EYES TO THE SKY: Sun’s New Year, dawn and dusk planets

January 6 – 19, 2020

Mount Washington — I have been observing the Sun from my doorstep as it sets into a forested hilltop to the southwest. Here, sunset is close to an hour before horizon-view sunset times. Even though I knew that the Sun is setting about a minute later everyday, I was impressed to notice that the location of the setting Sun has inched more westerly. By the time of Vernal Equinox, March 19, sunset will be due west, out of sight from my location. Sunset today, the 6^th, is at 4:36 p.m., an increase of 15 minutes from the earliest sunset on Dec. 6^th. Picking up momentum, we will experience another 15-minute gain by Jan. 19, when sunset time is 4:51 p.m.

Sunrise today, 7:22:09 a.m. in the southeast, is within seconds of the latest of the year, occurring all this week.* By the 19^th, the Sun will rise five minutes earlier and, going forward to the end of January, sunrise will be a minute earlier every morning. During this time of morning darkness, catch sight of the wonderful Scorpion, a nighttime constellation in summer. Look southeast by 6:30 a.m. to see the whole figure of Scorpius along with red planet Mars, above. Mars is not as bright as during last year’s evening apparition. Red star Antares, the heart of the Scorpion, is a bit brighter than Mars. Antares, according to H.A. Rey, is Greek for “rival of Mars.” I have also seen it described as “simulating Mars (in color).”

In the evening sky, planet Venus shines above the point of sunset. As twilight deepens, winter star Fomalhaut, “mouth of the Fish,” appears to the planet’s left. At nightfall, orange Deneb Kaitos, of the faint constellation Cetus the Whale (or Sea Monster), is clearly visible to the left and above Fomalhaut. Deneb Kaitos is dimmer than Fomalhaut but it is a solitary star in this area of the sky. Unforgettable!

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*Correction: time noted in my December 9 column as latest sunrise, 7:20:32 on January 13 should have been January 3 and 4 at 7:22:15 a.m. When times seem to vary it is usually due to rounding off to the nearest minute.