Astroblog: January 2024

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

2024: From "Mini" Moons to "Super" Moons, a year of full Moons


Full Moon January 26, 04:30 ACDST.	Full Moon February 24, 23:30 ACDST (apogee 26th +1d 2h)	Full Moon March 25, 20:43 ACDST FM 17:30 ACDST (apogee 24th -1d 15h) penumbral Lunar eclipse

Full Moon April 24, 19:06 ACST FM9:30 ACST	Full Moon May, 23 23:30 ACST	Full Moon June 22 18:42 ACST FM 10:30 ACST (maximum libration 8:30 ACST)

Full Moon July 21 19:30 ACST.	Full Moon August 20 19:20 ACST (FM 03:30 ACST. Perigee, 21st 14:30 pm)	Full Moon September 18 19:33 ACST (FM 13:00 ACST, Perigee, 18th 22:30 pm -10h)

Full Moon October 17 21:01 ACDST (FM 11:30 ACDST, Perigee, 18th 23:30 ACDST +10h)	Full Moon November 16 21:39 ACDST (FM 7:30 ACDST, Perigee, 14th 21:30 ACDST -1d10h)	Full Moon December 15 22:12 ACST
/td>
First Quarter Moon June 14 15:00 ACST apogee 23:30 ACST	First Quarter Moon December 9 1:30 ACDST perigee 12th 23:30 ACDST

A year of full Moons showing the variation in size as the moons move from perigee to apogee. I also show the apogee and Perigee First Quarter Moons. All the moons are shown on the day and time they are full (unless they are below the horizon, in which case the size at astronomical twilight is shown and the time of actual full moon is shown as well), and although this is not the optimal time for size comparisons, you can clearly see the size difference over the year (compare Feb 24 to Sep 18) the original scale for all is 2 degrees of field of view cropped down). Although the field rotation of the Moon makes it less clear, you can also see the effect of libration (June 22)

In 2024 we have two good Perigee Moons in a row (September 18, October 17). However, as you can see the differences are subtle, and it requires a keen eye and good memory to distinguish a perigee "super" Moon from more ordinary moons, the best contrast is with the apogee "mini" moon of February 24, even though this is not a good apogee Moon).

That doesn't mean you shouldn't try though. Daniel Fischer has been able to see the difference, you can read his account and viewing tips here:
http://earthsky.org/space/can-you-discern-supermoons-large-size-with-the-eye-an-observer-says-yes

Photographing them can be more rewarding. You can see images of perigee Moon and apogee Moon pairs from 21 Jan 2019 here and 10 August 2014 here.Tips for photographing them are here.

There is also a penumbral Lunar Eclipse on 25 March but twilight makes this difficult to see.

Labels: apogee, Moon, perigee, public outreach, Yearly Moons

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 8:24 pm 0 comments

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Thursday February 1 to Thursday February 8

The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday February 3. Saturn is low in the western twilight. Jupiter is now in the north-western sky but still dominates the early evening sky. Venus is visible in the morning twilight above Mars and Mercury. Mars climbs higher in the morning twilight closing in on Venus. The thin crescent Moon is close to Venus on the 8th.

The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday February 3.

Evening sky on Saturday, February 3 as seen from Adelaide at 21:07 ACDST (45 minutes after sunset), Saturn is low above the western horizon .

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (45 minutes after sunset).

Evening sky on Saturday, February 3 as seen from Adelaide at 21:57 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Jupiter is above the north-western horizon. The inset is the telescopic view at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Morning sky on Thursday, February 8 as seen from Adelaide at 05:42 ACDST, (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Venus is beginning to lower in the morning twilight. Mercury and Mars are below Venus.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).

Whole sky on Saturday, February 3 as seen from Adelaide at 21:57 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Saturn has set, and Jupiter is low in the north-west.

Orion is almost due north. Bright Sirius is high in the eastern sky. Between the bright star Canopus and the Southern Cross are a wealth of binocular objects to discover.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is low in the morning twilight. It is heading towards the horizon.

Venus is in the morning twilight, it will now sink towards the horizon but will remain visible for all of February. The thin crescent Moon is close to Venus on the 8th.

Mars is rising in the morning twilight and is coming closer to Venus.

Jupiter is highest around civil twilight and is now visible low in the early evening sky.

Saturn is now a difficult to see low in the west.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 1:09 am 0 comments

Monday, January 22, 2024

Thursday January 25 to Thursday February 1

The Full Moon is Friday January 26. Saturn is low in the west when twilight ends. Jupiter is now in the north-western sky but still dominates the early evening sky. Venus is visible in the morning twilight above Mercury. Mars climbs higher in the morning twilight and is spectacularly close to Mercury on the 28th.

