Ken Kopczynski
| The Sky Guy
Astronomers use many mnemonics (memory tricks?) to remember stars and constellations. One of these that is visible right now is the Winter Circle.
Follow Orion’s three belt stars southeast (down and to the left) to Sirius in Canis Major, the brightest star in the sky.
From there go up (north) to Procyon in Canis Minor. Up from there (past bright Jupiter right now) to the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux.
Next, head to the northwest (up to the right) to Capella, the bright star in Auriga. Head southwest (to the right and down) to the red star Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull.
The last star that completes the Winter Circle is the bright star Rigel, in Orion, directly to the south (below) of Aldebaran.
January skies
Morning sky: All the planetary action is in the evening sky. Watch the Moon pass a couple of bright stars, see below for dates.
Evening sky: Jupiter reaches opposition, so it is visible both in the evening and the morning skies. It will be very bright in the east after sunset. Saturn is visible halfway up from the horizon in the south-southwest in the evening sky at sunset. Catch it early in the evening because it sets around 11 p.m. in early January and by 9 p.m. at the end of the month. Watch the Moon pass a couple of bright stars, see below for dates.
3rd: Tallahassee Astronomical Society’s free planetarium show, “January Skies over Tallahassee,” at the Fogg Planetarium at the Challenger Learning Center (not recommended for children under 5). Doors close at 10 a.m. sharp. This month’s show will include a presentation for new telescope owners: “So You Got a Holiday Telescope.”
3rd: Bright star Pollux, the Moon, and Jupiter form a line in the evening sky.
3rd: Full Moon.
6th: Moon near bright star Regulus in the evening sky.
9th: Jupiter at opposition near bright star Pollux.
10th: Last quarter Moon.
11th: Moon near bright star Spica in the morning sky.
14th: Moon near bright star Antares before sunrise.
18th: New Moon.
22nd: Moon near Saturn in the evening sky after sunset.
23rd: Come view the Quarter Moon and tour the night sky with the Tallahassee Astronomical Society. This free event is held monthly at Cascades Park in downtown Tallahassee. See the moon, any planets that are up, and such other heavenly wonders as may be in the sky. Quarter Moon viewing is the perfect time to bring your family, home school group, or other small group to see the sky, ask questions about astronomy, and see some telescopes in action! 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. weather permitting.
26th: First quarter Moon.
27th: Moon near Pleaides star cluster in the evening sky.
30th: Moon forms triangle with Jupiter and bright star Pollux in the evening sky.
31st: Jupiter, the Moon, and bright star Pollux form a line in the evening sky.
Check out TAS’s events calendar at tallystargazers.org.
Ken Kopczynski is a former president of the Tallahassee Astronomical Society, a local group of amateur astronomers.