The Night Sky January

January 2023

Happy New Year! Since this time last year we have circled around our sun once more. In the sky we have seen the sun pass through the 12 zodiac constellations (called the animal circle by the Greeks) that we are familiar with but did you know there is in fact a 13? Ophiuchus seems to have been missed out for practical reasons, as it just didn’t fit into our monthly moon cycle of 12 lunar months. The 13 constellations all fit into a path across the sky which is called the ecliptic. So if you were born between November 30th and December 17th the ‘serpent bearer’ could have been your sign!

https://earthsky.org/tonight/ophiuchus-highest-on-august-evenings-2/

Not only does the sun appear to move along this imaginary path in the sky but so do our planets and the moon. They were all created from a flat disc of material spinning around in a plane like a plate. This means if you know where the plane is then you will more easily be able to predict and spot where the planets are positioned. Remember that when you observe the sun at some points of the year it arcs high above the sky and at other times it is low on the horizon. So the ‘ecliptic path’ follows this change. I always try to include the ecliptic line (in yellow) on my star charts and as you will see the moon and planets are not far away.

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-ecliptic-what-is-the-ecliptic/

Looking North January 22nd at 8pm

The Quadrantids Meteor Shower continues up to January 12th but peaks between the 3rd and 4th January. It can be one of the strongest showers and fragments that cause the bright streaks across the sky are travelling at 70 km per second. (the distance of Embsay to Blackpool.) We may be lucky and get treated to a short but active event. The origin is facing north and low in the sky but they could end up anywhere across the sky. It is a short-lived shower and best seen at its peak.

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/meteors-and-meteorites/quadrantids/in-depth/

Planets to watch this month are Jupiter low in the West and Mars higher up but in the South.

Looking South January 22nd at 8pm

The south is dominated by Orion. Don’t forget to look just below the three stars of the belt where you will see a fuzzy blotch. Through a telescope, it is unforgettable.

Photo: Milan Davidovic Orion Nebula M42 (Embsay December 2019)

Looking away to the top right of Orion you will see a V shape. This is Hyades with one bright star called Aldebaran “The Follower” and is one of the 15 brightest stars in the night sky. Moving away further in the same direction you will glimpse the Pleiades or the 7 Sisters star cluster. This is one of the closest star clusters to us. There look to be 7 stars but in fact are as many as 3,000! Mars will be sitting pretty between the Hyades and Pleiades this month so it is quite an interesting area to gaze at.

Full Moon 6th January

New Moon 21st January

Clear Skies

Milan Davidovic

The Night Sky Dec

Dec 2022

We have almost 12 hours of astronomical darkness this month, so if you have the energy and clear skies there is the opportunity of a marathon observing session!

We will start with a story. Hopefully it will help you remember the shape and position of night sky around this time of the year. In Greek myth, Orion was a great hunter and he boasted he could kill anything. A goddess of the Earth sent a scorpion to kill him. In the sky as the scorpion rises in the east, Orion sets in the west (defeated). When the scorpion makes its way to the west, the healer Ophiuchus, crushes it and heals Orion for it to rise again in the east. There are many versions of this tale but all of them echo a story of death and rebirth.

With this tale in mind (if we get a clear night this month!), look south-east and Orion is indeed on its way across the sky. An unmistakable hour-glass shape with one arm outstretched holding a club and the other a shield. Most people with light pollution don’t get to see this as his arms is are too faint to recognise. However,we can in Embsay, providing we continue to value our dark sky.

As the year progresses, in May, Orion will sink below view and Scorpius will rise in the south-east or if you are prepared to stay up all night for the night sky to rotate.

Looking South December 23rd at 10pm.