The Full Moon is Friday January 26. The Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on the 29th.

Evening sky on Saturday, January 27 as seen from Adelaide at 21:29 ACDST (60 minutes after sunset), Saturn is low above the western horizon .

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

Evening sky on Saturday, January 27 as seen from Adelaide at 22:05 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Jupiter is above the north-western horizon. The inset is the telescopic view at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Morning sky on Sunday, January 28 as seen from Adelaide at 05:27 ACDST, (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Venus is beginning to lower in the morning twilight. Mercury and Mars are at their closest below Venus.

The inset is the telescopic view of Mars and Mercury at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).

Whole sky on Saturday, January 27 as seen from Adelaide at 22:05 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Saturn is setting in the west, and Jupiter is high in the north-west.

Orion is almost due north. Bright Sirius is high in the eastern sky. Between the bright star Canopus and the Southern Cross are a wealth of binocular objects to discover. The Full Moon will make them harder to see though.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is low in the morning twilight. It is heading towards the horizon and is spectacularly close to Mars on the 28th.

Venus is in the morning twilight, it will now sink towards the horizon but will remain easily visible for all of January.

Mars is rising in the morning twilight and is spectacularly close to Mercury on the 28th..

Jupiter is highest around nautical twilight and is now well visible in the early evening sky.

Saturn is now a difficult telescopic object low in the west.

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 7:30 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Occultation Pleiades 20-21 January 2024.


Morning sky on Sunday, January 21 as seen from Adelaide at 00:21 ACDST, (click to embiggen). The moon is just about to cover the star Electra in the Pleiades. The inset is the binocular view of the moon at this time (click to embiggen).	Morning sky on Sunday, January 21 as seen from Melbourne at 00:55 AEDST, (click to embiggen). The moon is just about to cover the star Electra in the Pleiades. The inset is the binocular view of the moon at this time (click to embiggen).	Evening sky on Saturday, January 20 as seen from Perth at 21:13 AWST, (click to embiggen). The moon is just about to cover the star 17 tau (Electra). The inset is the binocular view of the moon at this time. (click to embiggen).

On the late evening 20th/early morning 21st the just past First Quarter Moon will pass over (occult) some bright stars in the iconic Pleiades cluster. From western Australia and central Australia the most stars will be covered. Eastern states see only one bright star covered. unlike last years occultation the dark limb of the Moon will cover the stars frist so you will see them "wink out"

While potentially visible to the unaided eye, this is best seen with binoculars or a telescope. The bright Moon will wash out all but the brightest members of the Pleiades. Fortunately, for most of Australia at least one of the bright stars in the cluster, Electa (Mag 3.7), Merope (Mag 4.2) or Alcyone (Mag 2.8) are covered. Most of the west coast and central states get all 3 covered, with Darwin and Alice Springs (and places between) having the best view while the Pleiades sets in Adelaide before the stars reappear from behind the Moon.

Timings for the covering of Electra, Merope and Alcyone are give below for selected cities. Similar views will be seen at nearby locations (e.g. Fremantle and Perth, Alice Springs and Darwin)

	Electra DD	Electra RB	Merope DD	Merope RB	Alcyone DD	Alcyone RB
Adelaide ACDST	00:21*	-	01:03*	-	1:39*	-
Brisbane AEST	00:37*	-	-	-	-	-
Canberra AEDST	01:06*	-	-	-	-	-
Darwin ACST	-	-	00:18*	1:24*	1:15*	1:45*
Hobart AEDST	00:48*	-	-	-	-	-
Melbourne AEDST	00:55*	-	-	-	-	-
Perth AWST	21:13	22:31	22:01	23:11	22:45	00:01*
Sydney AEDST	01:12	-	-	-	-	-

DD - disappear dark limb, RD - reappear dark limb.

* morning of the 21st.

It’s best to set up around 30 minutes before the occultation so you can get oriented in the sky and don’t miss the beginning while fussing with equipment.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: binoculars, Moon, Occultation, Pleiades, telescope

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 11:29 pm 0 comments

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Thursday January 18 to Thursday January 25

The First Quarter Moon is Thursday January 18. Saturn is low in the west when twilight ends. Jupiter is highest around nautical twilight and is now well visible in the early evening sky. Venus is visible in the morning twilight above Mercury. Mars climbs higher in the morning twilight. The Moon is close to Jupiter on the 18th. The moon occults the Pleiades on the 20th (best in Western and Central Australia).

