Introduction
This new year will bring about a few changes to my blog. As mentioned last month, I will no longer include a "history report" since I have been doing that for about a year and things will start getting repetitive. Instead, I will report on some of the latest astronomical discoveries. I think many of you will find this a little more fascinating.I am also working on a redesign for my blog! This will be implemented in the near future, most likely before my next post.
I will still continue the monthly night sky reports and more lengthy posts on topics I find interesting. This will include my stargazing adventures and astrophotography. I hope that you will continue to follow my blog and find these things as fascinating as I do.
Night Sky Report
As the title says, this is the monthly night sky report for January, so let's get started! This month will bring most of the naked eye planets to the morning sky, so if you are an early-riser, be sure to look to the East to see if you can see the four planets. There will also be two full Moons this month. The second of which is referred to as a "Blue Moon". There is also a nice meteor shower that really isn't worth mentioning since the first full Moon of the month will be present in the sky during the peak dates. Since the Moon will limit the meteors we see this month, it will more than make up for it by offering most observers in North America a Total Lunar Eclipse.
Mercury
Our inner most planet, like some of us, will be a late riser when it comes to the 4 naked eye planets visible this month. It will be the last to rise just before sunrise which will make it one of the more difficult planets to spot this month. Mercury will rise about 30 minutes before the Sun, but its altitude will decline as the month wears on, bringing the planet closer to the Sun from our vantage point.On the morning of the first, Mercury can be found in close proximity to Antares which shines red. Don't confuse this star with Mars! Remember that stars twinkle. Looking at Mercury with binoculars or a telescope won't show any surface detail but will show the different "phases" of the planet, like phases of the Moon. If you are interested in seeing this, the early part of the month will be the best time for viewing.
Venus
Venus will be the planet that is missing from our morning planetary line-up this month. On January 8, our sister planet reaches superior conjunction which places it on the opposite side of the Sun from our perspective. It will return to our evening sky just before Spring, so stay tuned! The absence of this planet from our sky might help find the less luminous planets in the morning as your eyes won't be drawn to the brightness of Venus.
Mars
Next up, is the red planet, Mars. It will rise about 4 hours before the morning Sun at the start of the month and will rise slightly earlier with each passing morning. It can be found just west of Jupiter, which will shine brighter than Mars, but the red planet should be easy to spot due to its color. These two planets will appear to get closer together until the 7th when they lie closer than they have for nearly 20 years. These planets will lie so close in the sky, that with a telescope, if you use the right eyepiece, you can see both planets in the same field of view. Just four short mornings later, the Moon will join these two to create a triple conjunction! As the month goes on, Mars will travel through the constellation of Libra and into Scorpius by the 31st. At this time, Mars will lie close to the brightest star of this constellation, Antares, which as previously mentioned, is a red star. So try not to confuse the two. This year, many astronomers will have their attention on Mars as it will reach opposition in July, so stay tuned!
Jupiter
Following Mars, is our closest gas giant neighbor, Jupiter. As mentioned, it will create the closest conjunction with the red planet in nearly 20 years or the morning of the 7th. Just 4 short mornings later, the Moon will join the pair which will create quite the naked eye celestial body experience. Since Jupiter lies further from the Sun than Mars, it orbits more slowly, and will be found in the constellation of Libra all month By using binoculars, you can see the four brightest Jovian moons. If you are able to use a telescope, you will see the same, and more! You may be able to see two of the moons, Io and Europa, fade and then disappear as they pass into the shadow of Jupiter. This will occur on the morning of the 10th. A telescope will also offer views of the cloud bands of Jupiter and with the appropriate filters, you can enhance the detail seen.
Saturn
Our final naked eye planet will be hard to spot. This is our world famous ringed planet, Saturn. It will be hard to spy this planet at the opening of the month because it does not shine very brightly and lies lower in the eastern sky, bringing it closer to the Sun from our view. As the month goes on, Saturn will rise earlier and climb higher into the morning sky and become slightly easier to see. It will be found in the constellation of Sagittarius to the southeast. Since Saturn lies so low in the sky, it will not make a very good telescope target until later in the year when Saturn will rise high enough that the atmosphere won't ruin your view. The highlight for Saturn this month will be on the morning of the 13th when it lies less than a degree away from Mercury. Mercury will shine more brightly, so look for the innermost planet first, and then you should be able to spot the distant ringed world.
