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Southern Hemisphere > Stargazers Section > 2009
Southern Hemisphere Astronomy and Space Events
2009
Southern Hemisphere Astronomy and Space Events
Many astronomical
and space events can be observed without any optical aid
beside your eyes. You only need to know when the event is
occuring and where to look. The below list focuses on these
events.
This year is also
being celebrated as the 2009
International Year of Astronomy. Take the time to step
aside and enjoy the wonderful Southern hemisphere sky. A
printable
desktop calendar of events for 2009 can be
found on this site.
Please keep in mind
the following criteria by which the list was created.
- The event must
be visible from one or more major city on the East Coast
of Australia (Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra or Melbourne).
- The event should
ideally be visible to the unaided eye. There are some exceptions.
Some events may be best viewed using binoculars. Some events
listed may be historical or will occur in the future.
- The event must
be predictable. Unfortunately the prediction service doesn't
extend to cloud cover. As any keen sky watcher will know,
the more interesting the event, the more likely it is that
the sky will be covered in cloud!
January
2009
Planets
visible in January 2009 (description for mid-month)
-
Venus
visible all month in evening twilight sky
-
Saturn visible
all month in morning sky
Astronomy
and Space Events for January 2009 (listed by
date)
-
1 Crescent
Moon located to right of Venus (evening twilight sky)
-
2 2004:
USA’s Stardust spacecraft encounters Comet Wild
2
-
4 1959:
USSR’s Luna 1 space probe becomes the first to
fly past the Earth’s Moon.
-
4 Mercury
greatest elongation East. Early evening twilight sky.
Difficult.
-
4 First
Quarter Moon. Avoid the period between First
Quarter Moon and two days after Full Moon for holding
a star party.
-
5 Earth
At Perihelion (0.983 AU From Sun)
-
-
10: 1968
Australia’s first satellite WRESAT re-entered the
Earth’s atmosphere over the Atlantic Ocean.
-
-
11 Moon
located to right of Pollux (bright star in Gemini The
Twins)
-
15 Venus
greatest elongation East. Evening twilight sky.
-
-
-
23 Venus
1.2N of Uranus. Early evening twilight sky. Difficult.
May be visible in low power wide field telescope.
- 24 A
rare transit of Saturn by it's largest Moon Titan begins
in the early morning.
More information will be added here shortly. In the meantime,
further information can be found
here. Once the last of this series of transits occurs,
the next won't be visible until 2025. The start of this event
would be easily visible in a small sized amateur telescope
(4 inch refractor or an equivalent reflector).
-
24 Jupiter
at conjunction
-
25 Slim
crescent Moon located above Mars. Morning twilight sky.
Very difficult.
- 26 Asteroid
8088 Australia closest approach to Earth (1.387 AU).
-
- 26 Chinese
New Year. Welcome to the Year of the Ox. More information
on the Chinese New Year can be found here and here.
-
26 Partial
Solar Eclipse visible on Australia
Day. With appropriate viewing techniques, observers in
Sydney, Canberra and
Melbourne will see a very small part
of the Sun blocked from view by the Moon (around 7pm
AEST depending on your
location). Warning: Use appropriate
solar viewing techniques to observe the eclipse. Looking
at the Sun directly will
result in permanent damage to your
eyes. Detailed
information for all Australian capital cities that experience the eclipse are now online.
-
30 Look
for Venus during the daytime. At around 5pm AEST (add
one hour if daylight saving applies in your location),
look above the North Western horizon and locate the four
day old crescent Moon. Venus will be located 3.5 degrees
(or 7 Moon widths) above the Moon and slightly to the
right of the Moon. Binoculars will help if you haven't
looked for Venus before during the daytime. Also stand
in the shadow of a tree or building to avoid the glare
from the Sun.
-
30 Slim
crescent Moon located under Venus. Early evening twilight.
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