Title: January Skywatch Highlights
Location: Hawaiian Islands
Date / Time: January 2008
Comments: January is an exciting month for stargazing! MARS is still glowing brightly, dominating the night sky, between the horns of Taurus the Bull & the feet of Gemini. The Red Planet rises just after sunset and, as twilight ends, is already more than 30 deg. above the Eastern horizon. At midnight, look for Mars almost directly overhead. Mars is visible all night long, however it won't be as bright at the end of the month, as Earth speeds away from the Red Planet in its orbit. Luminous VENUS, rises in the East around 4:30 A.M., more than 2.5 hours before the Sun. Hard to miss the brilliant planet, which is often mistaken for a UFO! Venus is viewable in the Eastern sky through sunrise. By mid-month, Venus is joined by the gas giant JUPITER, as the two planets prepare for a spectacular conjunction on February 1st. Look for the pair in the Eastern sky at dawn, beginning the second week of January. Notice how the two bright planets appear closer & closer each morning until, on Feb. 1st, they lie 0.6 degrees apart, slightly more than the width of a Full Moon. SATURN rises in the East around 10 PM in early January, & 2 hours earlier by month's end. The ringed planet lies more than 8 deg. below Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo. MERCURY starts to become visible in the West, shortly after sunset, by mid-January. On January 9th, you might be able to spot Mercury at twilight, below & to the right of a tiny crescent Moon. Look for the pair in binoculars. Mercury sets 80 minutes after the Sun on January 15th. On January 21st, Mercury reaches its greatest angle East of the Sun (19 deg.) & remains above the horizon 90 minutes after sunset. For further details and a January sky map, visit Bishop Museum Planetarium www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium (bishopmuseum.org).

Maintained by Roz Reiner - Kauai, Hawaii

 

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