The year opens with great treats in the sky. Venus gets brighter and more prominent. It will be at greatest eastern elongation on January 12.
What is greatest eastern elongation? When an inferior planet is visible after sunset, it is near its greatest eastern elongation. When an inferior planet (either of the two planets Mercury and Venus, whose orbits are closer to the sun than the earth’s) is visible before sunrise, it is near its greatest western elongation.
Shining bright
Venus reaches greatest eastern elongation of 47.1° from the Sun and this is the best time to view Venus since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the bright planet in the western sky after sunset. Also for a nine-day period from January 8 to the 16, Earth, Venus and the Sun will form a right-angled triangle in space, with Venus positioned at the 90° angle.
After January 10, look out for Saturn and Neptune. While Saturn will be more prominent at dawn, Neptune will be better seen at dusk. Jupiter too will rise around midnight and shine brightly in the morning.
Watch out for a full moon on January 12. The moon will be on the opposite side of the earth, as the sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at11:34 and it will be brightest at this time. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Wolf Moon because this was the time of year when hungry wolf packs howled outside their camps. This moon has also been known as the Old Moon and the Moon After Yule.
As the full moon makes way for a new moon on January 28, it will be located on the same side of the earth as the sun and will not be visible. This is the best time to observe faint objects like galaxies and star clusters.
The stars at 8 p.m.
North: Cassiopeia shows up as a letter ‘M’ near the zenith. Cygnus is nicely placed in the north-west. Hercules and Lyra are low.
East: Perseus and Auriga are high up, with Gemini, Taurus and Orion nicely placed. Leo, Cancer and Monoceros are low.
South: Aries and Pisces are nicely placed, with Lepus — the Hare — near the SE horizon, below Orion.
West: Andromeda is high up with Pegasus nicely placed. Cygnus and Delphinus are low.
