ITEMS FEATURED IN TGP NOMINAL XTRA - JANUARY SKIES 2019
New Horizons - Ultima Thule:
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Chang'e-4 spacecraft lands On Far Side Of the Moon:
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Ross's January Sky Guide:
Two comets are up for grabs this month which are both within the constellation of Lynx, again the moon is out the way so perfect clouds permitting to get a view of snap of these amazing neighbours.
Comet 46/P Wirtanen (named after Carl Alvar Wirtanen) will be not too far from the star Mus’cida in Ursa Major
passing under it in a curve as the month goes on.
38/P Stephan-Oterma (named after Liisi Oterma) will be slightly lower
passing below a nice orange star called Alpha Lyncis in Lynx.
Definitely one for scopes and Astrophotographers.
On the 4th, the Earth passes through 46/P Wirtanen's tail and some of the dust ejected from the comet in 1976
may be seen as shooting stars after 6pm radiating from the Constellation Aquarius.
In fact our photo competition is Comets and Clusters this month,
so you could win a UK Astronomy calendar with your picture in it.
To Enter, post your photo on the UK Astronomy Facebook group, tagging Ross Hockham in the post.
You can find further details at www.ukastronomy.org.
On the 4th, the Earth passes through 46/P Wirtanen's tail and some of the dust ejected from the comet in 1976
may be seen as shooting stars after 6pm radiating from the Constellation Aquarius.
In fact our photo competition is Comets and Clusters this month,
so you could win a UK Astronomy calendar with your picture in it.
To Enter, post your photo on the UK Astronomy Facebook group, tagging Ross Hockham in the post.
You can find further details at www.ukastronomy.org.
The Quadrantids Meteor Shower peaks at the beginning of the month and carries on until the 12th
It has a hourly rate of 120 possible shooting stars,
but for some reason this shower doesn't get as much limelight as August and Decembers (Perseids and Geminids)
It's name comes from a now no longer existing Constellation called Quadrans Muralis,
created in 1795 by French astronomer Jérôme Lalande.
It was located between the constellations of Bootes (The Herdsman) and Draco (The Dragon).
The constellation was made obsolete in 1922 when the International Astronomical Union,
devised a new list of modern constellations,
which did not include Quadrans Muralis but the meteor shower still retains the name ‘Quadrantids’.
It is believed the origin of the particles that cause the meteors is 2003 EH1,
an asteroid that is thought to be an extinct comet.
But now it radiates just above and left of the constellation Bootes not far from it's star Nekkar.
They peak around 2am but with the moon out the way, could put on a good show.
Venus will be at it's half phase this month. If you watch it throughout the month, you will see its phases as it passes round the sun, reaching its greatest elongation in the morning sky Which means it will now start to move back, towards the Sun in our sky. So a brilliant time to pop out and spot Earth's Evil Twin. |
On the 15th, minor planet Eros comes at its closest approach to Earth today, don’t worry it’s a looong way away…
But you should be able to spot it with a telescope in the constellation Perseus,
Eros was one of the first asteroids visited by a spacecraft, The first asteroid orbited by and the first one soft-landed on.
The NASA spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker entered orbit around Eros in 2000, and landed in 2001,
sending back pictures of its stony elongated shape.
There have been some really unusual shaped celestial bodies discovered in recent years
On the 17th, Just below the moon you should see a bright red star, 'Aderbaren' the Bulls eye of the constellation Taurus, not far from this giant are the seven sisters of Pleiades a bright cluster of blue stars.
On the 21st is this months highlight.
A Total Lunar Eclipse
At around 2.30am the moon will enter the earths penumbra shadow, the outside part causing the Moon to slowly darken,
3.30am it enters the Umbral shadow which is the central part where things start to get cool
and the Moon will start to redden
From 4.40 to 5.40 the moon will be completely eclipsed by the Earth's shadow but will not disappear or go black,
it will be a deep dark red because the earth refracts light around it from our atmosphere, creating orange and red.
At 6.50am the Moon will pass out of the Umbral and the red colour will disappear,
then it will slightly lighten back to a our normal looking Moon for around 7.50am
On the 31st the Moon will join the planets Venus and Jupiter in a morning moon sandwich between the planets,
along with the star Antares to their right.