The First Quarter Moon is Thursday January 18.

Evening sky on Saturday, January 20 as seen from Adelaide at 21:34 ACDST (60 minutes after sunset), Saturn is low above the western horizon .

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

Evening sky on Thursday, January 18 as seen from Adelaide at 22:13 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Jupiter is above the north-western horizon and near the first quarter Moon. The inset is the telescopic view at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Morning sky on Saturday, January 20 as seen from Adelaide at 05:19 ACDST, (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Venus is beginning to lower in the morning twilight with Mercury below. Mars is rising on the horizon

The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).

Evening sky on Saturday, January 20 as seen from Perth at 21:13 AWST, (click to embiggen). The moon is just about to cover the star 17 tau (Electra). The inset is the binocular view of the moon at this time.

about 50 minutes later the moon will cover the bright star Merope, followed by the brightest star Alcyone 45 minutes later.

From Adelaide 17 tau is covered at 23:21 ACDST, followed by Merope 40 minutes later then Alcyone 30 minutes after that.

From Brisbane, only 17 Tau is covered at 00:37 AEST on the 21st

From Darwin, Merope is covered at 00:18 ACST on the 21st, followed by Alcyone .

From Melbourne, only 17 Tau is covered at 00:55 AEDST on the 21st

From Hobart, only 17 Tau is covered at 00:48 AEDST on the 21st

For more details and timings see my occultation page.

Whole sky on Saturday, January 20 as seen from Adelaide at 22:15 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Saturn is setting in the west, and Jupiter is high in the north-west.

Orion is almost due north. Bright Sirius is high in the eastern sky. Between the bright star Canopus and the Southern Cross are a wealth of binocular objects to discover. The waxing Moon will make them harder to see though.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is now in the morning twilight.

Venus is in the morning twilight, it will now sink towards the horizon but will remain easily visible for all of January.

Mars is low in the morning twilight.

Jupiter is highest around nautical twilight and is now well visible in the early evening sky. Jupiter is close to the Moon on the 18th.

Saturn is past opposition but is now a difficult telescopic object low in the west.

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 1:31 am 0 comments

Monday, January 08, 2024

Thursday January 11 to Thursday January 18

The New Moon is Thursday January 11 then the First Quarter Moon is Thursday January 18. Saturn is now in the west when twilight ends. Jupiter is highest around nautical twilight and is now well visible in the early evening sky. Venus is visible in the morning twilight above Mercury. Mercury is at its highest on the 13th. Mars enters the morning twilight. The Moon is close to Saturn on the 14th and Jupiter on the 18th.

The New Moon is Thursday January 11 then the First Quarter Moon is Thursday January 18. Perigee, when the Moon is closest to the Earth, is on the 13th.

Evening sky on Sunday, January 14 as seen from Adelaide at 22:15 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset), Saturn is low above the western horizon close to the thin crescent Moon. The inset is the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Morning sky on Saturday, January 13 as seen from Adelaide at 05:10 ACDST, (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Venus is beginning to lower in the morning twilight with Mercury below. Mars is low on the horizon

The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).

Whole sky on Saturday, January as seen from Adelaide at 22:15 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Saturn is setting in the west, and Jupiter is high in the north-west.

Orion is almost due north. Bright Sirius is high in the eastern sky. Between the bright star Canopus and the Southern Cross are a wealth of binocular objects to discover.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is now in the morning twilight. It will be at its highest on the 13th

Venus is in the morning twilight, it will now sink towards the horizon but will remain easily visible for all of January.

Mars is low in the morning twilight.

Jupiter is highest around nautical twilight and is now well visible in the early evening sky. Jupiter is close to the Moon on the 18th.

Saturn is past opposition but is now a difficult telescopic object low in the west. The crescent Moon is close to Saturn on the 14th.

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 11:09 pm 0 comments

Saturday, January 06, 2024

Coming Events: A Year of Southern Astronomy for 2024

Occultation of Saturn on 27 June 2024 at 22:50 AEST, as seen from Brisbane, as Saturn is just being covered by the Moon. The inset is the approximate binocular view at this time. Most of Australia will enjoy similar views at the roughly equivalent local times (detailed tables will be available before hand). Click to embiggen.

The table below shows significant astronomical events that can be seen with the unaided eye or minimal equipment in 2024 in Australia (and to some degree elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, ocultations and eclipses are very region specific).

