* Astronomy

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January 2010

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January Stargazing

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January 15th will herald the first annular solar eclipse of the year, also the longest in the millennium.

"Not only will this eclipse be the first of the year but also the longest of the third millennium, that is between 2001 and 3000. In India it will start at around 11 a.m. and end at around 3 p.m" - Ajay Talwar of the Amateur Astronomers Association.

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Once every 26 months or so, Mars comes closest to Earth in its orbit around the sun. That time has come again. Mars will reach opposition on Jan. 29, meaning it will be opposite the sun in our sky -- rising in the east around sunset, climbing highest in the south around midnight and setting around sunrise. In telescopes and binoculars, Mars will appear bigger and brighter than it will again until 2012. The red-orange planet will not be as large as it looked during its record-close approach in August 2003.
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January is your last chance to see Jupiter in the evening sky until Autumn.
As January begins, look fairly high in the southwestern sky to find Jupiter in the darkening evening twilight. Shining at a magnitude of -2.1, Jupiter outshines all stars in this part of the sky. By the end of January, Jupiter will set shortly after the Sun, so finding Jupiter will be easier earlier in the month.
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Every 26 months we catch up with Mars and for a few months we are close enough to see detail with a telescope. We have a better view if we catch up when Mars is near perihelion, like we did in August 2003 when we were as close as 55 million kilometres. Near the end of January we come within 99 million kilometres, not quite as distant as we'll be in 2012, but in late evening Mars is high in the sky where there is less atmosphere to distort our view.
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Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in more than two years at the end of this month, creating a prime viewing opportunity.
The red planet plays a major role in the sky during the first month of 2010. Mars rises in the east around 9 p.m. at the beginning of January and will be visible in the sky all night.
Following the ecliptic, or path of the sun, the planet will set in the west around 8 a.m. By the end of January, Mars will rise a little after 6 p.m. and set around 6 a.m.
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Annular Solar Eclipse of January 15 2010

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Solar eclipse seen from Calcutta