SKY NOTES
All times in this newsletter are in Universal Time (UT)
Sky Notes: January 13 to February 10 2012 No. 171
Click an icon for more information on the Sun, Moon and planets.
Sun.  | The
Earth was at perihelion (closest to the Sun) on January 05 at 00hours
32minutes at a distance of 147,097,207 km which is 0.983284094 AU. If
you observe the Sun by projection the difference in the size of the projected image between January and July is very noticeable. Sunspots continue to be present at varying numbers and sizes. Really large ones seem to have been absent recently, and the maximum in 2012 or 2013 is likely to be particularly low. |
|
Moon.  |
ALL TIMES ARE IN GMT(UT) MOON: New First Quarter Full Last Quarter Perigee Apogee Dec. 24 Jan. 01 Jan. 09 Jan. 16 Jan. 17 Jan. 30 Jan. 23 Jan. 31 Feb. 07 Feb. 14 Jan. 17 Jan. 30 |
|
Mercury. 
|
Mercury will not be
visible now until the middle of March when we will get the
besopportunity of the year to see this elusive planet | |
Venus. | Venus is now a
spectacular object after sunset, and will present a gibbous phase
through a telescope. Venus is usually best observed against a blue sky
to reduce glare. On January 13 Venus passes one degree below Neptune
while on February 10 it is less than 0.5 degrees from Uranus. |
|
Mars.
 |
Mars now rises at about
21:30 and as early as 19:30 by the end of the month. It is situated
below the hind legs of Leo and is at magnitude 0.0 which means it is
quite bright and stands out against the familiar shape of Leo. |
|
Jupiter.  |
Jupiter still sits on
the borders of Aries and Pisces, and moves fully into Aries later in
January. It continues to be a superb object and with much of interest
for the observer. Transit times of the Great Red Spot are shown below. Transit Times of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. January 1: 13: 6:44, 16:39; 14: 2:35, 12:31, 22:27; 15: 8:22, 18:18; 16: 4:14, 14:10; 17:0:06, 10:01, 19:57; 18: 5:53, 15:49; 19: 1:45, 11:40, 21:36; 20: 7:32, 17:28;21: 3:23, 13:19, 23:15; 22: 9:11, 19:07; 23: 5:02, 14:58; 24: 0:54, 10:50, 20:46; 25: 6:41, 16:37; 26: 2:33, 12:29, 22:25; 27: 8:20, 18:16; 28: 4:12, 14:08; 29: 0:04, 9:59, 19:55; 30: 5:51, 15:47; 31: 1:43, 11:39, 21:34 February 1: 7:30, 17:26; 2: 3:22, 13:18, 23:13; 3: 9:09, 19:05; 4: 5:01, 14:57;5: 0:52, 10:48, 20:44; 6: 6:40, 16:36; 7: 2:32, 12:27, 22:23; 8: 8:19, | |
Saturn. |
Saturn
does not rise until nearly 01:00 in early January, but half an hour
earlier by the end of the month. . It is situated in Virgo well south
and east of Mars, but will be an excellent object to observe in the
spring when Jupiter has moved over to the western sky and Mars is due
south. |
|
Uranus.  | Uranus very close to the western horizon in Pisces | |
Neptune. |
Neptune again very close to the horizon in Aquarius. |
|
| Pluto.
 |
Pluto is low in the east before dawn in Sagittarius. |
Meteor Showers and other Naked Eye
Phenomena
Meteor showers.
Active
None active
Shower
Type
of shower expected Morning of maximum
Hourly
rate
Quadrantids
Medium
January
3-4 60-120
Lyrids
Swift streaks
April 21-22
10-20
Eta Aquarids
Very swift, long paths
May 4-5
20-40
Delta
Aquarid Slow,
long paths July 27
20
Perseid
Very
swift, rich display Aug.
12 60
Orionid
Swift
streaks Oct.
21 10-15
South
Taurids Very
slow, bright November
2-4 10-20
Leonid
Very
swift Nov.
17 10
North
Taurids Slow
fireballs November
12-14 10-20
Geminid
Medium
Dec.
14 75
Ursids
Medium
December
22-23 15-25
Comets.
Comet Garradd is still visible in Hercules and Magnitude 7.0.
Comets can be spectacular as can be seen with these images.
Noctilucent clouds.
The season of Noctilucent clouds is now over for this year.
|
Highlights for
2012. |
Summary of Forthcoming Astronomical Events |
| 05 May 2012 |
BAA Historical Section Meeting. Soho House, Handsworth, Birmingham.10:00 –18:00 |
| May 20. | Annular Solar Eclipse.Visible from the Pacific Ocean. |
| June 4. | Partial Lunar Eclipse.Not visible from the UK. There is always a Lunar eclipse 2 weeks a solar eclipse. |
| June 6. | Transit of Venus.Last stages of which are visible from sunrise shortly after 05:00. |
| July 15. | Occultation of Jupiter.Visible from southern England only. |
| August 12. | Perseid meteor shower. |
| October 20-23 | Orionid meteor shower. |
| November 13. | Total Solar eclipse. Northern Australia and south Pacific. |
| November 28. | Penumbral Lunar Eclipse.Not visible from UK. |
| December 12-14 |
Geminid meteor shower. |
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