Night Sky Almanac 2023: A stargazer’s guide

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The celestial sphere appears to rotate about an invisible axis, running between the north and south celestial poles. The location (i.e., the altitude) of the celestial poles depends entirely on the observer’s position on Earth or, more specifically, their latitude. A number of interesting events are shown in diagrams for each month. They involve the planets and the Moon, sometimes showing them in relation to specific stars. Events have been chosen as they will appear from one of three different locations: from London; from the central region of the USA; or from Sydney in Australia. Naturally, these events are visible from other locations, but the appearance of the objects on the sky will differ slightly from the diagrams. A list of major astronomical events in 2023 is given here.

Night Sky Almanac 2023 By Storm Dunlop, Wil Tirion, Royal

In 1781, Charles Messier (26 June 1730 – 12 April 1817) published the final version of his catalogue of 110 nebulous objects and faint star clusters that might be confused with comets. The objects in this catalogue are still know as the Messier objects and are always quoted as ‘M’ numbers. Some of the most famous are M1, the Crab Nebula; M31, the Andromeda galaxy; M42, the Orion Nebula; and M45, the Pleiades. The charts show the location of the April Lyrids radiant (top), the π-Puppids radiant (middle) and the η-Aquariids radiant (bottom). Certain other objects may be seen with the naked eye under good conditions. Some were given names in antiquity – Praesepe is one example – but many are known by what are called ‘Messier numbers’, the numbers in a catalogue of nebulous objects compiled by Charles Messier in the late-eighteenth century. Some, such as the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, and the Orion Nebula, M42, may be seen faintly by the naked eye, but all those given in the list here will benefit from the use of binoculars.

January 3 • Mars is occulted by the Moon. Times of disappearance and reappearance are given for Durban and Pretoria (as seen from South Africa).

2023 Night Sky Almanac | Astronomy Technology Today

Continuing round from Canopus we pass the constellation of Dorado, the small constellation of Reticulum and the undistinguished constellation of Horologium, beyond which is Achernar (α Eridani) the brightest star in the long, winding constellation of Eridanus, which actually starts far to the north, close to Rigel in Orion. Between Achernar and the SCP lies the triangular constellation of Hydrus, next to the constellation of Tucana which contains the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). For a precise view from your location, visit the free online planetarium Stellarium. Enter your location and the date of the event to see a replica of the sky where you live. Both the planets Mars and Uranus end their retrograde motion in January 2023 and revert to direct motion.For observers in the far north, most of Cygnus, with its brightest star, Deneb (α Cygni), is visible in the north, and even Lyra, with Vega (α Lyrae) may be seen at times. Most of the constellation of Hercules is visible, together with the distinctive circlet of Corona Borealis to its east. Observers farther south may see Deneb and even Vega peeping over the northern horizon at times during the night, although they will often be lost (like all the fainter stars) in the inevitable extinction along the horizon. The conditions for observing naturally vary over the course of the year and one’s location on Earth. Sunrise and sunset vary considerably, depending in particular on one’s latitude. Sunrise and sunset times are given each month for nine different locations around the world. These places are shown in a bold typeface on the world map here. Sunrise and sunset times are given for the first and last days in every month, for these specific locations. Another factor that influences what may be seen is twilight at dusk and dawn. Again, this varies considerably with one’s latitude on Earth. The diagrams here show how this varies for the nine locations, which have been chosen to show the range of variation, rather than just for the importance of the places that have been included. The different stages of twilight and how they affect observing are also explained there. Orion is now beginning to sink into the southwest, and the two brightest stars in the sky, Sirius and Canopus (α Carinae), are readily visible to observers at low northern latitudes and, of course, to those who are south of the equator. (Canopus is close to the zenith for those in the far south.) January 31 • Mars is occulted by the Moon. Times of disappearance and reappearance are given for Houston and Mexico City (as seen from central USA).

Night Sky Almanac 2023: A stargazer’s guide – HarperCollins Night Sky Almanac 2023: A stargazer’s guide – HarperCollins

