Saturn
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JANUARY 2006 SKYWATCH Saturn dominates the sky this month. On January 27, it has its opposition to Sun, which is when we see it above us at midnight. This means it rises around sunset, and sets around sunrise, spending the entire night moving across our night sky. Saturn moves slowly, and it is still in the vicinity of the huge Orion complex, although lower and to the east. It is bright and gold. To the right of Saturn is Procyon, bright and white. Above Saturn are the Gemini Twins, Castor and Pollux, also gold but not quite as bright as Saturn. Mars is also high and bright in the night sky, although more westerly than Saturn. It is moving towards the Pleiades. Mars is dimming rapidly now, so observe its brightness while you can. Jupiter rises early in the morning, and is visible low in the southeast as dawn breaks. Venus is making its retrograde conjunction with Sun this month, which means it is hidden from our sight for about two weeks. During the first week of January, it is very low in the sunset sky. It reappears low in the morning sky during the last 10 days of the month. Venus as Morning Star, which it will be all through the spring and summer, is considered to have a more assertive character than Venus in her guise as Evening Star. Let us see. |
