THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
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43.6667° N    70.2667° W  Altitude:  10 feet below sea level Founded
January 1970
2021-2022: LVIII
                     "It's your outlook on life that counts. If you take
yourself lightly and don't take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can
find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver. "
 -Betty White

THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
January 2022 Night Sky Calendar Part II

*THURSDAY, JANUARY 13: MOON NEAR THE PLEIADES*
Tonight one will see the waxing gibbous moon (81% illuminated) "near" the
Pleiades Star Cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters. The Pleiades will
remain visible despite the considerable lunar light interference. During
this month's close approach, the moon will appear to move between Taurus
the Bull and the Pleiades.

A subscriber recently asked, "Why does the moon pass close to the Pleiades
and Praesepe star clusters each month and not some of the others?"

The moon appears to draw close to these clusters because they are both
located close to the ecliptic, the Sun's annual path through the sky. As
the moon and planets all move within a band centered on this ecliptic, they
all appear to move close to stars located on or near it. For instance:

*MONDAY, JANUARY 17: MOON NEAR CASTOR AND POLLUX*

                             [image: 1200px-Gemini_IAU.svg.png]

The full moon passes south of Castor and Pollux, the two brightest stars
within the Gemini twins, tonight. In the above image (courtesy: Sky and
Telescope), the ecliptic is depicted as a curved blue line extending
between the image's left and right border. Since Castor and Pollux are both
close to this line, the moon will appear to move close to them each month.

On an unrelated note: the white region centered on Gemini is designated as
the Gemini region. When the Sun's position is within this area, it is said
to be "in Gemini." Currently, the Sun enters Gemini immediately after the
summer solstice and remains within it until about July 20th. The ecliptic
intersects thirteen constellation regions. Those thirteen constellations
comprise the "zodiac."

*MONDAY, JANUARY 17: FULL MOON*

                                        [image:
suh8avJYT6hfZs3kt3KGsi.jpg] January's
full moon has its fair share of nicknames: the Snow Moon, the Moon After
Yule, the Ice Moon, and the Wolf Moon. While the first three names are
sensible, the last one is a bit perplexing. The "Wolf Moon" name likely
derives from the Anglo Saxon calendar and relates to the howling of hungry
wolves prowling the wilderness in search of food. The full moon provided
ample illumination to aid them in their search for nourishment.

*TUESDAY, JANUARY 18: MOON NEAR PRAESEPE (BEEHIVE STAR CLUSTER)*
See the waning gibbous moon (99% illuminated) close to Praesepe, the
prominent star cluster within the constellation Cancer the Crab. The moon's
light will likely obscure this cluster entirely.

*SUNDAY, JANUARY 23: MERCURY AT INFERIOR SOLAR CONJUNCTION*
Now, Mercury passes between the Sun and Earth and will soon appear in the
eastern pre-dawn sky. Only the two inferior planets, Mercury and Venus, can
ever pass into inferior solar conjunction. As Mercury is in conjunction
today, we won't see it. As is true with Venus, we can only see Mercury at
inferior conjunction when it passes directly across the Sun, an event
called a *transit*. Recall that the next Venusian transit won't occur until
December 11, 2117. We only have to wait until November 13, 2032 for the
next transit of Mercury.





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