A chance to view two nebulas this week up in the sky

(WHSV) - It’s a quiet week in the sky but the last full week of January does have some interesting events.

Gaining Daylight

We will be gaining 13 minutes of daylight over the course of this week. By Monday, January 31st, we’ll have 10 hours and 15 minutes of daylight and 13 hours and 45 minutes of nighttime. Sunrise moves from 7:26 am to 7:21 am while sunset moves from 5:28 pm to 5:36 pm.

ISS Viewing (Most Viewable)

Moon Phases & Next Full Moon:

Next Full Moon

The next full moon will be on Wednesday, February 16th at 11:56 am. February’s full moon is known as the Snow Moon. The Snow Moon comes from the northern hemisphere experiencing the snowiest month of the year. In Eastern Canada natives called this moon the Snow Blinding Moon. In Eastern Canada, typically snowy, harsh weather would occur with a lot of wind. These conditions made it the hardest hunting month of the year. February’s full moon has been called the Hunger Moon, Bony Moon, and Little Famine Moon. American colonists had their best luck trapping beavers and fox in February because of the thick fur these animals had this time of year. American colonists called this moon the Trapper’s Moon.

Other Interesting Events

On Wednesday, January 26th, in the southeastern sky before dawn, Mars will be located not far to several deep-sky objects. The Trifid Nebula and The Lagoon Nebula will be located near Mars. The Trifid Nebula will to be a thumb’s width above Mars and the Lagoon Nebula will be just to the lower right of Mars. You will be able to view these nebulas with binoculars in a dark sky.

On Saturday, January 29th, the thin and old moon will be near Mars as both rise in the southeastern sky just after 5am. This will create a very good photo opportunity as Mars will be located a few finger-widths to the upper left of the moon.

Copyright 2021 WHSV. All rights reserved.