Celestial Triangles in the Night Sky
January 16th 2012 09:18
Category: Planets
Early AM view of the objects
For northern hemisphere residents if you suffer from insomnia or just out and about after 1 a.m. local time Monday (Jan. 16) you will have a chance to see some interesting celestial arrays.
Look low in the east-southeast you will see the moon, a bright planet (Saturn) and a bright star (Spica). The position of the celestial objects will look like a misshapen triangle.
Mars is also visible at a higher elevation than the other 3 objects.
Saturn can be seen shining with a yellowish-white glow situated to the left of the moon.
Saturn is currently 1.45-billion kilometers from Earth and will not change its position relative to the background stars during the course of a single night. The Moon being much closer to Earth will change its position during the early morning.
Around six hours after the 3 celestial objects first appear, the moon will have moved about 3 degrees farther away from star Spica.
The base will appear to become wider and the 3 objects will resemble a triangle with at least two equal sides.
If you have a pair of binoculars or a small power telescope Saturn’s rings can be seen.
Currently Saturn’s rings are tilted about 15 degrees toward us and can be seen clearly with an optical aid.
The objects can also be seen in the southern hemisphere look toward the east. From our perspective the objects will appear somewhat different than those seen in the northern hemisphere.
objects viewd from the Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Cross can be clearly seen low in the horizon.
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by CMoreStars
Astroearth
Camera Sense
Hi S.L.
If the bright object your looking at is situated in the evening sky towards the south west, that object is the planet Venus.