SkyWatch

January 2001

By Steve Stefanik

The new year and new millennium begin with the gleaming –4.5 magnitude planet Venus high in the southwestern sky as the sun sets and the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn high in the eastern sky.

Venus will reach its greatest elongation from the sun almost 47 degrees on the 17^th. This translates into its highest point in the sky and will take almost four hours to slip below the western horizon after the sun. Look for the waxing crescent moon to join it on the nights of the 27^th & 28^th when it provides a great photographic opportunity.

The planet Mercury slides into the scene near the end of the month when it reaches its greatest elongation 18 degrees from the sun on the 28th. A thin sliver of a waxing crescent moon hovers by it on the nights of the 25^th & 26^th. Mercury is in conjunction with the planets Uranus and Neptune in the constellation Aquarius early in the month but will be difficult to spot in the glare of the setting sun.

As brilliant as Venus is, the shear size of Jupiter commands attention. Although it is two magnitudes dimmer at –2.6, Jupiter is more than twice the brightness of the nearby planet Saturn in the constellation Taurus. The pair of planets will become stationary on the night of the 25^th before they begin their natural eastward progression once again having been in retrograde motion for the past several months.

The last planet to make its way into the night sky is Mars. It rises about 2:00 a.m. amidst the stars of the constellation Libra. Its ruddy red +1.5 magnitude glow is a clue to spotting it but the best time to observe it is just before dawn when it is high in the southern sky. Its magnitude and size will increase with each passing night on its way toward opposition six months from now when it will appear four times bigger and four times brighter.