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THE CONSTELLATIONS S*T*A*R CH ART The star groups linked by lines are the constellations created by our ancestors thousands of years ago as a way of mapping the night sky. Modern astronomers still use the traditional names, which give today’s stargazers a permanent link to the sky myths and legends of the past. This season's evening sky features Orion the Hunter. Connect three bright stars to form Orion’s belt. Betelgeuse, a red super-giant star, marks the left shoulder. Notice its reddish appearance in comparison with the ‘blue’ color of the belt stars. Betelgeuse is one of the largest and most luminous stars known. If it were at the center of our Solar System, its surface would extend beyond the orbit of Mars! FOR WINTER January/February * 2014 * THE PLANETS MERCURY Look for a first-magnitude or brighter “star” low in the west during the first week of February. * VENUS appears by mid-January as a brilliant object low in the southeastern sky at dawn. * MARS rises about midnight and shines high in the south in the predawn hours. * JUPITER is the prime-time planet this winter. On Jan. 5th, it is closest to Earth and brightest for the year. Jupiter rises at sunset in early January, but by the end of February, Jupiter is high in the east at nightfall, shining as a bright extra “star” in the constellation of Gemini. * SATURN rises in the east at 1 a.m. by the end of February. OBSERVING HIGHLIGHTS JAN 5 Jupiter at opposition (closest to Earth for 2014), rising at sunset JAN 15 * Full Moon, 11:52 p.m., EST; smallest full Moon of 2014, with Moon at distant apogee (406,532 km); Earth passes through orbital plane of Comet ISON, with possible meteor shower. JAN 22 * Waning gibbous Moon 0.5° above Spica and 5° below Mars after midnight on Jan. 23 JAN 31 * Mercury at greatest angle away from Sun (18°) in evening sky; thin crescent Moon 4° north of Mercury. FEB 18 Zodiacal light at its best in evening sky for next two weeks; waning Moon, Spica and Mars in a 5°-wide triangle in midnight to dawn sky. * Impressive or relatively rare astronomical event SPACE STATION SIGHTINGS As the space station orbits the Earth, sunlight reflects off of its giant solar arrays. From Earth, it appears as a bright object moving high across the night sky. Visit www.heavens-above.com to get a list of upcoming ISS passes over your community. MOON PHASES OBSERVING TIP: Check our calendar for more details: www.ontariosciencecentre.ca Need a night-sky friendly flashlight? Cover a flashlight's lamp with brown or red paper to dim its light and preserve your night vision. Full JAN 15 (11:52 p.m.) FEB 14 (6:53 p.m.) New JAN 1 (6:14 a.m.) JAN 30 (4:38 p.m.) *FREE ASTRONOMY EVENTS AT THE OSC* Jan 4th & Feb 1st, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.: Solar Observing: Spot sunspots and solar flares through specially filtered telescopes. TELUSCAPE Jan 22nd, 7:30 p.m.: Astronomy presentations, including: Observing highlights of this month’s sky, Astronomy from the Atacama, and Solar cycle 24: are we really at solar max? Presented by members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. OUR CHART SHOWS the major stars, planets and constellations visible from Canada and the northern United States within one hour of these times: EARLY JANUARY: 11 P.M.; LATE JANUARY: 10 P.M. EARLY FEBRUARY: 9 P.M.; LATE FEBRUARY: 8 P.M. NORTH WEST W N N E EAST S E Download our most recent star chart: www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/tour/default.asp?demoid=75 W S SOUTH Cartography and design by Roberta Cooke. Base chart data derived from maps drawn by Roy Bishop for the Observer’s Handbook, published by The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. ROTATING NIGHT SKY: During the night, the Earth’s rotation on its axis slowly shifts the entire sky. This is the same motion that swings the Sun on its daily eastto-west trek. The rotational hub is Polaris, the North Star, located almost exactly above the Earth’s North Pole. Everything majestically marches counter-clockwise around it, a motion that becomes evident after about half an hour. TO USE THIS CHART: Hold the chart in front of you and rotate it so the direction you are facing (N,S,E,W) is at the bottom of the chart. The edge of the chart represents the horizon; the overhead point is at centre. On a moonless night in the country, you will see more stars than are shown here; deep in the city, you will see fewer. The ecliptic line is the celestial pathway of the Moon and planets. The star groups straddling this line are known as the zodiac constellations. The Moon is shown for selected dates. Prepared for the Ontario Science Centre by SkyNews, the Canadian Magazine of Astronomy & Stargazing. SkyNews.ca SkyNews.ca 1-866-759-0005