The Sky This Week, 2013 January 2 - 8

The Sky This Week, 2013 January 2 - 8
Count stars for science!
http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/tours-events/sky-this-week/images_skyweek/NewYears_2011-12small.jpg/image_large
Orion and surroundings
Imaged on 2012 January 3 from Morattico, VA
The Moon wanes in the morning sky as the first week of the new year
ticks by. Last Quarter occurs on the 4th at 10:58 pm Eastern Standard
Time. The waning gibbous Moon all but wipes out the annual Quadrantids
meteor shower which isexpected to peak before dawn on the morning of
the 3rd. This shower, whose radiant appears highin the northeast in
the wee hours, has been known to produce intense but brief bursts of
activity for a couple of hours around its predictedpeak. This year the
peak occurs after sunrise on the east coast, so our chances of seeing
a burst are quite slim. Look for the Moon just five degrees west of
the bright starSpica before dawn on the 5th. On the mornings of the
6th and 7th she glides below golden Saturn in the gathering glow of
twilight.
Earth reached its closest point to the Sun on New Year's Day at 11:38
pm EST. At this time, known as "perihelion" to astronomers, the
distance separating the center of the Earth from the Sun was just over
147 million kilometers (91,403,000 miles). We will now gradually draw
away from Old Sol until July 5th, 2013, when we reach aphelion at a
distance of 152,097,000 kilometers (94,509,000 miles). This small
variation in distance from the Sun isone of the reasons our fair
planet enjoys a mostly benevolent climate. However, over time
(hundreds of thousands of years) the eccentricity of our orbit slowly
varies thanks to the influence of the other planets, mostly Jupiter.
That said, even these extremes don't vary that much from a
circularorbit.
For those of you who don't like waking up in the dark each
morning,take heart. The latest sunrise of the year occurs on the 4th.
Here in Washington Old Sol rises at 7:27 am EST. By next week he'll
start to retreat to earlier times leading to brighter morning hours.
Winter's bright constellations are now hitting their stride in the
evening sky. Orion and his cohorts are well up by the mid-evening, and
the meridian bisects the Great Winter Circle by 11:00 pm. Orion isthe
centerpiece of the annual"Globe At Night" observing campaign, an
international "citizen science" project intended to help chart the
spread of light pollution around the globe. The program is easy to
participate in: just find Orion in your local sky, count the number of
stars you see in the constellation, and report your findings via the
Globe At Night website . This is the first of five GAN campaigns for
the year, and you are encouraged to report as many times as you wish,
preferably from several different sites. It's a great way to learn the
stars and a good excuse to seek out dark observing sites.
2013 opens with ruddy Mars still visible in the early evening low in
the southwest as evening twilight fades to darkness. The red planet
isfinally losing ground to the advancing Sun, though, so you needto be
out shortly after sunset to see him. He's now drifting through the dim
stars of Capricornus, so he'll be the brightest object in his little
patch of sky.
Jupiter opens the year in a prime spot in the evening sky, crossing
the meridian just before 10:00 pm. You should have no trouble
spottingthe giant planet even though he is accompanied by the
brightest of winter's stars. Old Jove is slowly drifting westward
against the background of the northernmost stars in the Hyades star
cluster. This means that he offers a great view even in a pair of
binoculars, but a telescope really shows him to best advantage. In my
portable 80mm (3.1-inch) refractor at low power he is framed by the
brighter stars of the cluster, and his four bright moons seem to be
gathered around him for safety. At 100 power the moons are more spread
out and the planet's prominent cloud belts are easily seen. My 200mm
(8-inch) scope brings out a wealth of detail in the cloud belts,
including the famous Great Red Spot. For those of you who would like
to glimpse this Earth-sized storm in Jupiter's atmosphere, pointyour
telescope toward him at around9:00 pm on the evenings of the 2ndand
7th. On the latter night you'll also see a very interesting
configuration of three of the planet's Galilean moons.
The morning sky is graced by Saturn, whose warm yellow glow should be
easy to spot in the southeastern sky at around 6:00 am as the first
rays of twilight appear. The ringed planet is about 16 degrees east of
the bright blue star Spica and contrasts nicely withthe star. The Moon
is nearby Saturnbefore dawn on the 6th and 7th. The planet's rings are
tipped favorably toward us this year, so your view of him through the
telescope will invariably look "just like the pictures"!
Bright Venus is now visible only during the gathering morning
twilight. She is bright enough to be easily seen, but you'll have to
look on a clear morning free from haze and horizon clouds.
USNO Master Clock Time
Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:46:10 UTC

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