Begin the New Year with an occultation of Mars by the Moon, and discover Auriga’s deep-sky treasures
When to use this chart
1 Jan at 00:00 AEDT (13:00 UT)
15 Jan at 23:00 AEDT (12:00 UT)
30 Jan at 22:00 AEDT (11:00 UT)
January highlights
Recommended equipment: Binoculars
From southeast mainland Australia there will be an occultation of Mars by the Moon, visible at dawn on 1 January. From Canberra and Melbourne you will see the disappearance around 30 minutes before sunrise, but from Sydney it will be a near miss (4 arcminutes from the limb). Adelaide will get the best view, from where you’ll be able to see the disappearance and reappearance at 70 and 40 minutes before sunrise respectively. Low to the east, the lunar crescent will be quite thin. The chart accurately matches the sky on the dates and times shown for Sydney, Australia. The sky is different at other times as the stars crossing it set four minutes earlier each night.
Stars and constellations
Recommended equipment: Naked eye
Summer northern evening skies are dominated by Orion. Worthy of note is how many other constellations have common mythologies with the Hunter. The most obvious are his hunting dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor. One lesser-known association is Lepus, the Hare, which lies at Orion’s feet, directly above the star Rigel (Beta (β) Orionis). Though faint, Lepus’s six main 3rd to 4th magnitude stars make an obvious asterism, which is visible under dark skies.
The planets
Recommended equipment: Naked eye
The presence of Mercury, Saturn and Jupiter in the western sky comes to an end in January, as they become twilight-only objects. Mercury is the first to depart, being in conjunction with the Sun mid-month, with Saturn following suit at January’s close. Jupiter leaves near the end of twilight, with Neptune around an hour later. Meanwhile, Uranus is an evening object and sets around midnight. Mornings find Mars rising before dawn, with Venus and Mercury rising out of the solar glare.
Deep-sky objects
Recommended equipment: Small/medium telescope
This month we visit the constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer. From Beta (β) Tauri move 3.2° northeast to find the double star 26 Aurigae (RA 5h 38.6m, dec. +30° 29’), which has a yellow mag. +5.5 primary and a mag. +8.4 blue/white companion, just 12 arcseconds apart.
Recommended equipment: Large telescope
Continue in the same direction a further 3.5° to discover the 5th magnitude open star cluster NGC 2099, or M37 (RA 5h 52.3m, dec. +32° 33’). Consisting of around 200 stars, ranging from 9th to 13th magnitude, it is quite compact and fits in a 14-arcminute circle. There is a central red star, while M37’s brightest members are arranged in curves and triangles, merging into a busy star field. Being near the galactic equator, this is an open cluster-rich area, with four others less than 6° away towards the northwest, including M36 and M38.