Items Featured in TGP NOMINAL 9.6 - January Skies 2023
Ross Hockham's January 2023 Sky Guide:
C/2022 E3 ZTF is a long period comet which reaches its Perihelion on January 12th
and the closest approach to Earth will be on February 1st at a distance of 0.28 au
(1 Astronomical Unit or 'au' is the distance between Earth and the Sun).
It is being said that it has been brightening in our skies over the past month
rising around 11pm it will be moving past the constellation Hercules right up towards Ursa Minor.
On the 23rd and 24th, the comet will be to the left of M102 (The Spindle Galaxy) in the constellation Draco (The Dragon)
which makes a great photo opportunity.
It is faint but cameras should be able to pick it up nicely in the same shot as the comet. fingers crossed!
Right at the end of the month it will be around Polaris (The North Star)
and is said to brighten enough that you can see it with binoculars.
It will be hovering around here for the last few nights of the month
so if you get a clear sky why not pop out and see if you can spot it.
Tonight’s Moon tilts towards its western side in Lunar libration.
So it’s a great opportunity to spot the unusual Mare Orientale that is not usually visible.
It was formed by the impact of an asteroid-sized object.
So it’s a great opportunity to spot the unusual Mare Orientale that is not usually visible.
It was formed by the impact of an asteroid-sized object.
As the Sun sets Saturn and Venus will be really close in our evening sky, they will be low in the South West
with Saturn being just above the brighter Venus be quick as they will be setting just after 18:00.
You will also be able to spot Jupiter above the pair to their left.
On the 23rd, look at the same place around 17:50 and you will see a thin crescent Moon join the duo of planets, Venus and Saturn.
Also the International Space station will be rising to their right flying up and over Jupiter. Get out a bit earlier to see the cool conjunction before hopefully watching the Space Station fly across the sky. |
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Tonight our Moon will have moved just below the gas giant Jupiter
with another possible fly over of the ISS at around 19:20pm.
If you draw a line between the two following it up you should see a bright red Mars
in between the Hyades Cluster and the M45 Pleiades Cluster.
Don’t mistake Mars for Aldebaran, the star that represents the Bulls Eye in the constellation Taurus, as it is also red.
30th Mercury the messenger is at its Greatest Western Elongation
but will be a tough spot as the Sun is rising quite close to it in the South East, you may see a tiny white dot on the horizon.
Please be careful when viewing near the Sun!
The Moon now moves back past Mars in the night sky
this will create a fantastic view with the brightly different coloured stars that all hang in the South.
A red Mars and red stars Betelgeuse, Aldebaran with the whiter/bluer stars Sirius, Procyon, Rigel, Capella
and chuck in Orion's Belt as well, to create a huge open cluster of awesomely big stars.