Australasian Science 11-1

JAN/FEB 2016|| 51

South Celestial Pole

LMC SMC

ANDROMEDA

ANTLIA

APUS

AQUARIUS

ARA

ARIES

AURIGA

CAELUM

CANIS MAJOR

ANIS MINOR

CAPRICORNUS

CARINA

CETUS

CHAMAELEON

CIRCINUS

COLUMBA

CORONA AUST

CRUX

DORADO

ERIDANUS EQUUL

FORNAX

GEMINI

GRUS

HOROLOGIUM

HYDRUS

INDUS

LEPUS

MENSA

MICROSCOPIUM

MONOCEROS

MUSCA

OCTANS

ORION

PAVO

PEGASUS

PERSEUS

PHOENIX

PICTOR

PISCES

PISCIS AUSTRINUS

PUPPIS

PYXIS

RETICULUM

SCULPTOR

TAURUS

TELESCOPIUM

TRIANGULUM

TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE

TUCANA

VEL

VOLANS

Achernar

Adhara

Aldebaran

Alpha Centauri

Betelgeuse

Canopus

Capella

Hadar

Mim sa

Procyon Rigel

North

NE

East

SE

South

SW

West

NW

The best time to view the Moon using binoculars or a small telescope is a few days either side of its first quarter phase, which

falls on the 17th of this month. At this time, the light from the sun casts greatly contrasting shadows along the illuminated and

non-illuminated parts of the moon. The two brightest stars in the night sky can be found easily throughout the month; Sirius in

the constellation Canis Major is the brightest star followed by the star Canopus in Carina. The constellation Carina (the keel)

can be joined with Vela (the sails) and Puppis (the deck) to form the great ship Argo, which Jason and the Argonauts sailed

upon in their search for the Golden Fleece, according to the ancient Greek mythology. Crux (the Southern Cross), is located low

in the south and can be difficult to find at this time of year.

Sydney Observatory, with a magnificent view overlooking Sydney Harbour, is open 10am to

5pm daily ± except closed Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and open 10am to

QRRQRQ1HZ<HDU¶V(YH2SHQ0RQGD\WR6DWXUGD\IRUQLJht sessions (times vary depending

on the season) for sky viewing through one of our telescopes (cosy planetarium session if

cloudy), and 3D movies about the Universe. Bookings are essential for night programs.

For more information, check the website at http://www.sydneyobservatory.com.au or call (02) 9921

3485. Sydney Observatory is at 1003 Upper Fort Street, Observatory Hill, in the historic Rocks
      area of Sydney.

Sydney Observatory is part of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. The Sydney Observatory night sky map was created by Dr M Anderson using the

7KH6N\VRIWZDUH7KLVPRQWK¶VHGLWLRQZDVSUHSDUHGE\Brenan Dew © 2016 Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney.

Star Brightness

Zero or brighter

1 st magnitude

2 nd

3 rd

4 th

Moon Phase

Last quarter: 02nd

New Moon: 10th

First quarter: 17th

Full Moon: 24th

Chart Key

Bright star

Faint star

Ecliptic

Milky Way

Planet

LMC or Large Magellanic Cloud

SMC or Small Magellanic Cloud

P

SOUTHERN CROSS

SCORPIUS

POINTERS

FALSE CROSS

ERIDANUS Fomalhaut

M45 (Pleiades oSeven Sisters)r

Sirius

M42

First quarter Moon on 27th

AUSTRALASIAN SKY Dr Andrew Smith, Sydney Observatory

The star chart below shows the stars and constellations visible in the night sky for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra,
Hobart, Adelaide and Perth in January at about 7:30 pm local standard time. For Darwin and similar latitudes the chart will still
apply, but some stars will be lost off the southern edge while additional stars will be visible to the north. Stars with a brightness
or magnitude limit above 4.5 are shown on the chart. To use this star chart, rotate it so that the direction you are facing is
shown at the bottom. The centre of the chart represents the point directly above your head (the zenith) while the outer circular
edge represents the horizon.