JANUARY 2025 OBSERVING Southern Hemisphere Sky Chart by Jonathan Nally Planet location shown for mid-month Exact for latitude 35°S. To use the Southern Hemisphere map, follow the instructions on page 42. Moon Jan 12 E Zenith -40° -60° Large Magellanic Cloud -80° OCTANS APUS TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE -1 1 2 3 4 γ β 17h i n g S o THE SMALL CONSTELLATION Dorado is named after the mahi-mahi, or dolphinfish, though on the chart above it more closely resembles its official guise as the celestial Swordfish. Dorado's main claim to fame is that it's home to most of the magnificent Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of the largest of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies. Also marked on the chart is 30 Dor, which is another name for the famous 44 JANUARY 2025 * SKY & TELESCOPE Galaxy uble star bl t Tarantula Nebula - a particularly large and prominent region of nebulosity within the LMC. Dorado's two most conspicuous stars are of contrasting colors: bluish Alpha (α) Doradus, a binary system with a combined magnitude of 3.3, and yellowish-white Beta (β), a Cepheid variable that ranges from magnitude 3.4 to 4.1 in just under 10 days. ¢ -60° α Late Nov Early Dec Late Dec Early Jan Late Jan -80° WHEN TO USE THE MAP 2 a.m.* 1 a.m.* 12 a.m.* 11 p.m.* 10 p.m.* *Daylight-saving time Saturn γ2 λ VELA µ 14h β ε Venus γ PHOENIX α 20h 11h c a F ARI ES W N MONOCEROS β CANI S MINOR α Procyon n g i 23h α β g n i -20° ε µ LEPUS β α 0° +20° η 8h 2h +40° ε 5h o N g n i β α Q U A F a c u t h Jupiter T O R α Small γ HYDRUS Magellanic Cloud β C E VOLANS MUSCA δ β PAVO α PIL Mars α 6752 Moon Jan 9 I T α 47 Tuc γ C β δ β CRUX CENTAURUS ω Cen TUCANA α β κ α ζ TAURUS ε M50 M67 M44 Achernar ERIDANUS η α GEMINI TRIANGULUM M33 α ζ ε P I SCES ε α τ β CETUS Mira α β COLUMBA E g -1 0 1 2 3 4 FORNAX AQUARIUS i n g c SCULPTOR i n g HOROLOGIUM α GRUS γ i n g α Fomalhaut α P I SCI S AUSTRINUS Galaxy Double star Variable star Open cluster Diffuse nebula Globular cluster Planetary nebula S E INDUS F a c CHAMAELEON β κ RET ICULUM CIRCINUS ι DORADO α 30 Dor β α P ICTOR ζ SEXTANS i c n CAELUM δ W M36 M37 M38 AURIGA Capella ι h t r c a F θ Pleiades ζ Algol M34 PERSEUS Rigel M42 π3 ε Betelgeuse ORION γ η ε M35 µ Pollux β Castor λ α β CANCER α θ β α HYDRA γ ANTL IA CRATER Canopus CARINA ω θ η Car δ γ Hadar α γ σ M47 M93 M46 PUPP I S M41 β Sirius CANI S MAJOR δ η M48 ν ρ PYXI S Regulus δ γ λ ξ θ α ζ Hyades β ι Aldebaran ε β δ α ε υ IC 2602 ε γ ο η N E 3 4 ι γ c a F π ν τ ξ α a F e t s δ κ Moon Jan 6 φ F a c β S W ρ t s a F a