Paul Floyd's Astronomy & Space Website: Sky and Space Events 2010

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2010 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.

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 2010

Planets visible in January 2010 (description for mid-month unless otherwise stated)

Jupiter visible low above the Western horizon during evening twilight.
Mars visible as a bright star low above the Eastern horizon in the mid-evening sky.
In the second half of January 2010, Mercury will be visible low above the Eastern horizon during morning twilight.

Astronomy and Space Events for January 2010 (listed by date)

1 Full Moon
1 Partial Lunar Eclipse. Note that this eclipse is not visible from Eastern Australia. Perth residents will be able to see the eclipse reach maximum at 3.22 am WST before the sky starts to lighten.
2 Moon at perigee. Moon will be closest to Earth in its orbit this month at 358,628 km.
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.
3 Earth at perihelion
3 The Moon, Mars and the star Regulus form a temporary triangle above the Eastern horizon. Late evening sky. The bright star below and to the left of the Moon is Mars. The star below and to the right of the Moon is Regulus (the brightest star in the ancient Greek constellation Leo The Lion).
5 Mercury inferior conjunction
7 1610 Galileo Galilei’s discovery of Jupiter’s moons.
7 Last Quarter Moon
7 Moon located above and to the right of Saturn. Morning sky.
8 Moon located above Spica (the brightest star in the ancient Greek constellation Virgo The Virgin). Early morning sky.
10 1968: Australia’s first satellite WRESAT re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the Atlantic Ocean.
12 7 am Venus superior conjunction
12 Cassini spacecraft flies past Titan (Saturn’s largest Moon)
12 Moon located below Antares (the brightest star in the ancient Greek constellation Scorpius The Scorpion). Early morning sky.
12 Moon furthest South (-25.7 degrees)
14 A very slim crescent Moon will be located to the right of Mercury in the morning dawn sky. You will need a clear Eastern horizon to have any hope of locating the Moon.
14 2005: European Space Agency’s Huygens Probe landed on Titan (Saturn’s largest Moon)
15 Saturn stationary
15 New Moon. There will be an annular Solar Eclipse visible from Africa, the Indian Ocean, India, Sri Lanka, and south-east Asia. Not visible from Australia.
16 Mercury stationary
17 Moon at apogee. Moon will be furthest from the Earth in its orbit this month at 406,435 km.
18 Slim crescent Moon located to the right of Neptune in the early evening twilight sky. This event is mentioned more for interests sake as Neptune’s low altitude and the brightness of the evening twilight sky will prevent you from seeing Neptune.
18 Crescent Moon located below and to the right of Jupiter. Look low above the Western horizon. Evening twilight sky.
20 Crescent Moon located below and to the right of Uranus. Binoculars or a telescope will be required to locate Uranus. Look low above the Western horizon.
24 First Quarter Moon. Avoid the period between First Quarter Moon and two days after Full Moon for holding a star party.
24 1990: Japan Moon Orbiter (Hiten) launched
27 Moon furthest North (25.7 degrees)
27 Mercury greatest elongation West. Early morning sky.
28 Mars nearest to Earth (0.664 AU)
28 Cassini spacecraft flies past Titan (Saturn’s largest Moon)
30 Mars at opposition. Best time of year to observe Mars.
30 Full Moon. This Full Moon will be the largest in apparent size for 2010. The Moon will be at it's closest tonight to the Earth in it's orbit for 2010 (at 7 pm AEST). Expect very high king tides tomorrow morning. King Tide times for Queensland for 2010 can be found on the Maritime Safety Queensland Website. Tide times for NSW can be found here. It is also the second Full Moon for January 2010. When this occurs, it is referred to as a 'Blue Moon'. This year is unusual in that it has two 'Blue Moons' (the second in March). This pattern only occurs only a few times each century. Another bit of trivia, as a result of this, February has no Full Moon. For more information, see page 32 of the hightly recommended Astronomy 2010 year book.
30 Moon located to right of Mars
30 Moon at perigee. Moon will be closest to Earth in its orbit this month at 356,593 km.
30 Mercury has a very close encounter with 39-Omicron Sagittarii in the dawn twilight sky. This is the star that forms the bottom of the teaspoon of Sagittarius.
31 Look below the Gibbous Moon to locate Regulus (the brightest star in the ancient Greek constellation Leo The Lion). Late evening sky.

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