My first Magazine Sky & Telescope - 01.2019 | Page 43

OBSERVING
January 2019
1 DAWN: The fi rst morning of the
year opens with dazzling Venus and the
waning crescent Moon in Libra. Look
toward the southeast to see the ever-
thinning Moon glide past Jupiter during
the next few mornings.
3 EARTH is at perihelion, closest
to the Sun for 2019, at a distance of
147,099,761 kilometers.
11–12 NIGHT: Algol shines at 23 DAWN: Just before sunrise, Saturn
minimum brightness for roughly two
hours centered at 10:21 p.m. PST (1:21
a.m. EST); see page 50. makes its reappearance very low in the
southeast. Binoculars will help spot the
ringed planet. Visibility improves as the
month comes to a close.
14 EVENING: Algol shines at
minimum brightness for roughly two
hours centered at 10:10 p.m. EST (7:10
p.m. PST).
17 EVENING: Algol shines at
EVENING: The short-lived Quadrantids
peak for North America. Observe as the
radiant climbs higher in the northeast
— the waning crescent Moon should
not interfere with viewing. Read more
on page 48.
5–6 DAYTIME: A deep partial solar
eclipse is visible in the afternoon
hours of the 5th in the north Pacifi c,
and in the morning hours of the 6th in
northeast Asia.
minimum brightness for roughly two
hours centered at 6:59 p.m. EST.
20–21 NIGHT: The Moon, approaching
perigee, will be eclipsed for all of the
Americas, with Europe and most of
Africa seeing partial phases on the
morning of the 21st.
30 DAWN: Venus and Jupiter are
flanked by the waning crescent Moon
and Saturn. The following morning, the
Moon inserts itself between the two
brighter planets, while Saturn hovers
lower in the southeast.
— DIANA HANNIKAINEN
q A montage of fi ve photos of the full Moon
taken every fi ve minutes reveals the silhou-
ette of Mount Miaron, of the Cridola Group in
the Dolomites of northeast Italy. The peak is
5 kilometers away as the crow fl ies, and the
cross is approximately 3 meters tall.
GIORGIA HOFER
22 DAWN: Venus, which has been
closing in on Jupiter the past few
mornings, passes less than 2½°° from
the giant world in the early morning
hours. Red Antares jostles for attention
a little more than 8° right of the
planetary pair.
sk yandtele scope.com • JA N UA RY 2 019
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