From: parish@cactus.org (Tom Parish)
Subject: SKYWATCH Jan 3 - Jan 9  A Passel of Planets
Followup-To: poster
Organization: Capital Area Central Texas UNIX Society, Austin, Tx
Date: Fri, 1 Jan 1993 03:46:37 GMT

SKYWATCH                                                     Turning Point
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This Week      January 3 through January 9 - A PASSEL OF PLANETS
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Planets        * Mercury is in superior conjunction (behind the sun) on the
                 23rd and so is too close to the sun to be seen this month.
 
               * Venus is the bright evening star in the southwest.
               
               * Mars rises at sunset in Gemini and is visible all night.
               
               * Jupiter rises around midnight in the constellation Virgo.
               
               * Saturn is very low in the western evening sky. At month's
               end, it lies too near the sun to be seen.
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Events         3 The planet Mars is nearest Earth, 94 million km, (58,
               million miles).   
               
               3 Earth is at perihelion--closest to the sun--147,162,802 km
               (91,445,226 mi).
               
               3 The Quadrantid meteor shower (active between January 1-5)
               peaks this morning before dawn.
               
               7 Mars is at opposition. It is opposite the sun in the sky,
               rising at sunset, overhead at midnight, and setting at
               sunrise.
               
               8 Full moon, called the Old Moon or Moon after Yule.
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The January    January opens with three planets in the evening sky: Saturn,
Planets        low in the west (and soon to disappear behind the sun),
               Mars, rising in the east at sunset, and of course Venus.
               Little Mercury is currently behind the sun and won't
               reappear until the latter part of February low in the west
               after sunset.
               
               You can't miss Venus.  It's the bright white beacon in the 
               southwest. Venus looks like a distant jet plane with its
               landing lights on. It is so bright that it looks closer
               than it is, which prompts some people to mistake the planet
               for a UFO. In dark skies, Venus will even cast a shadow,
               especially on snow or a light-colored background. The only
               two celestial objects brighter than Venus are the moon and
               the sun.
               
               Nearby, the planet Saturn is putting in its farewell 
               performance before slipping behind the sun February 9.
               Already it is approaching too near the sun in the sky to be
               seen for long after sunset. Take a last look early in the
               month, for by the end of January, Saturn will be out of
               sight. We'll then have to wait until late April to see
               Saturn again, this time in the morning sky.
               
               The planet Mars is the bright red "star" in the east. It
               lies near the bright stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini. On
               the 3rd, Mars lies nearly opposite the sun as seen from
               Earth (it is exactly opposite on the 7th). At this time,
               the planet is brightest and is nearest to Earth for this
               orbit. These circumstances make it a good time to study the
               planet in the telescope. If you have a small telescope, put
               in a medium-power eyepiece (with a focal length around 16mm
               or 12mm) and see if you can see the dark "continental"
               features on the disk. These are real surface features, by
               the way--not clouds or shadows, as with Jupiter or Saturn.
               The most prominent feature will be a bright spot at one
               pole. This is Mars's northern polar cap. Since springtime
               began on Mars just this past November, the polar cap is 
               just beginning to shrink, so it should remain easily visible
               in small telescopes over the next couple of months.
               
               The largest planet in our solar system makes its appearance
               in the early morning sky this month. If you have a fairly
               flat view to the east, clear of trees, buildings and other
               obstructions, look for Jupiter to peek above the horizon
               around midnight. (You may have to wait until around one AM
               for the planet to clear the cluttered horizon.) Jupiter
               lies near the bright star Spica in Virgo, but it is much
               brighter than this star. In fact, over the next two months,
               Jupiter will grow even brighter as Earth swings nearer the
               planet in our orbit around the sun.
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Author         Jeff Kanipe. Jeff is also editor of Star Date Magazine.
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Publisher      McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas at Austin.
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For More       Write to Star Date at 2601 University, Room 102, the 
Information    University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712
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Contacts       sandi@astro.as.utexas.edu   Star Date Radio Station Contact
               kanipe@astro.as.utexas.edu  Editor Star Date Magazine
               damond@astro.as.utexas.edu  Star Date Radio scripts contact
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Legal          Copyright 1992 The University of Texas McDonald Observatory.
               Material is intended for personal education and should not 
               be rebroadcast in any written or verbal form without 
               prior permission from the University of Texas.
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                                   parish@cactus.org
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FINAL ISSUE    As most of you know by know Jeff Kanipe decide to               
UPDATE         discontinue SKYWATCH.  However, he has received many
               personal messages from his electronic readership.
               Jeff is still mulling it over ... however, he is
               amazed at how widespread and caring the SKYWATCH
               readership has become over the last year (in the
               online world).
 
               So, keep those electronic cards and letters coming.
               I'm hoping to get an answer from Jeff within the
               next couple of weeks.
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Happy New      May 1993 be a year be a successful year for everyone.
Year  
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