| January 2004 | |
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 Download this month's star chart! |
Cold Weather Planets
This month is a great time to find planets - four of the five planets visible to the unaided eye are in the sky every night.
The first you're likely to see is brilliant Venus, low in the west just after sunset. Unless the Moon is up, it will be the brightest thing in the sky at that time of night. But look quickly - at the beginning of January, Venus will set before 7:30. By the end of the month, it will stay above the horizon until just before 8:30.
As the sky continues to darken you'll be able to spot Mars. Mars is not nearly as bright as it was this past summer, but it should still stand out against the relatively dim stars of the constellation Pisces the Fish.
To find the next planet, first locate the bright constellation Orion the Hunter. Draw a line from Orion's brighter foot, Rigel, through his opposite shoulder, Betelgeuse. Keep extending that line further until you run into another bright star. That "star" is actually the planet Saturn, now appearing in Gemini the Twins. This is a good time to view Saturn if you have access to a telescope. In late December it reached opposition - its closest approach to Earth in its orbit. This means that through a telescope Saturn appears larger and brighter than usual.
For the fourth and final planet, you'll have to stay up a little later. Near the beginning of January, Jupiter rises in the east at about 10:00, but it will take an hour to rise high enough to be seen over your local horizon. By the end of the month, it rises quite a bit earlier, around 8:00. Jupiter makes for another great telescopic view. If the sky is clear and still, you'll be able to see the cloud bands encircling the planet, as well as four of Jupiter's largest moons.
Terrific 2004
The new year is shaping up to be a fantastic period for astronomy and space exploration. The excitement gets underway quickly. On January 2, NASA's Stardust spacecraft will reach its target, comet Wild 2 (pronounced 'vilt'). Stardust will gather dust from the comet, which it will return to Earth in 2006.
The very next day, January 3, the Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit" will land on the surface of Mars. Its twin craft "Opportunity" will land on January 24. Each rover will explore very different parts of the Martian surface. Scientists hope to learn whether Mars once had oceans of liquid water long ago.
Then in July, the Cassini spacecraft will reach Saturn, nearly six years after its launch. Unlike the flybys of Voyagers 1 and 2, Cassini will stay in orbit of Saturn to study the planet, its moons, and of course, the famous rings. Riding along is the Huygens probe, which will explore Saturn's moon Titan. Huygens will detach from Cassini in December, and plunge into Titan's thick atmosphere in January of 2005. For a complete preview of the Cassini mission, visit the planetarium in March to see "RingWorld".
Closer to home, the Moon will pass into the shadow of the Earth during a Total Lunar Eclipse on the evening of October 28. The entire eclipse will be visible from Tennessee and most of the rest of the U.S.
There is also the possibility we'll see not one, but TWO bright, naked-eye comets this year. Comet C/2004 Q4 (NEAT) and Comet C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) may become visible in the evening sky during late spring. Comets are VERY unpredictable, making it hard to say whether they will be fantastic or fizzle. Watch our web site for more information as it becomes available.
Using a Telescope?
Polar alignment? Collimation? Magnification? Setting up a telescope sounds like a real challenge. If you already have a telescope or received one as a gift during the holidays, the January meeting of the Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society (BSAS) will focus on telescope basics. Join us, Thursday evening, January 15, at 7:30 PM at the Adventure Science Center, to discover how to get the most out of your telescope. If you plan to attend, please send an e-mail to planetarium@adventuresci.com with the make and model of your scope so we can be prepared.
February Star Party
If you want to take a closer look at the planets, there will be a FREE public observing session at the model airplane field at Edwin Warner Park on Friday, February 13 from 7:30 to 9:30 PM. Members of BSAS will have telescopes available for viewing Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, as well as other celestial sights. Make reservations by calling the Warner Park Nature Center at 615-352-6299. It will probably be COLD, so be sure to dress warmly.