Starmapjanuary/FEBRUARY 2020 601 Light Street • Baltimore’S Inner Harbor
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TRIANGLE SUMMER SCORPIUS DAVIS PLANETARIUM Antares LIBRA Spica ARIUS StarmapJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 601 Light Street • Baltimore’s Inner Harbor VIRGO 410.685.5225 • www.marylandsciencecenter.org T SAGIT Arcturus SATURN NORTH MERCUR AQUILA ega V Y M Altair E LEO R C U EAST BIG DIPPER R Y Regulus POINTERS CYGNUS Deneb LITTLE DIPPER LITTLE W Milky WEST Polaris CAPRICORNUS ay CANCER BEEHIVE CLUSTER PEGASUS T BOOTES Pollux Y AURIGA CASSIOPEIA MERCUR GEMINI Early Feb. Capella GREA Procyon SQUARE WINTER TRIANGLE ARIES Early Feb. PISCES YRA Betelgeuse Pleiades L Aldebaran Sirius ecliptic ORION TAURUS CANIS MAJOR Rigel AQUARIUS SOUTH MAGNITUDE is a measure of a star’s brightness. TO USE MAP: The lower the number, the brighter the star st Hold the map in front of you so that the direction you are facing is on the 1 or brighter magnitude star JUPITER bottom. The stars on the lower half on the map will match up with the stars 2nd magnitude star in the sky. The center of the map is directly overhead in the sky. Constellation 3rd magnitude star and star pattern names are all capitalized. Names of stars have only the first 4th or fainter magnitude star letter capitalized. The map is valid within an hour of: 8:30pm Mid-Jan. EST ECLIPTIC: 6:30pm Mid-Feb. EST The imaginary path of the Sun through the year. Constellations of the Zodiac surround the Ecliptic and the Moon and planets appear along it. DAVIS PLANETARIUM StarmapJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 IN THE JANUARY/FEBRUARY SKY CELESTIAL HIGHLIGHTS Jan 2 Feb 1 Quadrantid meteors peak January 3 – After the Moon sets, First quarter Moon First quarter Moon this could be an excellent meteor shower this year. Meteoroids Jan 3 Feb 9 are bits of debris from comets that burn up passing through Quadrantid meteors peak Full Moon Earth’s atmosphere, creating a quick flash or streak of light (See Celestial Highlights) called a “meteor” or “shooting star.” A meteor shower is a high Feb 10 frequency of meteors that seem to come from one area of the Jan 5 Mercury at greatest sky. Meteor showers are usually named for the constellation Earth at Perihelion elongation that they radiate from, but in the case of the Quadrantids Jan 10 Feb 15 (named after, Quadrans Muralis) the constellation is no longer Full Moon Last quarter Moon on modern star maps. Instead look for Quadrantid meteors from the night of January 3 to morning of January 4 near the Superior conjunction Feb 18 Big Dipper. of Mercury Moon near Mars Jan 13 (Morning) Planet groupings – Early morning before sunrise the planets Saturn conjunction with Sun and the Moon are joining each other in a bit of a dance. On Feb 19 January 20 the Moon joins Mars then moves on to join Jupiter Jan 17 Moon near Jupiter on January 22. In February, besides visiting Mars and Jupiter Last quarter Moon (Morning) again, it also visits Saturn. The Moon visits Mars the morning Mars near Antares (Morning) Feb 20 of February 18 and Jupiter the next morning. The following morning, February 20, look at about 6 am to see the Moon and Jan 20 Moon near Saturn Saturn low near the horizon. Moon near Mars (Morning) (Morning) Jan 22 Feb 23 The bi-monthly STARMAP is available on the web at Moon near Jupiter (Morning) New Moon http://www.mdsci.org/pdf/Planetarium/STARMAP.pdf Feb 25 Jan 24 CROSBY RAMSEY MEMORIAL OBSERVATORY New Moon Inferior conjunction of Mercury INFO 410-545-2999 Jan 28 Free public observing nights are held Friday evenings, Moon near Venus Feb 27 weather permitting. Observatory hours are 5:30-9:00 p.m. Moon near Venus The Observatory is also open Saturdays from 1:00-4:00 p.m., included in Maryland Science Center admission. Please call after 5:00 p.m. on Friday or after 12 noon on Saturday for observing conditions. MERCURY VENUS MARS JUPITER SATURN When: When: When: When: When: Not visible, January After sunset Morning sky Not visible, early January Not visible, January After sunset, early February Where: Where: Before sunrise, late Before sunrise, February Where: Southwest to West Southeast January and February Where: Low in West, February Constellation: Constellation: Where: Low in Southeast, Constellation: Capricornus, Aquarius, Libra, Scorpius, Low in Southeast February Aquarius, February Pisces Ophiuchus, Sagittarius Constellation: Constellation: Sagittarius Sagittarius .