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January 15: Saturn moves into Pisces
East of Gemini, where the bright planet Jupiter has been demanding attention, is the constellation Cancer. Closer to the horizon and to the lower left of the Twins early in the evening as the constellations rise, the Crab holds at its heart the lovely open cluster M44.
Often called the Beehive Cluster, this grouping is also called Praesepe, derived from the Latin word for manger. Shining at 3rd magnitude, M44 has been known since ancient times. It is a grouping of young stars some 730 million years old, located nearly 600 light-years from Earth. If you can spot it with the naked eye, it may appear as a misty patch of light. It contains at least a thousand stars, though only a few hundred of these are readily visible even under magnification in amateur instruments.
Sunrise: 7:20 A.M.
Sunset: 5:01 P.M.
Moonrise: 6:05 A.M.
Moonset: 2:48 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waning crescent (3%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.
