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Skies Over Louisville: Winter 2009 (December 21, 2009 - March 21, 2010)

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Skies Over Louisville Winter Schedule at the Planetarium

Interested in seeing the winter sky in action, complete with tour guides and constellation tales? Join us for Skies Over Louisville, our monthly, live star program at the planetarium. Always on Saturday night at 9 PM, the dates for the winter 2009-10 editions are Dec 5, Jan 9 and Feb 13. After the show, enjoy a telescope viewing party on the planetarium terrace with Louisville's own Astronomical Society (the telescopes are weather permitting, but the Skies Over Louisville show happens rain or shine!)

Louisville's Winter Skies

As we move into the winter months, longer nights and frigid temperatures mean perfect stargazing opportunities if you bundle up tight and bring the hot chocolate. The full moons during the winter have names which seems to describe the season; the Cold Moon, on December 2nd, signals the longest and darkest nights of the year; January's Wolf Moon is named for the packs that would gather around Native American villiages looking for food at this time of the year; and the Snow Moon of February describes the month that usually saw the heaviest snowfall for the Native Americans. See below for dates and special Moon happenings this season.

Planets

On the Solar System front, here is what to expect from our planetary neighbors this month:

Venus

The brightest object in the night sky except for the Moon, Venus is not hard to find, even in city lights. It is so bright, in fact, that you can observe its phases as its position changes in the sky throughout the month with a small telescope or a nice pair of binoculars.
December 2009: Doesn’t appear

Mars

Known as the red planet for its ruddy appearance, Mars is the closest planet to Earth and has long been the stuff of science fiction novels for harboring extraterrestrial life. Using a telescope or a pair of binoculars, one can see the ice caps that adorn the planet’s poles. These ice caps give astronomers hope that Mars could be a potential cradle for life.
December 2009: Mars rises in the eastern skies during the late evening hours, around 12 AM

Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system; its cloud tops act like a giant mirror, reflecting much of the sunlight that falls onto them. Some of this reflected light makes its way back towards the Earth, making Jupiter appear as one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Through a good pair of binoculars it is possible to see the four largest moons of Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
December 2009: Jupiter lies in the west this month as it sinks into the horizon shortly after sunset (best viewed around 7 PM)

Saturn

Saturn, the second largest planet, is mostly composed of hydrogen and has a density less than that of water. That means, if you had a bathtub large enough, Saturn would float! This sixth planet from our Sun also contains a system of rings that span about 100,000 miles and are made of various sizes of ice and rock. These rings truly distinguish Saturn from all the other planets in the solar system and make it a favorite target for binoculars and small telescopes.
December 2009: Saturn dominates the southeastern skies early in the morning a couple of hours before sunrise (5 AM)

The Winter Constellations

Orion

Orion, the great hunter, is probably one of the most recognizable constellations in the sky because of its three belt stars and its beautiful, star-filled nebula. The Orion Nebula is one of the most stunning objects in the night sky and, in addition, is one of the brightest nebulae that can be seen with the naked eye. At a distance of 1340 light years, this is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. You can find the Orion Nebula beneath the three belt stars where it appears as a sword resting in its sheath. Within Orion also lie two of the brightest stars in the winter skies, Rigel and Betelgeuse.

Canis Major

Canis Major is known as the greater dog, the largest of Orion’s hunting companions. He is denoted by the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius. You can find Sirius by extending the three belt stars in Orion to the left.

Canis Minor

The lesser dog, Canis Minor, is another one of Orion’s hunting hounds. He can be seen in the night sky just above Canis Major and is home to the bright main sequence star, Procyon.

Taurus

Taurus the bull lies just to the right of Orion in the winter skies and, in reality, is not a bull at all, but merely a disguise used by the god of all gods in Greek mythology, Zeus, to woo a beautiful Phoenician princess named Europa. Two open clusters of stars make great targets for binoculars or a small telescope. The first of these is the Hyades which can be seen arranged in the shape of a V and compose Taurus’ head. The brightest star in Taurus, Aldebaran, lies within this group. The other open cluster, also called “The Seven Sisters,” is the Pleiades, and is easily found lying along the bull’s back.

Gemini

Drawing a line from Rigel to Betelgeuse upward we come to two of the brightest stars in the night sky, Castor and Pollux. These stars denote the constellation Gemini, the twins. This adventurous pair also hosts several enchanting objects such as open clusters M35 and NGC 2158 as well as the Eskimo Nebula.

Auriga

Above Gemini and Orion is the constellation Auriga, the charioteer. Because the Milky Way runs through this constellation, it is riddled with numerous open clusters of stars including M36, M37, and M38. The brightest star in Auriga and the sixth brightest star in the sky is Capella. Although it looks like a single star, Capella is actually part of a system of four stars in two binary pairs making it a great object to view in a small telescope.

Aries

Lying just to the west of the Pleiades is one of the smallest winter constellations, Aries, the ram. This constellation is among the most difficult to see and identify because of its dimness. A few galaxies can be found in this region of the sky such as NGC 697, NGC 772, and NGC 972. All of which are optimally viewed through a larger telescope.

Special Events in the Sky this Season

December 2009

The mid-December night sky hosts a lovely meteor shower called the Geminids, so named because of the location from whence the display seems to originate (the constellation Gemini). The Geminids last between December 12th-14th and peak on the evening of the 13th when the moon is below the horizon.

Additionally, a unique and rare event occurs this month--a Blue Moon. This is the name given to the second full moon that takes place within the same month. The full moons for this month will occur on December 2nd and New Year’s Eve, December 31st.

A final event this month is the winter solstice which happens on December 21st. On this day, the Sun reaches the southernmost and lowest position in the sky, making it the day with the least amount of sunlight for the year.

To Ask the Astronomer a question, send your email to planet @ louisville.edu.
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