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| This month we show the eastern
sky at 8:00 PM on December 28, the night of our star party. Saturn
remains very well placed about 35 deg above the eastern horizon, shining
at mag -0.4. (Please note that the lower margin of the chart is not
the horizon, but a line about 6 deg higher.) Saturn is now nearly
as close to the earth as it will be for the rest of its current 29-year
orbit, only about 700,000,000 miles away, so take advantage of our viewing
opportunities. The rings are close to their maximum tilt as seen
from the earth, so you can see them with binoculars. There are times
when the rings nearly disappear, when we see them edge-on.
Orion is located about 25 deg above the horizon at 8:00 PM. The Orion Nebula, M42, is the fuzzy patch in the middle of the sword, to the lower right of the three belt stars. On a decent night, M42 is visible to the naked eye; it’s an easy binocular object, and a marvelous sight in a telescope. The Orion Nebula is a region of active star formation, a kind of stellar nursery about 1,500 light years away. Betelgeuse is a red giant near Orion’s shoulder. Indeed, the name is said to mean the armpit of the Giant. Betelgeuse is an irregularly variable star, brightening and dimming over periods of several years. Betelgeuse is one of the largest stars known, as large as the orbit of Mars, and possibly that of Jupiter. If Betelgeuse were to replace our sun, it would engulf Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and possibly Jupiter. Big, huh? Magnitudes are listed for the prominent stars of Orion. Notice that larger magnitude numbers mean dimmer objects. And Saturn, the brightest object in this part of the sky, has a negative magnitude. |
You can print a copy of this star chart so you can take it outside.
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