This year we get a Penumbral Lunar eclipse best visible from eastern Australia. We get multiple occultations of Saturn (some daylight only). A couple of occultations of the Pleiades, and an occultation of the bright star Antares (only visible western and central Australia). There are good oppositions of Jupiter and Saturn. Mars is at opposition in January 2025 but we get a good run up to it. We also get a comet in September/October, C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which may be a fizzer but just might be spectacular.

As well we have some fantastic parings and lineups and good meteor showers.

Close pairings of the Moon and bright planets are given special attention as not only is the Moon a ready guide to locating the planets if you are not familiar with them, these massings are rather beautiful.

Special events are bolded.

Date	Event
January
03 January 2024	Earth at Perihelion
09 January 2024	Crescent Moon near Venus in morning twilight.
10 January 2024	Crescent Moon near Mercury in morning twilight.
14 January 2024	Crescent Moon close to Saturn in evening twilight.
18 January 2024	First Quarter Moon near Jupiter in evening.
20 January 2024	Occultation of the Pleiades (Perth best from 21:14 AWST, also Adelaide, Darwin good, just 17 Tau, Brisbane, Hobart, Sydney)
28 January 2024	Mars and Mercury very close (0.2° apart)
February
08 February 2024	Venus near crescent Moon in morning (5° apart)
9 February 2024	Mercury near crescent Moon in morning (~5° apart)
11 February 2024	Thin Crescent Moon and Saturn close low in the evening twilight (5° apart)
15 February 2024	waxing Moon near Jupiter in the evening (4° apart)
21-24 February 2024	Venus and Mars around 1° apart in the morning twilight.
25 February 2024	Apogee (mini) Full Moon
March
9 March 2024	Venus close to thin crescent Moon (3° apart) low in morning twilight
1-9 March 2024	Mercury within 5° or Venus in morning twilight
13-14 March 2024	Crescent Moon near Jupiter in evening twilight
20 March 2024	Earth at Equinox
22 March 2024	Saturn very close to Venus (0.6° apart), very difficult low in the morning twilight
25 March 2024	Apogee (mini) Full Moon
25 March 2024	Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
April
6-7 April 2024	Crescent Moon brackets Mars and Saturn in the morning twilight.
8 April 2024	Crescent Moon and Venus close low in the morning twilight
11 April 2024	Saturn and Mars spectacularly close (0.4° apart) in morning sky.
10-11 April 2024	Crescent Moon near Jupiter in the evening twilight
19 April 2024	Mercury and Venus close low in the morning twilight (difficult, requires binoculars and a level horizon)
May
04 May 2024	Daytime occultation of Saturn (east coast from around 9 am)
05 May 2024	Early Morning occultation of Neptune (east coast from around 4 am)
05 May 2024	Crescent Moon very close to Mars (0.3° apart) in morning twilight.
6-7 May 2024	Eta Aquariid meteor shower
06 May 2024	Crescent Moon near Mercury in the morning twilight
June
03 June 2024	Mars near to thin crescent Moon (3° apart) in morning sky.
4-5 June 2024	Jupiter and Mercury close (3° apart) low in morning twilight (binocular event)
21 June 2024	Earth at solstice
27 June 2023	Saturn is occulted by the moon just after 23:00, low on the eastern horizon (eastern states and SA)
July
2 July 2024	Mars near crescent Moon (5° apart) in morning sky.
3 July 2024	Jupiter near crescent moon in the morning sky, at this time Jupiter forms a second eye for Taurus the Bull being 6° from the other eye, bright red Aldebaran)
5 July 2024	Earth at aphelion, waning Moon near Saturn in the morning sky.
8 July 2024	Thin crescent moon near Mercury (6° apart) low in evening twilight
16 July 2024	Mars and Uranus very close (0.5° apart) in the morning sky.
24 July 2024	Saturn near waning Moon (5° apart) in the evening sky
25 July 2024	Mercury near Regulus (6° apart) in the evening twilight.
29-30 July 2024	Southern Delta Aquarids meteor shower in morning
30 July 2024	Occultation of Pleiades (from around 5 am local time on).
31 July 2024	Jupiter near crescent moon (6° apart) in morning sky.
August
06 August 2024	Mercury, Venus and crescent Moon form a triangle to the evening twilight
15 August 2024	Jupiter and Mars very close (0.3° apart) in morning sky
20-21 August 2024	The Moon brackets Saturn.
28 August 2024	Jupiter, Mars, the waning Moon and the bright Star Elnath form a triangle in the morning sky
September
05 September 2024	Venus close (1° apart) to thin crescent Moon in the evening sky at the end of twilight
08 September 2024	Saturn at Opposition
09 September 2024	Mars close (1° apart) to open cluster M35
10 September 2024	Occultation of bright star Antares, west, central North (Perth, Darwin, Alice Springs) everywhere else sees a close approach or graze low to the horizon
17 September 2024	Perigee ("super") Moon near Saturn, occultation in Northern Australia in late twilight (Brisbane, Alice Springs Darwin), close everywhere else.
18 September 2024	Venus close (3° apart) to the bright star Spica
22 September 2024	Earth at Equinox
24 September 2024	Moon near Jupiter in morning sky
26 September 2024	Moon near Mars in morning sky
09-27 September 2024	C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be visible low in the morning twilight, if it hasn't broken up, it may be quite bright.
October
5-62 October 2024	Venus bracketed by thin crescent Moon
13 October on 2024	C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be visible low in the evening twilight, rapidly rising higher in the evening sky, if it hasn't broken up, it may be quite bright, even visible to the unaided eye. Venus keeps pace with the comet.
14 October 2024	Saturn close (5° apart) to the Moon in the evening sky.
21-22 October 2024	Moon brackets Jupiter in the morning sky.
21-22 October 2024	Orionid meteor shower, last quarter Moon interferes.
25 October 2024	Crescent Moon near Mars (5° apart), Moon very close to bight star Pollux in morning sky
26-27 October 2024	Venus close to the bright red star Antares in evening sky.
November
3 November 2024	Mercury close to thin crescent Moon (2° apart) in evening sky
5 November 2024	Crescent Moon near Venus (2° apart) in evening sky sky
10 November 2024	Mercury close to bright red star Antares (2° apart) in evening sky
11 November 2024	Waxing Moon near Saturn (5° apart) in the evening sky
14 November 2024	Possible early burst of Leonid meteors, moonlight interference
17 November 2024	Waxing Moon near Jupiter in the evening sky
18/19 November 2024	Leonid Meteor Shower, significant Moon interference.
17 November 2024	Waxing Moon near Jupiter in the evening sky, opposition of Uranus
21 November 2024	Waxing Moon near Mars (5° apart) in the evening sky
30 November 2024	Mars close to Beehive cluster (2° apart) in the evening sky.
December
5 December 2024	Venus near crescent Moon (5° apart) in the evening sky
8 December 2024	Saturn very close to waxing Moon, daytime occultation in Northern Australia (5:30 pm Darwin)
8 December 2024	Opposition of Jupiter
14/15 December 2024	Geminid Meteor shower in the morning, significant Moon interference
14 December 2023	Waxing Moon near Jupiter (5° apart) in the evening sky
18 December 2024	Mars near waning Moon in the evening sky
21 December 2023	Earth is at Solstice
29 December 2024	Mercury near Moon (6° apart) low in the twilight morning sky

