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GUIDELINES

THIS WEEK IN
CALIFORNIA WILD

Skyguide

January--March 1998

Bing F. Quock

January 3: Peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower. Named after the now-obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis, this is one of the year's better displays of "shooting stars." Coinciding with a waxing crescent Moon which sets before midnight, this shower should average about 40 meteors per hour.

January 4: Earth at perihelion, or closest to the Sun (91,407,600 miles/147,099,400 kilometers). The distance from our star has nothing to do with the seasons, as the Earth is closest to the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere winter.

January 5: First Quarter Moon located due south at sunset, its right- hand side illuminated by sunlight. As night falls, look just to the right of the Moon for the planet Saturn. As night progresses, note the Moon's eastward motion relative to Saturn.

January 12: Full Moon. Named "Hoop and Stick Game Moon" by the Cheyenne, "Moon of the Little Finger's Partner" by the Klamath, and "Trees Broken Moon" by the Zuni.

January 20: Last Quarter Moon occurs at 11:41 a.m., when the Moon sets. Its left-hand side is illuminated by sunlight.

January 27: New Moon at 10:02 p.m. This is the New Moon at the beginning of the first lunar month, and marks the start of the Chinese New Year. Look for the first, thin crescent Moon after sunset tomorrow.

February 11: Full Moon. This evening, after moonrise, watch the star Regulus appear near the Moon as the sky slowly darkens. Known as the "Shoulder Moon" to the Wisham, the "Elder Moon" to the Haida, and "Racoon's Rutting Season" to the Oto.

February 26: New Moon. The New Moon creeps between the Earth and the Sun, causing a total solar eclipse over parts of Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Caribbean. Visible from the southeastern U.S. and northern South America as a partial solar eclipse. See below for details.

March 5: First Quarter Moon just off the bright star Zubenelgenubi in Taurus. Located due south at sunset.

March 12: Full Moon. The third full Moon of the year was given the name "Light Snow Moon" and "Dusty Moon" by the Cheyenne, "Earth Cracks Moon" by the Kutenai, and the "Worm Moon" by the Algonquin.

March 20: Vernal Equinox at 11:56 a.m. pst. The Sun rises exactly due east and sets due west. In theory, day and night are of equal length. The start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of autumn south of the equator.

March 27: New Moon. Tomorrow night (the 28th), look very low in the west 30 minutes after sunset for a day-old crescent Moon and the planets Mercury, Mars, and Saturn. Binoculars may be needed.

The Planets

Mercury: This little planet's best appearances are in the morning skies at the beginning and at the end of 1998. For the first half of January, Mercury slowly sinks toward the rising Sun's glow, then disappears from view until early March. It rises in the evening sky for a spectacular close encounter with Mars on March 9 and then with Saturn March 20. Don't miss the beautiful sunset clustering on March 28 with the crescent Moon, Mars, and Saturn--it appears low, so binoculars may help.

Venus: The brightest planet is briefly visible in the evening sky only for the first week of January, when it's teamed beautifully with Mars and Jupiter. After hiding in the Sun's glow for a couple of weeks, it emerges in the east before dawn against the stars of Sagittarius, where it dominates the morning sky. If you follow its movement against the stars, notice how it appears "stalled" in Sagittarius until mid-February, after which it zooms eastward into neighboring Capricornus.

Mars: The "Red Planet" is visible in the evening until early March (with Jupiter and Venus nearby in early January), then disappears into the Sun's glow. Very close to Jupiter on the evening of January 21, the Moon on January 29 and February 27, Mercury on March 9, and then the challenging "grand gathering" with the Moon, Mars, and Saturn on March 28.

Jupiter: Visible with Mars and Venus very low in the southwest after sunset in January and early February. After disappearing into the Sun's glow until early March, the largest planet is a morning object until September. Close encounters with the Moon on January 1, with Mars on January 20 and 21, and, in the morning sky, with the Moon on March 26.

Saturn: Visible due south after sunset in January, then gradually lower and lower in the southwest after sunset in February and March. Close encounters with the Moon on January 4 and 5 and on February 1 and 28, and with Mercury and Mars during the final week of March as it descends into the Sun's glow. Located in Pisces practically all year long.

Bing F. Quock is a member of the Morrison Planetarium staff.

Winter 1998

Vol. 51:1