2021 Week 4: (January 24-January 30)

We are nearly through the first month of 2021 and it has been great for astronomy.  The Calgary Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada just hosted an amazing talk from Berkeley researcher Sarafina Nance.  She spoke about supernovae and shared insight on how we can pursue our dreams in the face of the adversity that exists in the world.  Next month the Centre will be hosting Ashley Walker, who is the first astrochemist in Chicago State University's history.  She will be speaking on planetary atmospheres, specifically the Saturnian moon: Titan.  If you are interested in joining this free online lecture you can register at the link below.

https://www.meetup.com/The-Calgary-Astronomy-Meetup-Group/events/275832274/

Titan (Image Credit: NASA)

What is happening in the sky this week?

Mercury will still be visible in the western twilight as it begins to proceed to inferior conjunction in a few weeks.  I had the opportunity to go out and observe the diminutive inner planet.  I saw it slowly cutting through the dusk twilight around 5:45pm local time.  It became very bright and easily visible to the unaided eye.  It was up on a ridge with the Bow River below and the mountains in the distance.  Three does and a large buck appeared out of the brush in front of me and curiously watched me as I stared into the sky. 

On Monday night the Moon will be in conjunction with one of my favourite open clusters, M35.  This cluster is located at the foot of Castor in the constellation Gemini.  The image below shows a wide-field telescope and a basic binocular field of view just after 6pm MST.  All you need to do is put the Moon in a set of binoculars and see the beautiful cluster located just to the west.

Moon/M35 Conjunction (January 25, 6:00pm MST)

This past Saturday, on January 23, Saturn was in conjunction with the Sun.  A few days later, on January 28, Jupiter will be in conjunction with the Sun.  We will be unable to see these planets for awhile as the light from the Sun hinders our ability to observe them.  Later in February you will begin to see them in the dawn twilight.

I suggest you check out the RASC Calgary social media and webpage to learn more about the great astronomy activities that are held by our Centre.  All of our online events can be broadcast worldwide so you don't have to live in Calgary to participate!  Also, follow me on my personal Facebook page at:

https://www.facebook.com/simonjastronomy

Stay warm, stay safe, and always keep looking up in wonder!