January 2
Closest to the Fire
Sun Position
The Sun lies in Capricornus, about 22.9° 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
The Quadrantids peak near now, a brief but intense shower whose radiant sits in the old constellation Quadrans Muralis. The narrow peak favors Northern Hemisphere observers in the pre-dawn hours.
Deep Sky Object
The Pleiades (M45), a young open cluster about 444 light-years away, its hot blue stars still wrapped in faint nebulosity. Visible worldwide, high overhead from the north.
Featured Star
Aldebaran (α Tau), a red giant in Taurus, 65.3 light-years away. Aldebaran, the red eye of the bull, follower of the Pleiades.
Around This Date
- January 2, 1959The Soviet Luna 1 launched, becoming the first spacecraft to escape Earth's gravity, pass close to the Moon, and enter a heliocentric orbit, the first artificial object to orbit the Sun.
- January 2, 2004NASA's Stardust probe flew through the coma of comet Wild 2, collecting thousands of particles for return to Earth, the first cometary material brought back since the Apollo era ended.
Even at our nearest, the Sun keeps its distance.