Greetings Star Gazers!
Orbax here.
I’m a Science Communicator from the Department of Physics at the University of Guelph and I’m here to fill you in on what our January night skies hold for the Astro-curious out there, young and old.
We’ve certainly had a lot of clouds lately. Between this and the ever-growing light pollution that we see sweeping across North America it may seem like there’s no point in looking up.
Let me assure you, there are still incredible and interesting things taking place beyond those clouds!
In this month’s guide we take a deep dive into the constellation Orion. Most of you are probably familiar with the asterism known as Orion’s Belt, if not the actual constellation. It’s kind of like the Big Dipper… a constellation that is easy to see from our area and one that a lot of people were likely to point out to you back when you were a junior scientist.
Not only is Orion quite easy to spot in our skies, it’s actually visible from most of the world! You see, Orion lies along an imaginary line called the celestial equator. Objects and constellations along this line are visible near the horizon in most of the world… but with a twist. In the Southern hemisphere these objects and constellations appear upside down to what we see in the Northern hemisphere! As a matter of fact, Orion’s Belt is often referred to as the saucepan or pot in Australia and New Zealand with the dangling sword that we see up here corresponding to an upwards reaching handle from their perspective.
While this may be something you’ve never thought of, I want to leave you with one last idea.
This concept also holds for the Moon.
While you may have heard people talk about ‘The Man in the Moon’ or ‘The Face in the Moon,’ our friends in the Southern hemisphere tell stories of ‘The Moon Rabbit’ or ‘The Rabbit in the Moon.'
I hope you enjoy this month’s Star Gazing Guide. If you want to learn more, check out the January Star Gazing Guide video on the Guelph Physics YouTube channel. Not only is Star Gazing a great way to learn about space, planets and the stars but it’s also a great way to spend time with other curious minds.
Until next month I wish you clear skies and I hope you take some time… to look up.
