisters. A much more faint telescope object is the Crab Nebula, or Messier 1, the
remnant gas cloud from a supernova explosion recorded by Chinese astronomers in
1054.
8
FORNAX
Fornax A NGC 1316
Jan-2018
There are plenty of galaxies to hunt for around Fornax. Start the hunt with Fornax A,
NGC 1316, a large and bright lenticular galaxy about 60 million light years from Earth.
Then move on the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 and lots of other nearby fainter
galaxies.
9
BUILD YOUR OWN OBSERVING LIST
Click Find Objects
Select object types
Select constellation
Search
https://dso-browser.com/
Jan-2018
Make sure you take a look at the great observation planning tool DSO-Browser before
the New Moon period. This is a fantastic tool to help you build a list of objects you
can try and find each month.
Just a few clicks on www.dso-browser.com can generate a fantastic observing list of
object types you are interested in.
10AVOIDING CLOUDS
www.cloudfreenight.com www.skippysky.com
More info: http://philhart.com/content/cloud-forecasts-australian-astronomers
Jan-2018
And to find the best cloud-free evenings for observing make sure you check
CloudFreeNight and Skippysky as you plan your next observing evening.
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