This weekend’s night sky (24 –26 January 2014) The Moon is now past full and is rising after midnight giving us darker skies in the evening. The Moon will pass the planets Mars and Saturn in the early morning sky. High in the North-East is Sirius, the brightest star in our night sky, it marks the front of Canis Major, the large dog, can be seen lying on his back. Below is Canis Minor, the small dog, this constellation is marked by the 8th brightest star in our night sky called Procyon. It is a nearby star 12 light years away and 7 times brighter than our Sun. Orion is almost due north after suns, the three bright stars of Orion’s belt form an easily seen line. Above is a bright star called Rigel which is one of Orion’s feet, below is the red star Betelgeuse which marks one of his shoulders. The upside down “V” of Taurus’s head can be seen to the left of Orion with the orange star Aldebaran marking one of his eyes and further to the left are the Pleiades/Seven Sisters/Matariki. In the south are The Pointers and Crux, the Southern Cross along the Diamond and False Crosses are low in the south and will climb higher in the south east as the night progresses. Great star gazing to you all!
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 19:47:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015