What’s up in Space? January 2017 Sailing the southern skies

The chart is orientated for December 1 at 1am December 15 at midnight January 1 at 11pm January 15 at 10pm

The constellation of Orion the hunter still dominates our Canopus is the brightest star in the constellation of Carina, eastern skies after dark. Following the line of three stars that the keel, which along with Vela, the sails, and Puppis, the mark his belt to the right you come to Sirius, or Takurua, the poop deck, once formed part of the southern constellation brightest star in our night-time sky, in the constellation of of Argo Navis, the great ship. Canis Major, Orion’s large hunting dog. There are many interesting nebulae and star clusters in Just above and to the right of Sirius, at distance of around this part of the sky, but perhaps the most famous is the 4 degrees, is M41, an open cluster of stars covering an area Eta Carinae nebula, a huge cloud of glowing gas around 7500 around the size of the full moon. It is just visible as a blurry light years away. It is one of the largest nebulae of its type smudge to the naked eye from a clear, dark location. Through in our skies (4 times the size of the Orion nebula), and the binoculars or a small telescope you will see a number of in- brightest central parts can be picked out with the naked eye. dividual stars, some showing hints of red and orange. With binoculars you should be able to see a golden star in the nebula; this is Eta Carinae, a massive, unstable star on A little further south, and set apart from the Milky Way is the the verge of blowing itself apart. bright star Canopus, the second brightest star in our night time sky. To Māori it is known either as Ariki, meaning “high born”, or Atutahi, meaning “stand alone” and is considered to be tapu, or sacred. Viewed from New Zealand it never sets.