Apart from the eclipse, Mercury comes to greatest eastern elongation on April 11, and may be glimpsed in the evening sky. Three meteor showers are active during the month. Two are best seen from the northern hemisphere, with one significant southern shower. The one moderate, northern shower is the Lyrids (often called the April Lyrids to distinguish them from several minor showers that originate in the constellation at various times during the year). In 2023 the shower begins on April 14, one day after Last Quarter, and comes to a weak maximum of 18 meteors per hour on April 22–23, 2–3 days after New Moon, so conditions are generally favourable. The charts that are used differ considerably from those found in most astronomy books, and have been specifically designed for use anywhere in the world. A full description of how to use and understand the monthly charts is given here.The position of Crux, the Southern Cross, throughout the year, in relation to the southern horizon. It also shows the position of the two brightest stars in Centaurus. In this book, reference is sometimes made in the text and in the diagrams to the standard compass points around the horizon. The position of any object in the sky may be described by its altitude (measured in degrees above the horizon) and its azimuth (measured in degrees from north, 0°, through east, 90°, south, 180°, and west, 270°). Experienced amateurs and professional astronomers also use another system of specifying locations on the celestial sphere, but that need not concern us here, where the simpler method will suffice. The highly distinctive (and widely recognized) constellation of Ursa Major with the distinctive asterism of the Plough (or Big Dipper) is now ‘upside down’ and near the zenith for observers in the far north, for whom it is particularly difficult to observe. At this time of year, it is high in the sky for anyone north of the equator. Only observers farther towards the south will find it lower down towards their northern horizon and reasonably easy to see. However, at 30°S, even the seven stars making up the main, easily recognized portion of the constellation are too low to be visible. The key constellation when learning the pattern of stars in the northern sky is Ursa Major, in particular the seven stars forming the asterism known to many as the 'Plough’ or to people in North America as the ‘Big Dipper’. As the chart shows, this is just circumpolar for anyone at latitude 40°N, except for Alkaid (η Ursae Majoris), the last star in the ‘tail’. Even so, the asterism of the Plough is low on the northern horizon between September and November, so it will be much easier to make out at other times of the year.

2023: Night sky events not to miss - EarthSky Best of 2023: Night sky events not to miss - EarthSky

The image by Damian Peach was taken with a 14 inch telescope in Barbados where the seeing can be particularly good. This image won the "Astronomy Photographer of the Year" competition in 2011. The scales on the right-hand and left-hand margins indicate the northern (or southern) horizon, for looking north (or south), respectively. The two diagrams here are drawn to indicate the horizon for the latitude of 40°N (the latitude of Philadelphia in the United States or Madrid in Spain); the second pair here show what would be visible ‘looking north’ and ‘looking south’ from latitude 30°S (the latitude of Durban in South Africa). If you are looking north (or south), once you get to the zenith, you can switch to the other chart, showing the view from the southern (or northern) horizon to the zenith. On February 3, two days before Full Moon, the Moon passes 1.9° south of Pollux in Gemini. One day after Full Moon, it is 4.5º north of Regulus in Leo. On February 11, it is 3.5º north of Spica in Virgo. On February 14, one day after Last Quarter, the Moon is 1.8º north of Antares in Scorpius. On February 19, one day before New Moon, it is 3.7º south of Saturn in Aquarius, but this will be lost in twilight. The same problem will apply on February 21, when the Moon is 2.5º south of Neptune, which is faint at mag. 7.9. The next day, the Moon is 2.1º south of Venus, which is mag. -3.9, so will be visible in the evening twilight. Later the same day, the Moon is 1.2º south of Jupiter (mag. -2.1) in Pisces. On February 28, the Moon is 1.1º north of Mars, in Taurus. The contents of this publication are believed correct at the time of creation. Nevertheless the Publisher can accept no responsibility for errors or omissions, changes in the detail given or for any expense or loss thereby caused. Observers at 50°N may occasionally be able to detect bright Deneb (α Cygni) and Vega (α Lyrae) skimming the horizon, together with portions of those particular constellations, although most of the time they will be lost in the extinction that occurs at such low altitudes.I appreciate the language they use to explain everything and I appreciate how they highlight memorable moments of the planetary calendar and combine this with facts and history about space. I just really appreciate these books when they come out and look forward to adding this purple copy to my collection so far! Somewhat similarly, at a lunar eclipse, the Moon may pass through the outer zone of the Earth’s shadow, the penumbra (in a penumbral eclipse, which is not generally perceptible to the naked eye); pass so that just part of the Moon is within the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow, the umbra (in a partial eclipse); or completely within the umbra (in a total eclipse). Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are visible from large areas of the Earth. Again, these are described in detail in the relevant month. On very rare occasions, under very dark skies, it is just possible to make out the dwarf planet with the naked eye, when it reaches magnitude 6.7. Generally, however, it requires telescopic or binocular aid to become visible. At opposition in 2023 it will reach magnitude 7.4. It did not come to opposition in 2022. In this photograph, the narrow lunar crescent (about two days old) has been over-exposed to show the Earthshine illuminating on the other portion of the Moon, where the dark maria are faintly visible.