Night Sky 2023

Happy New Year to all our readers!

Our first blog of 2023 takes a look at the sky highlights waiting for us in the first half of this year.

We’ll also take a quick look at space missions coming up in that time.

Stellarium

For our night sky images, we’ll use Stellarium.

One of the first things you might do this year is to download it to use for yourself.

Stellarium is superb planetarium software for your PC, smartphone or tablet.

It shows the night sky at any time on any date, present, past or future.

We use Stellarium in Wonderdome.

And its absolutely free of charge!

Download it by clicking here.

Coming up in 2023

January to March

The best constellations are in the south.

The centrepiece is Orion, with three stars in line making the hunter’s belt.

Two bright stars above and below make the main part of this star pattern.

The star at top left is Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star.

Night sky looking South. Stellarium

Following the line of Orion’s belt up and left brings us to Taurus the bull.

The bull has a glowering red eye, with stars to the left making his two horns.

Orion’s belt then points down and left to Sirius, the brightest star in our night sky.

Above and left of Sirius is Procyon.

Along with Betelgeuse, these stars make a bright ‘Winter Triangle’

Planets

Mars begins 2023 well placed high among the stars of Taurus.

It is distinctly orange and brighter than any of the surrounding stars.

Mars and stars Stellarium

Mars, NASA/JPL

The red planet can be a disappointing planet viewed with a small telescope.

Although it is relatively close, it is a small world.

Air currents in our atmosphere often blur the view.

Patience is the key to observing the red planet.

Wait for the few seconds when our atmosphere stabilises and you will be rewarded with a clearer view.

You may see dark markings in the orange terrain and might even glimpse a polar ice cap.

Mars, telescope view. Stellarium

The first time I observed Mars back in the 1970s I saw a featureless orange disc.

I thought that my newly purchased telescope might not be up to scratch.

Then I discovered that a huge dust storm had covered the whole planet!

The best telescopes on Earth saw no more than I had.

The dust settled a few days later and I saw Mars as it should be.

Comet coming!

A comet will call in early this year.

Comet 2022 E3 ZTF will be at its brightest in the final days of January and the early days of February.

It will move across the sky from the north to the east.

At its peak brightness it might be just visible with the naked eye.

However it is more likely you will need binoculars to pick it out in a dark sky.

It will appear as a fuzzy glow, with only a vestige of a tail.

Our finder chart shows where to look for Comet 2022 E3 ZTF.

Look north and find the Big Dipper.

Use a line from the end two stars of the Dipper to the North Star, Polaris.

Path of Comet E3 ZTF. Dennis Ashton / Stellarium

In late January the comet will pass between the Dipper and Polaris.

By early February the comet lies between Polaris and the bright yellow star Capella.

By February 6th it is just above Capella.

The comet’s name, E3 ZTF, shows that it was discovered in March 2022 at the Zwicky Transient Facility.

The ZTF is located at Mount Palomar in California.

Stars

Below Mars is the red giant star Aldebaran.

It is orange in colour, like Mars.

In fact its name Aldebaran means ‘rival of Mars’.

It’s nice to see the two contestants so close.

Aldebaran is a huge dying star, some 30 times wider than our Sun.

But in terms of brightness, Mars is the winner.

Whilst Mars is the dominant planet, Jupiter is still on view in the early weeks of 2023.

Going into Spring, the giant world heads resolutely west, setting earlier as the days get longer.

Planets in early 2023. Stellarium

Our Stellarium graphic shows Venus and Saturn close together in the south-west.

On January 22nd, the two planets will be at their closest.

Then on the following night they are joined by a slim crescent Moon.

To see the trio, look southwest as night falls.

And try a photo on your smartphone!

As a bonus, the pairing of Venus and Jupiter happens again on February 15th and the days after.

On February 22nd the Moon joins the party again.

The close encounter of the two planets will continue into the early days of March.

As before look to the south-west after sunset.

Deep Space

I’ve chosen two showpiece deep space objects for this period.

Both can be seen with the naked eye, whilst binoculars give an enhanced view.

Looking South. Stellarium

First is a star cluster, the Pleiades, Messier Catalogue M45.

The naked eye shows a misty patch of stars.

Binoculars reveal a wonderful group of bright, young blue stars.

The Pleiades are also known as the ‘Seven Sisters’ but you’ll see many more with any optical aid.

Our next target is the Orion Nebula, M42.

This bright gas cloud lies below Orion’s Belt.

With the naked eye, it is a dim misty patch.

Binoculars or a small telescope reveal a fan-shaped cloud of interstellar hydrogen.

April to June

The hours of darkness diminish as we move through Spring to Summer.

But there’s still much to see in the night sky.

We’ll first look at the prominent constellations in the South.

Spring constellations. Stellarium