The New Moon marks both the first and the penultimate day of this month of January.
Two days after the New Year, that is, at dawn on the 3rd, the peak of activity of the first meteor shower of the year takes place: the Quarantidas.
If weather conditions allow, in places that are very dark, it will be possible to observe a few dozen meteors per hour. These meteors seem to arise from the region of the sky (the radiant one) occupied by the ancient constellation of Quadrans Muralis, hence the name of this shower of stars.
Currently this part of the sky belongs to the constellation of Boieiro. In this constellation Arcturus stands out, the fourth brightest star in the night sky. This is an orange giant star with 25,7 times the radius of the Sun that, unlike the Sun, will have already depleted all the hydrogen in its nucleus.
In this region of the firmament, we find other interesting objects, such as lambda Bootis, a star with variable brightness and a peculiar (and therefore well-studied) chemical composition, and epsilon Bootis, a triple star system. This star system is composed of an orange-yellow star, a bluish one, and a third star so dim that it is only visible using professional telescopes.
During the dawn of the 4th, the Earth reaches its perihelion: the point of its orbit closest to the Sun. July).
However, this difference is not very significant in comparison to that caused by the variation in the sun's height throughout the year, which is responsible for the existence of seasons.
On the night of the 5th, Jupiter will find itself in the opposite direction to the Sun. This is one of the periods when Earth is closest to Jupiter.
Also on these days we find Jupiter fully illuminated and, as happens on the Full Moon, we will see it high up in the sky around midnight. So this is one of the best occasions to observe Jupiter and its Moons.
In turn, the fourth crescent takes place at dawn on the 8th, with the Moon in the constellation of Pisces.
At dawn on the 16th, the Full Moon occurs, with it next to the constellation of the Crab. A week later (the 23rd) the Moon will pass between the planet Mars and the star Espiga of the constellation Virgo. Finally, at dawn on the 24th, the waning quarter occurs.
On the 29th, the Moon will be 2 degrees south of the planet Venus, which these days appears as the morning star. Two days later, Mercury reaches its furthest distance from the Sun. When it appears 18 degrees east of our king star, it will be visible at dusk.
Good remarks!
Author Fernando JG Pinheiro (CGUC)
Science in the Regional Press – Ciência Viva
figure – View of the eastern sky at 4 o'clock on day 3. Mars, Saturn, the radiant meteor shower from the Quarantides and some constellations and stars of interest are visible. Also visible are the position of the Moon and Mars at dawn on the 23rd.
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