At a glance:

The Sun is in Sagittarius, very close to Saturn, Mercury and Pluto. It sets around 8:55 PM and rises around 6 AM. The Moon appears high in the sky at sunset and sets in the west at around midnight (Moon at First Quarter). Mars is still the only planet in the early night sky that, visible low in the west with the naked eye. Unless you have a very dark sky and can’t spot Uranus (in Pisces), which is also in the sky and you will need a telescope to see Neptune. 

Milky Way’s centre has now sunk beyond the horizon but the edge of our galaxy, towards the constellation Orion is rising on the eastern horizon. 

The morning sky features two brilliant planets, Venus is very bright and high and Jupiter just below Venus to the right. 

Deep Sky stargazing  

Is great for the second part of the night, as the Moon is setting and there are some beautiful objects there, some are circumpolar and some are seasonal. Milky Way sank towards the western horizon and the centre of the Galaxy is now behind the glare of the Sun. On the eastern horizon, Orion is climbing the sky and with it the Pleiades, the Hyades and famous Orion objects, such as M42. 47 Tucanae globular cluster is still going strong. You can also look at the Magellanic Clouds with the famous Tarantula Nebula or try and find the Sculptor Galaxy. 

The Moon – First Quarter on Monday  

In average, the Moon rises or, if it’s already in the sky, sets about 50 minutes later than the previous day, every day.

Next New Moon: Tuesday 5 February

Next First Quarter: Wednesday 13 February

Next Full Moon: Monday 21 January

Next Last Quarter: Monday 28 January

Next Lunar Eclipse: 17 July 2019

What’s hot:

How to find Sculptor Galaxy NGC 253.

Check here for our telescope viewing schedule at Space Place if the weather is good and definitely come see all these jewels in our planetarium and make sure to let us know how it went either on Facebook, twitter or Instagram or by sending me an email haritinam@experiencewellington.org.nz

Clear skies for the week ahead,

Haritina