Chart drawn for January 1st at 10pm, January 15th at 9pm and January 31st at 8pm

 Planetary positions are shown for mid-month.

 

Overhead at the time of our map Auriga dominates with its bright yellow star Capella.

Due south Orion is at its highest, the  three belt stars pointing towards the south east towards Sirius

 and towards the north to Taurus and The Pleiades. In the western  sky Cetus, Pisces and Eridanus are now

starting to set. Vega is just visible skirting the north if you have a low enough horizon.

Ursa Major and the distinct shape of its brightest seven stars, The Plough is now getting high in the

north eastern sky.   In the eastern sky, Leo, with its distinct backward question mark, The Sickel of Leo,

is now clear of the horizon, bringing lots of galaxies into view as we look away from the plane of the Milky Way.

Between Leo and Gemini, a bit higher is the faint Cancer, with its bright open cluster M44,

The Beehive Cluster or Praesepe which Admiral Smyth described as “ a capital object for trying the light of a telescope”.

 

 Dave Eagle