7+( 6287+(51 +(0,63+(5( IN JANUARY

JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS

On the night of 31 January a total lunar eclipse is visible across Australia. From the eastern states the partial phase begins at 21:48 EST, with totality at 22:51 EST. Earth’s central shadow covers the entire Moon until 00:08 EST, with the partial phase ending at 01:12 EST. The Moon moves south of the centre of this umbral shadow so its northern limb may show a darker shade of red, compared to the south. From Western Australia, totality happens around the end of twilight (20:51 WST).

THE PLANETS

The only planetary representatives in the evening sky are Neptune, which sets around 22:00 EST mid month, and Uranus, which follows two hours later. By mid month four planets are visible in the morning sky. Mars and Jupiter rise around

STARS AND CONSTELLATION

Many bright stars can be seen this evening, but what we call a ‘bright star’ might just look that way because it is nearby. If the 20 brightest stars in the entire sky were all 32 lightyears away (the distance at which we measure absolute magnitude) five of them, visible in the late evening in January, would truly stand out. Canopus (Alpha (_) Carinae), Rigel (Beta (`) Orionis), Betelgeuse (Alpha (_) Orionis), Acrux (Alpha (_) Crucis) and Hadar (Beta (`) Centauri) would all be brighter than Venus. 01:00 EST, moving to 0.25° apart on the 7th. Mercury is visible low in the eastern dawn sky. The innermost planet is passed by Saturn as it rises into the morning sky, and these two are separated by only 0.7° on the 13th.