Uranus and Neptune
Neptune and Uranus will both require a pair of binoculars or a larger instrument to spot. Uranus will be found in the constellation of Pisces which can be found nearly 2/3 of the way to the zenith (straight up) in the southern sky. Neptune will lie lower in the sky as darkness falls and should be your first target of the night if you want to see our most distance ice giant. It will be found further west than Uranus in the constellation of Aquarius. While binoculars can help you find these distance worlds, a telescope will help reveal the colors more easily.
The Moon
The real observational eye candy this month will be the Moon. As mentioned, there will be two full Moons this month. The first, occurring on the 1st, will also mark the first "Super Moon" of the year. This is when the Moon makes its closest approach to the Earth during its orbit and coincidentally, this will be the closest approach for 2018. The second full Moon, aka "Blue Moon" will be on the last day of the month, the 31st. During this full Moon, the Earth will pass between it and the Sun, casting a shadow on the lunar surface, which results in a lunar eclipse. This will turn the Moon into a orangish-red color. Totality will occur around 5:52 A.M. Mountain Time. If the sky is clear, be sure to watch this event!
Meteor Shower
There will also be a meteor shower this month. Normally this is one of the better showers for the year, offering up to 110 meteors per hour. Unfortunately, as mentioned, the first full Moon of the year will hinder the number of meteors that can be seen. The peak date is the night of the 3rd, morning of the 4th, which is just 2 days after the full Moon. If you still want to try to catch a peak of these elusive meteors this year, they can be found to radiate from the direction of the Big Dipper. This shower is called the Quadrantids.
Monthly Breakdown
January 01: Full Moon; Moon makes closest approach to Earth of 2018
January 03: Quadrantid Meteor Shower, look towards the Big Dipper
January 07: Mars and Jupiter conjunction
January 10: Europa and Io hide in the shadow of Jupiter
January 11: Mars, Jupiter, and the Moon conjunction
January 16: New Moon
January 31: Full Moon - "Blue Moon", Total Lunar Eclipse
Review of 2017
To kick things off with this new section, I thought I would highlight a few of the more memorable discoveries and achievements of 2017. This year marked the end of the Cassini Space mission which was studying Saturn and its moons. The Cassini probe spent 13 years exploring the ringed world and its companions. The mission ended in September as the probe was intentionally sent to burn up in the atmosphere of Saturn. You can find much more information, including some exceptional pictures taken by the craft, on the official website which can be found by clicking HERE.
The spacecraft Juno arrived at Jupiter in 2017 and has returned many stunning images of the giant planet. Its mission is to study the atmosphere, magnetic and gravitational fields of the planet as well as return many images, which the general public greatly appreciates. This mission is still returning many images and valuable scientific data. If interested, you can find many images and much more information HERE.
We can't forget about the total solar eclipse that millions of Americans, including me, were able to witness. This was truly and amazing sight to see for me, as I'm sure it was for many of the observers. While the next total solar eclipse of the United States won't happen for years to come, these events happen nearly every year, and can be seen if you are willing to travel to the path of totality.
Visually, the above three are what most people are most fascinated with this year. However, from a scientific standpoint, the discovery of gravitational waves is arguably the most fascinating discovery of the year. Many new and more precise instruments for detecting these waves are being designed and assembled right now. The future of astronomy lies here! If you would like to learn more about gravitational waves, you can look back at a previous post of mine, or click HERE for the LIGO mission. The LIGO mission webpage will have more information as well as some cool animations to show how these waves are thought to be created.
Finally, who can forget the discovery of not one or two Earth-sized planets, but seven orbiting a nearby star?! These planets orbit a red dwarf star which has been named TRAPPIST-1. All seven of these planets lie in what is known as the habitable zone or the "Goldilocks" zone. This is the area where the planet is not too close to the parent star so it's too hot for life and liquid water to exist, but also not too far away where liquid water would turn to ice and the temperature would be too cold for life. TRAPPIST-1 is much smaller and cooler than our own Sun so the planets must lie closer to be in the habitable zone. The innermost planet takes only one and a half Earth-days to orbit the star while the outermost takes under 19 days. For more information about this system, you can click HERE.
There will surely be many more great discoveries this coming year as well as many sights to see in the sky. Make a New Years resolution to stargaze more!
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