The Night Sky This Month: January
Here are some of the things to see in January:
Hyades
January Night Sky
Here are some of the things to see this month:
Winter Hexagon
The Winter Hexagon, also known as the Winter Circle, is a prominent winter asterism formed by seven stars prominent in the winter sky. These are Rigel in Orion, Aldebaran in Taurus, Capella in Auriga, Castor and Pollux in Gemini, Procyon in Canis Minor, and Sirius in Canis Major constellation. Sirius and Procyon are also part … [Read more…]
Night Sky Highlights in January
Here are some of the things to see in January:
Hyades
The Hyades are a star cluster located in Taurus constellation and the nearest open cluster of stars to the solar system. Also catalogued as Collinder 50 or Melotte 25, the cluster has an apparent magnitude of 0.5 and lies at a distance of 153 light years, or 47 parsecs, from Earth. The brightest stars in … [Read more…]
Highlights of the Night Sky in January
Here are some of the things to see in January:
Aldebaran
Aldebaran, Alpha Tauri, also known as the Eye of Taurus, is an orange giant star located at a distance of 65 light years from Earth. It is the brightest star in Taurus constellation and the 14th brightest star in the night sky. Aldebaran has a luminosity 518 times that of the Sun (153 times in … [Read more…]
Capella
Capella, also known as Alpha Aurigae or the Goat Star, is the brightest star in Auriga and the sixth brightest star in the sky. The only stars in the northern celestial hemisphere brighter than Capella are Arcturus in Boötes constellation and Vega in Lyra. The only other star visible from northern latitudes that is brighter … [Read more…]
Praesepe (M44): The Beehive Cluster
Praesepe, also known as Messier 44 (M44) or the Beehive Cluster, is a large, bright open star cluster located in the constellation Cancer. It is the brightest deep sky object in the constellation. The cluster has the designation NGC 2632 in the New General Catalogue.
Orion’s Belt
Orion’s Belt is one of the most familiar asterisms in the night sky, along with the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross. It is formed by three massive, bright stars located in our galaxy, in the direction of the constellation Orion, the Hunter: Alnilam, Alnitak and Mintaka. Two of the three stars are supergiants.