OBSERVING Using the Map c M r iza c Fa b a in M ` U ` _ A R JO S 80° R A M81 M82 Polaris k 80° AM ELO PAR DAL PE R f IS _ _ SE U b S ` ¡ l f c 30 l ge 29 Ri 28 ` 27 x 42 M 26 tri ¡ 25 N b 24 lla IO 23 Be R 22 M38 M36 a O 21 h _ 20 Variable star AURIGA M37 d 19 Double star Capella ` e + 18 M35 g 17 31 URSA INOR X c 16 R 15 9 Galaxy LE PU JO 14 8 ¡ N e 41 M 13 7 i 12 6 ng 2 k2 ¡ -20 S a 11 10 5 r ha 4 a A 1 3 S AT FR I THU c Fa WED Ad TUE MON S UN k ERID ANUS ` M ¡ Last Qtr January 31 10:28 p.m. EST j _ ` _ IS Full January 23 8:46 p.m. EST b First Qtr January 16 6:26 p.m. EST TA h UR US ` _ N Last Qtr January 2 12:30 a.m. EST New January 9 8:30 p.m. EST s a A SE ade 0° us SW Saturn Moon Phases g Bi er pp Y us lge ri Si S C E Jupiter Plei E C _ Hya L I P Ald des eba T I ran C te S GEMINI M47 M46 E Mars ` SE Mo Jan on 20 Be _ Venus c M50 SE Visible beginning Jan 23 Mercury ` a SUNRISE ▶ _ Procyon MIDNIGHT S RO CE NO MO M48 SHOWN FOR LATITUDE 40° NORTH AT MID-MONTH ◀ SUNSET Castor S CANI R MINO _ ` upper left of Spica. Mars is about 1.5° from fainter Alpha (α) Librae. Planet Visibility ` M Jan oon 23 HYDRA DAWN: The waning gibbous Moon is about 4° Pollux h NIGHT: Algol shines at minimum brightness for roughly two hours centered at 9:05 p.m. EST. 30 CAN CER M44 M67 _ 9 Facing East NIGHT: The Moon shines about 4° below Jupiter, which can be found off the hind foot of Leo. 29 L _ a NIGHT: Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, shines through the glare of the waning gibbous Moon, about 3° to its right for viewers in North America. 27 Di R EVENING: The waxing gibbous Moon occults Aldebaran for viewers in much of North America; see page 49. 25 _ ` O LE O DAWN: Look low in the southeast before sunrise to find Venus and Saturn less than ½° apart. Antares winks red about 7° right or lower right of the planetary duo. 19 M LE IN O DAWN: The thin waning crescent Moon hangs low in the southeast, left or lower left of Venus and Saturn, which are less than 2° apart. 9 r for roughly two hours centered at 10:31 p.m. EST (7:31 p.m. PST); see page 50. 7 co N EXACT FOR LATITUDE 40º NORTH. NIGHT: Algol shines at minimum brightness E 6 g around 3 a.m. EST on the 4th. The rise of the waning crescent Moon won't interfere with latenight viewing of the shower; see page 48. Al NIGHT: The Quadrantid meteors should peak +60° with little red Mars and blue-white Spica, nearly alike in brightness. 3-4 orth 3 MORNING: The Moon forms a modest triangle 12 h Go out within an hour of a time listed to the right. Turn the map around so the yellow label for the direction you're facing is at the bottom. That's the horizon. Above it are the constellations in front of you. The center of the map is overhead. Ignore the parts of the map above horizons you're not facing. JANUARY 2016 Thuban Sky at a Glance SE 6h C _ O _ LU M B A CA EL UM -40 Open cluster Diffuse nebula 3 Globular cluster Planetary nebula Facing