The Planets:
Mercury:  About 45 minutes after sunset, look for brilliant Mercury in the west-southwest.  It is low in the sky for the first half of the month.  It reaches its greatest elongation on January 11, about 19 degrees above the horizon.  By January 19, Mercury is fading rapidly and is lower in the sky each day.

Venus:  Venus is invisible to us for most of the month as it goes through superior conjunction with the Sun (the Sun is between Earth and Venus).

Mars:  Mars is found in the southwestern part of the sky.  It is easy to find because it is the brightest object in this area.  Its visible magnitude and size are shrinking as Earth leaves Mars behind.  This red planet sets by 10:30 PM.

Saturn:  The evening sky show is dominated by spectacular Saturn and blazing Jupiter.  Saturn is in the constellation of Taurus the Bull.  It's easy to find Taurus if you follow the three stars of Orion's belt westward to the V-shaped face of the Bull.  There you will find two bright objects:  (1) the bright star Aldebaran at the top of one side of the V-shape representing the eye of the Bull; and (2) the planet Saturn.  If you happen to have a telescope, you will see the southern face of the rings tilted at a very high angle.  Wait until Saturn rises fairly high to get the best view!  A particularly great view is in the early evening of January 23-24, when Saturn is placed at the top of the V-shape opposite Aldebaran, with an almost full moon nearby.

Jupiter:  The brightest point in the night sky (other than the Moon) is Jupiter, shining at a magnitude of -2.7.  Jupiter is visible almost the entire night during January in the constellation of Gemini the Twins, slightly north of Orion the Hunter.  During the early hours of the first day of 2002, Jupiter makes its closest and brightest appearance of the year!

Constellations:  Caelum, Dorado, Mensa, Orion, Reticulum, Taurus

Looking for a Little More?  If this Skyline whets your appetite, try this website:  skymaps.com/downloads.html.  It offers a two page pdf brochure that you can print out for free.  It has a basic skymap and short lists of visual, binocular, and small telescope objects.  It is really good--check it out!

REMEMBER that the Sidewalk Astronomers will hold FREE public telescope viewing (weather permitting) on the north lawn of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History on January 19 beginning at dusk.  Come join in the fun and bring the family!
For more information about the night sky, contact the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History's Noble Planetarium at (817) 255-9300 or E-mail at planet@fwmsh.org.  Compiled by FWAS members Don Garland and Linda Krouse of the Noble Planetarium, with selected editor's additions.