Land of the Supergiants
Orion is one of the more prominent constellations. That’s because the seven stars that outline the hunter’s body are all current or future supergiants, which are the biggest, brightest, and heaviest of all stars.
Quadrantid Meteors
The Quadrantid meteor shower is at its best tonight. It typically reaches peak rates of about 100 “shooting stars” per hour. But the peak typically lasts no more than a couple of hours, so it’s a tough shower to watch.
First Quarter
The Moon reaches first quarter at 10:45 p.m. CST tonight. At first quarter, sunlight illuminates exactly half of the Moon’s visible disk. That fraction will grow every day until full Moon, on January 10.
A New Year
Today marks the beginning of a new year in the western calendar. The basic calendar was created by an astronomer, Sisogenes, at the order of Julius Caesar. The calendar was instituted in 46 B.C. and has been tweaked only once since then.
New Year’s Eve
Phoenix, the mythical bird that represents rebirth, stands just above the southeastern horizon at sunset and drops from view by midnight for skywatchers in the southern United States. The constellation’s brightest star, Ankaa, is at its northern tip.
M34
The star cluster M34 sits on the border between the constellations Perseus and Andromeda. It is high overhead during the evening, between two fairly bright stars. Under a clear, dark sky, M34 is barely visible as a fuzzy patch of light.
El Nath
El Nath is the second-brightest member of the star patterns that outline Taurus, the bull, and Auriga the charioteer. Officially, the star belongs to Taurus. “El Nath” means “the butting one” — a reference to the star’s spot at the tip of the bull’s horn.
Moon and Venus
Venus, the brilliant “evening star,” is climbing higher into the sky. It’s just above the crescent Moon tonight and farther to the lower right of the Moon tomorrow night.
On the Edge
Orion is entering prime time. The constellation is in good view in the eastern sky by about 7 p.m. Its brilliant stars have given their name to one of the galaxy’s spiral arms. Our solar system sits on the inner edge of the Orion Arm.
Getting Bigger
The Northern Cross stands in the northwest this evening, with the shaft aiming roughly toward the horizon. If you have clear, dark skies, you might see that the cross is embedded in the glow of the Milky Way, which outlines the disk of our home galaxy.