Labels: Asteroid, Conjunction, eclipse, Jupiter, Mars, Moon, Opposition, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus, Yearly Sky Events

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 7:31 pm 1 comments

Tuesday, January 02, 2024

Thursday January 4 to Thursday January 11

The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday, January 4 then the New Moon is Thursday January 11. Saturn is now in the west when twilight ends. Jupiter is highest around nautical twilight and is now well visible in the evening sky. Venus is visible in the morning twilight and is joined by Mercury. Venus is in the head of the Scorpion and is close to nu Scorpii on the 4th. The Moon is close to Venus on the 9th and Mercury on the 10th.

The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday, January 4. The New Moon is Thursday January 11.

Evening sky on Saturday, January 6 as seen from Adelaide at 22:18 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset), Saturn is low above the western horizon. The inset is the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Evening sky on Saturday, January 6 as seen from Adelaide at 22:18 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Jupiter is above the northern horizon. The inset is the telescopic view at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Morning sky on Tuesday, January 9 as seen from Adelaide at 05:06 ACDST, (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Venus is beginning to lower in the morning twilight and is in Scorpius Scorpius. The crescent Moon is near Venus with Mercury below. The following morning the moon will be near Mercury.

The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).

Whole sky on Saturday, January as seen from Adelaide at 22:18 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Saturn is setting in the west, and Jupiter is high in the north-west.

Sagittarius is almost set. Orion is rising in the east.

Between the bright star Canopus and the Southern Cross are another wealth of binocular objects to discover.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is now in the morning twilight in the twilight.It will be close to the Moon on the 10th

Venus is in the morning twilight, it will now sink towards the horizon but will remain easily visible for all of January.Venus will be close to the crescent Moon on the 9th.

Mars is lost in the twilight.

Jupiter is highest around nautical twilight and is now well visible in the late evening sky.

Saturn is past opposition but is still bright and a worthwhile telescopic object.