Friday, March 29, 2024 at 4:25 AM
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What’s up in Kendall County’s January skies

Well, sadly we missed the Mars occultation by the Moon Dec. 7 and the Geminids meteor shower on Dec. 14. At least, from my house, it was cloudy both nights. I actually got to see a few moments of Mars and the Moon quite close together on the 7th, but it was fleeting. One of my neighbors texted me asking what that bright pimple looking thing was next to the moon. Such is life as an astronomer, being clouded out.

Well, sadly we missed the Mars occultation by the Moon Dec. 7 and the Geminids meteor shower on Dec. 14. At least, from my house, it was cloudy both nights. I actually got to see a few moments of Mars and the Moon quite close together on the 7th, but it was fleeting. One of my neighbors texted me asking what that bright pimple looking thing was next to the moon. Such is life as an astronomer, being clouded out.

This month we’re going to talk about Orion which is rising conveniently in the east in January and February. By 8:45 p.m. in January, Orion will be conveniently placed in the southeastern sky. See the graphic of Orion and the stellar names. I want you to notice Sigma Orionis, which is a multiple star system below and to the right of Alnitak in Orion’s belt. This is actually responsible for illuminating the red portion of the Horsehead nebula just below and to the left of Alnitak. See my photo of the Horsehead taken Dec. 26, 2021, 83-minute image run.

Sigma Orionis is a star system made up of nine individual stars, five of which can be seen in my short exposure on Dec. 15, 2022. Can you imagine having the sun and eight other suns spinning around a common center of gravity in the night sky? Several of these stars are quite distant and wouldn’t look very bright in the sky.

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