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Jane Houston Jones from NASA's JPL talks about the January sky.

I've just looked out the window and the crescent Moon and Venus are very bright. Mars is fainter but I saw it off to the left.

Jones mentions binoculars. It's worth having a pair. Much easier to use than a telescope, and more portable. Start Observing - with Binoculars

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Brian Ventrudo takes you through the delights of the January sky. This page will give you a handy reference.

Also a reminder that Heavens-above can provide you with sky maps set to your location and set to whatever time and date you want.

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The Moon and Venus inspired lots of people to take a snap of the pair in the sky. Here is the Moon and Venus seen from Wiltshire, England by Albany Cope. It's a pretty sight in the darkening sky.

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I was walking to get a bus home tonight. It had been raining today, but the sky had substantially cleared. Even with the bright gibbous Moon and the city light, I could see Orion below the Moon.

If you follow the line of the three stars of Orion's belt from right to left, it points o bright Sirius in Canis Major. If you follow them in the opposite direction, they point towards Aldebaran, the eye of the bull Taurus. Aldebaran appeared just to the right of the Moon where I was tonight.

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Steve Caridi gives the heads up for the week starting January 9th:

Quote:
The Sky this Week
This week, Mars and Venus continue to light up the southwestern sky at dusk. It's not hard to tell the two apart: Venus shines at magnitude -4.3, nearly as bright as it ever gets. Mars, a few degrees to the upper left, is reddish and shines at nearly 1st magnitude, about 100 times fainter than Venus but still easily visible as one of the first "stars" of the night. The Moon passes near the stars of Taurus and Orion early in the week. By the evening of the 14th/15th, it is in Leo, and it will pass about 1° (about two Moon diameters) from that constellation's brightest star, Regulus. Toward dawn, look for Jupiter high in the southeastern sky, a few degrees above the bright star Spica.

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Universe Today has published David Dickinson's compendium of what's up in the sky for this year. Much of it is for experienced amateurs, but there are a number of events that anyone can appreciate.

It is free. You don't have to register. You can simply download the pdf of 101 Astronomical Events 2017.

And Christopher Becke has linked the 101 events to a Google calendar.

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Steve Caridi reminds us of what's up this week:
Quote:
Venus and Mars are easy to spot in the southwestern sky as night falls. Venus is so bright that you can easily see it before the sky gets very dark - it will be the first "star" you see. On a clear night, try to see how early in dusk you can spot the brightest planet. Jupiter is bright and high in the southern sky before dawn. Look for a third-quarter Moon nearby on the morning of the 19th.

If somebody will chase the clouds away, I'll be looking!

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Not much change for the coming week - the planets are still the main attraction. We've had several clear evenings and Venus is incredibly bright. Bet the UFO reports are coming in thick and fast.

From Steve Caridi:
Quote:
Venus and Mars continue to light up the southwestern sky at dusk. Venus is about 100 times brighter than Mars, but Mars is easy to identify because of its reddish hue. Jupiter is rising around midnight local time, so toward dawn it is riding very high in the southern sky among the stars of Virgo (bright Spica is a few degrees below it). About an hour before sunrise, look for Saturn low in the southeastern sky. The waning crescent Moon will pass near it on the morning of the 24th.

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Bruce McClure and Deborah Byrd say:
Quote:
As February 2017 opens, the young moon is sweeping past the planets Venus and Mars in the western sky after sunset. Venus rules over the evening sky while Jupiter lords over the morning sky. Venus, the brightest planet, blazes in the west first thing at dusk, and showcases its greatest illuminated extent on February 17. Jupiter, the second-brightest planet, lights up the nighttime between late evening and sunrise. Mars is near Venus in the evening sky, but it’s higher up and much fainter than Venus, setting in the west shortly after Venus does around mid-evening. Meanwhile, Saturn appears in the southeastern sky during the predawn hours. Mercury is falling into the glare of the rising sun.

Here they are: Venus and Mars and the waxing Moon

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What's up in the sky in February? Jane Houston Jones fills us in. There is a transcript or you can watch the video in your choice of format.




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