Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.
January 1: Follow Saturn to Neptune
Asteroid 40 Harmonia reaches opposition at 10 A.M. EST. You can catch the 9th-magnitude main-belt world in binoculars or a telescope this evening in Gemini, where it lies just under 2.5° southeast of 3rd-magnitude Mebsuta (Epsilon [ε] Geminorum) and above bright Jupiter as the constellation rises in the evening sky. Note that the bright, nearly Full Moon is nearby in Taurus, which may hinder the view. However, Harmonia will remain in roughly the same part of the sky for a while, moving slowly against the background stars — so you can come back and search for it again after the Moon has begun to wane and rises later in the evening, providing some darkness after sunset.
Although the Moon does not officially reach Full phase until early tomorrow morning, our satellite will appear essentially Full (more than 99 percent lit) to the naked eye by late this evening. It may also appear slightly bigger and brighter than average, as it is still close to perigee and this month’s Full Moon is considered a Super Moon.
Sunrise: 7:22 A.M.
Sunset: 4:46 P.M.
Moonrise: 3:50 P.M.
Moonset: 6:57 A.M.
Moon Phase: Full
*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.