Interesting objects within Orion are the Horsehead Nebula, Barnard’s Loop, Flame Nebula and the Orion Nebula(M42). In fact, it is a treasure trove of fascinating objects. Find out more here https://nineplanets.org/orion-constellation/

On 8th December Mars is in opposition, and it will also pass behind the Moon. This is called lunar occultation. You will be able to see this with your naked eye but with a pair of binoculars it should be amazing. Here is more information.

https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20221208_16_100

Looking North December 23rd at 10 pm

Looking at the horizon you will see the constellation of Lyra, but earlier in the evening this will be higher and in the west. This little triangular- shaped constellation not only holds one of the brightest stars in our sky, it is also a close neighbour to our own Sun. Close to the opposite side of this triangle is a strange looking object. If you are lucky enough to own a telescope and are scanning this area you will see something, well, odd. It is not the familiar bright point of light but a multi-coloured ring.

Photo: Milan Davidovic M57 2020 Embsay

Here is a short video that explains how such an unusual object is created and what we are witnessing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyn3ziBvG8I

This month there are two meteor showers in December:

The Geminid shower has its maximum between 14th – 15th December. The ‘radiant’ of the shower is close the the star Castor (near Pollux on the star chart). This shower can be the brightest and most numerous. https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/geminids.html

The Ursid Meteor Shower maximum. These enter our atmosphere from the north (close to Ursa Minor). The peak is 13th – 24th. It has a lower peak rate but as we have a New Moon on 23rd December we may see more of them! https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/ursids.html

Full Moon 8th December

New Moon 23rd December

Clear Skies

Milan Davidovic

The Night Sky November

November 2022

Looking North on 24th November 9pm

Mars is in the East and next month it comes alongside us on the same side of the sun (opposition).

Having an orbit outside our own, it takes longer to complete a ‘year’. This means that this passing alongside only happens every 2 to 3 years. As our orbit is closer to the sun we overtake Mars and it appears to travel backwards across the night sky! (retrograde motion). This must have seemed very strange and unsettling for those observing the skies just hundreds of years ago.

https://mars.nasa.gov/all-about-mars/night-sky/retrograde/

Other things to spot is the W shape of Cassiopeia (almost overhead) - seen upside down from the north this month.

There is a very interesting region to the right of the upside-down W and the star Mirfak, shown on this diagram as a fuzzy blotch. It is the Heart Nebula shown below. It is an emission nebula of glowing gas. It has a very red colour and the theory is that a small group of stars inside are generating radiation which fuels the gasses.

Photo: Milan Davidovic (Embsay 2022)

Unfortunately, it’s not really possible to view it with your naked eye but it can be seen with a camera fixed on this area while attached to a telescope. It is 7,500 light years away still within our galaxy. It is huge, almost 100 light years across.

My next target will be its companion, the Soul Nebula that is very close by. Yes, Cassiopeia has both a heart and a soul!

Looking South on 24th November 9pm

As we switch to the view of the south the very bright Jupiter is still clearly visible as it was last month. To the left is Mars and to its right, Saturn, which will shortly disappear below the horizon.

The Constellation of Orion is rising in the East. Orion (the hunter) is holding his club above his head trying to hit the Bull (Taurus). More of this next month when the sky revolves to display more objects related to his story.

The square of Pegasus is a very dominant shape in the sky. In the constellation you will see a Enif, a supergiant orange star. Although in its final stages (with just a few million years left!) its mass is balanced between stars that explode into a supernova or just die off as a white dwarf. It is 300 times bigger than our own Sun and nearly 4000 times brighter. Following the line in the constellation beyond Enif with a pair of binoculars you will see Messier 15- a globular cluster of stars- and at the centre is an intermediate mass black hole. https://freestarcharts.com/messier-15

If you are interested in astronomy then why not install some software to help you discover the night sky. Here are a few, all free.

https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/best-free-astronomy-software/

I use Stellarium and there are many other free utilities that will help you in your interest in astronomy- all free from the above link for your PC / laptop.

Below are some more additional apps for mobile phones which are free cut- down versions or have a cost. Check before downloading.

https://astrobackyard.com/astronomy-apps-for-stargazing/

Full Moon 8th November

New Moon 23rd November

Clear Skies

Milan Davidovic