Star Gazer 2001 Jan 01-07

"January is 'How to Use Your New Telescope' Month"

Scheduled air date: 2001 Jan 01-07

The brilliant planet Venus is currently making its appearance as the Evening Star.
(Shown about an hour after sunset for mid-Northern latitudes.)

In the eastern sky, the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn—presently at their brightest—are telescope-viewing favorites!
The Pleiades star cluster is beautiful when seen through binoculars or a telescope at low power.
The Trapezium star cluster—within the Orion Nebula, located below the belt of Orion—is best seen through a telescope at moderate to high power.
(Shown about an hour after sunset for mid-Northern latitudes.)

Even through the smallest telescope, the four largest moons of Jupiter (called the "Galilean" moons) can be observed to slowly orbit that giant planet. The above image illustrates the positions of these four moons from night-to-night over the next week.

If you wish to view illustrations for other episodes, please see our Star Gazer Illustrated directory.