January 1
The Threshold
Sun Position
The Sun lies in Capricornus, about 23.0° south of the celestial equator. In the Northern Hemisphere the days are still short but lengthening; in the Southern Hemisphere this is high summer with long, warm evenings.
Sky Highlight
Earth reaches perihelion this week, its closest approach to the Sun for the year, a quiet reminder that our seasons are tilt, not distance. The Quadrantid meteor shower is also building toward its sharp peak.
Deep Sky Object
The Orion Nebula (M42), a stellar nursery about 1,340 light-years away where new stars are condensing out of glowing gas. Well-placed for both hemispheres, riding high on northern evenings and overhead in the south.
Featured Star
Capella (α Aur), a yellow giant pair in Auriga, 42.9 light-years away. Capella, the she-goat whose broken horn became the Cornucopia.
Around This Date
- January 1, 1801Giuseppe Piazzi discovered Ceres from Palermo, the first object found in what would become known as the asteroid belt.
- January 1, 1925Edwin Hubble's measurement placing the Andromeda Nebula far beyond the Milky Way was formally presented, revealing galaxies as separate islands of stars and vastly expanding the known universe.
The year turns on a star already overhead.