Sydney Observatory night sky map January 2015 A map for each month of the year, to help you learn about the night sky www.sydneyobservatory.com.au This star chart shows the stars and constellations visible in the night sky for Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart and Adelaide for January 2015 at about 8:30 pm (summer time) and at about 7:30 pm (local standard time) for Perth and Brisbane. For Darwin and similar locations the chart will still apply, but some stars will be lost off the southern edge while extra stars will be visible to the north. Stars down to a brightness or magnitude limit of 4.5 are shown. To use this star chart, rotate it so that the direction you are facing (north, south, east or west) is shown at the bottom. The centre of the chart represents the point directly above your head, called the zenith point, and the outer circular edge represents the horizon. h t r o N Star Brightness Moon Phase LYNX Full Moon: 05th Zero or brighter st Last quarter: 13th 1 magnitude Capella LACERTA nd New Moon: 21st 2 AURIGA First quarter: 27th rd N PERSEUS 3 E th ANDROMEDA W 4 N M45 (Pleiades or TRIANGULUM Seven Sisters) Pollux Moon on 27th ARIES GEMINI TAURUS Aldebaran PEGASUS PISCES Betelgeuse ORION Moon on 23rd CANIS MINOR Procyon M42 Rigel CETUS ERIDANUS EQUULEUS MONOCEROS AQUARIUS E LEPUS Moon on 22rd a Sirius t s Sirius FORNAX s t P CANIS MAJOR ERIDANUS SCULPTOR Mars e Fomalhaut W COLUMBA CAELUM Venus on 22nd P Adhara PISCIS AUSTRINUS HOROLOGIUM PHOENIX PICTOR CAPRICORNUS Achernar GRUS PUPPIS RETICULUM Canopus DORADO P TUCANA Venus on 7th MICROSCOPIUM HYDRUS PYXIS LMC SMC MENSA INDUS FALSE CROSS VOLANS CARINA HYDRA OCTANS South Celestial Pole VELA CHAMAELEON PAVO ANTLIA SCORPIUS SAGITTARIUS TELESCOPIUM SOUTHERN CROSS Chart Key S APUS E MUSCA POINTERS CORONA AUSTRALISW Bright star S Faint star TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE CRUX Ecliptic Mimosa ARA Milky Way Hadar Alpha Centauri CIRCINUS P Planet Centre of the Galaxy LMC or Large Magellanic Cloud South NORMA SMC or Small Magellanic Cloud Mars is visible low in the west in Aquarius. Early in the evening Venus can be seen low in the west as the bright evening star. On the 22nd a thin crescent Moon is located near Venus, while the next evening it has moved close to Mars. The best time to view the Moon using binoculars or a small telescope is a few days either side of the first quarter Moon on the 27th. The two brightest stars in the night sky can also be seen; Sirius in the constellation Canis Major is the brightest star followed by the star Canopus in Carina. Crux (the Southern Cross) is low in the south and can be difficult to find. 2015 Australasian sky guide book Daily activities at Sydney Observatory The 2015 Australasian sky guide has details on the Sydney Observatory is open for night and day visits sky for the whole year, including rise and set times for every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the Sun, Moon and planets, and tidal information for Good Friday. Programs include telescope viewings, Sydney. Available from Sydney Observatory, the 3D space theatre and Sydney Planetarium sessions. Powerhouse Museum and good bookshops (RRP Bookings are essential for night telescope viewing. $16.95); also via mail order (postal charges apply) at Watson Road, Observatory Hill, The Rocks. www.powerhousemuseum.com/publications/ www.sydneyobservatory.com.au Ph (02) 9921 3485 Sydney Observatory is part of the Powerhouse Museum. The Sydney Observatory night sky map is prepared by Dr M Anderson using the software TheSky. © 2014 Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney. .