Here are some events to watch out for in January 2006. All times are UT.
Date:
1 Venus is 7° north of the Moon. 1000 UT 1 The Moon is at perigee. 2300UT 2 Neptune is 4° north of the Moon. 1200UT 4 Uranus is 2° north of the Moon. 0000UT 4 Earth is at perihelion. 1500UT 5 Vesta, the third largest asteroid, is at opposition. 2300UT 6 FIRST QUARTER 1900UT 8 Mars is 1° 3' south of the Moon. 2000UT 14 Venus is in inferior conjunction. 0000UT 14 FULL MOON 1000UT 15 Saturn is 4° south of the Moon. 1300UT 16 The asteroid Juno appears to be motionless in the sky as it goes from retrograde to direct motion. 2000UT 17 The moon is at apogee. 1900UT 21 Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, is 0° 6' south of the Moon. Occultation of Spica by the Moon. 2200UT 22 LAST QUARTER 1500UT 23 Jupiter is 5° north of the Moon. 2000UT 25 Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, is 0° 02' south of the Moon. Occultation of Antares by the Moon. 1200UT 26 Mercury is in superior conjunction. 2200UT 27 Saturn is at opposition. 2300UT 28 Venus is 12° north of the Moon. 0000UT 29 NEW MOON 1400UT 30 Moon is at perigee. 0800UT 31 Uranus is 1° 7' north of the Moon. 1200UT
The constellation Orion, the Hunter, is visible from October through March in both hemispheres. This constellation was named after the hero of Greek mythology who was killed by Scorpius, the scorpion. The gods felt sorry for Orion, so they put him and his dogs in the sky as constellations, along with all of the animals he hunted. Scorpius was placed on the opposite side of the sky so that Orion would never be hurt by it again. Orion is never seen in the sky at the same time as Scorpius. Orion is without a doubt one of the brightest and most beautiful constellation in the winter sky. The three stars comprising Orion's belt are among the most easily recognizable formations in the night sky. The sword of Orion is the home of the famous Orion Nebula. This nebula is one of the brightest in the sky and can easily be seen with the naked eye. Another famous object, the Horsehead Nebula, is also located in Orion. This region of dark dust against a bright nebula gets its name from its shape - that of a horse head.
