January Nights Can Dazzle

by Rodney Ash / Special to The Seattle Times



January is one of the coldest months and thus not the kind of weather that encourages you to linger outside. However, if there is no wind and you bundle up, you can enjoy some truly spectacular sights.



Mars reaches opposition on Jan. 29, shining at just a little brighter than magnitude -1 (the smaller the number the brighter the object), making it the third brightest starlike object in the night sky. Look for it in the east just after sunset, reaching zenith about midnight. You will quickly recongnize it by its orange hue. It makes an excellent target for the next three months.

Jupiter is sinking low into the west, and Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, shines in the southeast. Also in the southeast, soon after dark, look for the constellation Orion the hunter. He is recongnized most readily by his three belt stars. Of the 20 or so brightest stars visible in the night sky, two of them are in Orion. Orion's right shoulder is the red super giant Betelgeuse. It clearly has a red hue and shines with a luminosity of 105,000 times that of our sun. Next find the blue super giant Rigel, which marks Orion's left foot and shines at a luminosity of 66,000 times that of our sun. It shines with an almost ice-blue light, particularly on cold winter nights, belying the fact that itis one of the hotter stars visible.



Rodney Ash is a member of the Seattle Astronomical Society. Star Watch appears the first Thursday of each month in NWWeekend.