Night Sky Guide: January to March 2012

Author: Kelly Whitt

The first three months of 2012 will be prime observing time for planetary enthusiasts. Venus will live up to the name Goddess of Love as she spreads the love in close pairings with Neptune in January, Uranus in February, and Jupiter in March. Mars will slowly become more of an earlier evening object at the same time that Mercury sneaks into the sky after sunset.

The New Year starts out with Venus shining brilliantly in the west-southwest after sunset at magnitude -4.0. Venus will be climbing higher in our sky over the next three months as it comes closer to us in its orbit. Over that time the planet will brighten but its phase will shrink as the Sun drops to the other side of Venus from us. Venus moves from Capricornus up to Aquarius, where Neptune is waiting just across the border.

If you don’t have a telescope, your New Year’s Resolution should be to make friends with someone who does, because on January 13, Venus will be approximately one degree to the left of the farthest planet in our solar system. Dim Neptune will be visible through a telescope trained on nearby Venus. Neptune will be the bluish green spot at magnitude 8.0 that looks a bit like a disc and less like a starry pinpoint. As long as you’re checking out Venus through the scope as well, note that it’s about 80 per cent lit. By the end of March it will be only half-lit, and it will shrink quickly over Spring.

Although bright Venus steals all the attention on early January evenings, as soon as it has set eyes will turn to Jupiter high in the south. On January 2, Jupiter and the Moon will be a bit more than four-and-a-half degrees apart. Through a telescope, Jupiter’s moons Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa can all be seen. The Moon revisits Jupiter at the end of the month, on January 29 and 30.

The Moon also pairs up with Mars on January 13 in the late evening and in the form of a crescent moon with Venus on January 24 and 25. January’s Full Moon occurs on January 9 at 7:30 a.m. GMT.

A Quadrantid meteor (at right) is bright enough to be seen in twilight
by Mila Zinkova

The only notable annual meteor shower that occurs over the first three months of the year peaks in the early morning hours of January 4. The Quadrantid meteors appear to emanate from the constellation Bootes, with up to 40 meteors an hour possible. Most meteor showers are named for the region of sky they seem to come from, and the same is true for the Quadrantids. However, the constellation they are named for is now obsolete. The constellation Quadrans Muralis was once found between Bootes and Draco on old star maps but is no longer used today.

Although it’s hard for those of us in the North to force ourselves outside to observe in the dead of Winter, this season provides a profusion of bright stars. The Winter Hexagon is an asterism of six bright stars marking the corners of the hexagon. A bonus bright star lies within the hexagon. These stars are all between magnitude 1.1 and -1.4.

The Winter Hexagon is easy to pick out because it includes the easily recognisable constellation of Orion. Starting low near Orion’s foot is the bluish star Rigel (magnitude 0.1, 7th brightest star in the sky). Moving clockwise to the lowest star in the hexagon is the brightest star in the sky, magnitude -1.4 Sirius in Canis Major. Continuing clockwise and moving back up in the sky we find Procyon in Canis Minor (magnitude 0.4 and 8th brightest in the sky). The next constellation up is Gemini, and although both the stars of the twin’s heads are fairly bright, we use just the brightest, Pollux; at magnitude 1.1 it is the 17th brightest in the sky and dimmest in the hexagon.

Continuing clockwise, we come to the star Capella in the constellation Auriga. Capella is the highest star in the hexagon, shining at magnitude 0.1 as the 6th brightest star in the sky and 2nd brightest of the hexagon. Coming back down toward Rigel we come to a reddish star in Taurus named Aldebaran. Aldebaran is magnitude 0.8 and the 14th brightest star in the sky. Aldebaran is the last star in the hexagon, but you’ll notice another reddish star within the hexagon — bright Betelgeuse marking the shoulder of Orion. Betelgeuse (magnitude 0.5, 10th brightest in the sky) is sometimes considered part of an asterism known as the Winter Triangle along with Sirius and Procyon to its lower left.

The Winter Triangle and Winter Hexagon
by Wikimedia Commons

In February, Venus continues to vault upward, reaching Uranus on February 9 when it lies just 19 arcminutes, or less than half a degree, to Uranus’s right. Magnitude -4.1 Venus is easy to spot, but magnitude 5.9 Uranus will require binoculars or a telescope. The greenish planet may look a bit as if Venus has temporarily taken on a satellite. Venus has one other notable close encounter this month, as the moon skims 3.6 degrees north of Venus on February 25. Note also on this date how close Venus is getting to Jupiter, above, and that Mercury is beginning to appear out of the sunset’s glow, below.

The Moon passes close to the Pleiades cluster twice this month, on February 1 and again on the 28th. In April, the moon will pass in front of the cluster. The Moon also meets up with Mars on February 9 and Jupiter on February 26. February’s Full Moon occurs at 9:54 p.m. GMT on February 7.

Hope for clear skies during the first three days of March, when the six brightest objects in the night sky all appear at once. The brightness of astronomical objects varies depending on where they are located at the time, their phase, and so forth, but when they are all at their brightest, the top six are the Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, and Sirius. From March 1-3, look West after sunset before Mercury sets. Mercury will be close to the horizon, with Venus and Jupiter unmistakably bright above it. The Moon will be high in the sky, with Sirius lower on the southern horizon and Mars back in the east, rising in the constellation Leo.

Mars reaches opposition on March 3, which means it will be opposite the Sun in our sky, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise. Mars reaches its closest to Earth on March 5, when it lies about 63 million miles from us and shines at magnitude -1.2. The next night, March 6, the Moon will be near Regulus and Leo, with Mars to the lower left. On March 7, the Moon will be to Mars’ lower left. Mars will dim a bit over the month but still remain fairly bright. Mercury disappears quickly by midmonth, falling back toward the sun.

The Full Moon occurs on March 8 at 9:39 a.m. GMT. Two nights later, on March 10, the Moon passes south of Spica and Saturn. Saturn is rising later in the evenings, heading for opposition in April when it will be easier to observe. On March 25 the Moon skirts by Jupiter, and then gets even closer to Venus the next night, March 26.

The moon approaches and passes Venus and Jupiter
Credit: ESO/Y and Beletsky

The two planets shining brightly in the evening skies have been closing in on each other all year, and on March 12 and 13 they finally have their rendezvous. Venus and Jupiter will lie about three degrees apart in the West in the constellation Aries. Venus is a beacon at magnitude -4.3, and Jupiter is a worthy companion at magnitude -2.1. The pairing will make for a lovely photo op.

One final event for the first quarter of 2012 is the equinox, ushering in Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The first day of Spring depends on where you live. The moment when the Sun crosses over the equator occurs at 5:14 a.m. GMT or 1:14 a.m. EDT on March 20. This translates to 10:14 p.m. PDT on March 19 for those on the West Coast of North America.

If you're confused by any of the astronomy terminology used on this page take a look at our: explanation of astronomy basics. Also, do visit our section on CCD Imaging to see what other amateur enthusiasts have managed to capture with their equipment. If there are any amateur astrophotographers out there who would like to exhibit their images on Astronomy Today do contact us.

back to the top