January 2008 Monthly Sky Guide

The Red Planet was at opposition on December 24, 2007. It will spend the month of January retrograding, providing excellent opportunities for viewing, especially later in the month.

Named for the Roman god of War, Mars probably got this name due to its red color. It is sometimes referred to as the Red Planet. The name of the month March derives from Mars. Known since prehistoric times, Mars is still a favorite of choice for human exploration.

Learn more about the planet Mars and take a solar system tour.

Check out this map for the month of January, or create your own customized map with our Free Sky Maps tool.

Note: This map is for a median time and location and may have slight differences from your location and viewing time. Planets and moons shown on this map will have the highest probability of appearing in different locations.

Use this handy Sky Map Symbols Key to figure out what you should be looking for.

Check out our Astronomical Events Calendar to learn about other happenings in space and on Earth. Here is a sampling of highlights.

• 1: Comet 8P/Tuttle Near-Earth Flyby
• 4: Moon at apogee
• 5: Quadrantid Meteor Shower Peaks (approximately 2AM EST)
• 19: Moon at Perigee
• 21 - 22: Mercury is at greatest eastern elongation (midnight EST)
• 31: Venus and Jupiter approximately 1 degree apart in the dawn sky
• 31: Moon at apogee

This month, the constellation Gemini can be seen high in the sky. Let's take a closer look at Gemini.

• The Twins
• Genitive: Geminorum
• Abbreviations: Gem, Gemi
• Right Ascension, (h): 7
• Declination, (deg): 20N

Aristotle (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher. Along with Plato, he is often considered to be one of the two most influential philosophers in Western thought. Read more about Aristotle.

Check every day to learn what happened "This Day in History."

• 1: 1801 - Italian Giuseppe Piazzi discovers Ceres, the first known (and largest) asteroid.
• 4 - 15: 1610 - Galileo Galilei points his newly developed telescope at the sky and observes craters and mountains on the Moon, moving spots on the Sun, four moons revolving around Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and the almost innumerable stars of the Milky Way.
• 17: 1997 - Clyde Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto, died.
• 27: 1967 - The crew of Apollo/Saturn 204 (more commonly known as Apollo 1 mission) perished in a fire.