January 16
The Greater Dog
Sun Position
The Sun lies in Capricornus, about 21.1° 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
Canis Major stands at its highest in the evening south, Sirius blazing at its heart with Adhara below. The view is best from the Southern Hemisphere, where the dog rides overhead.
Deep Sky Object
Messier 41 below Sirius, an open cluster about 2,300 light-years away that Aristotle may have noted as a faint patch. Southern and tropical latitudes favored.
Featured Star
Saiph (κ Ori), a blue supergiant in Orion, about 720 light-years away. Saiph, Orion's sword-foot, a blue supergiant behind a mask of average brightness.
Around This Date
- January 16, 1969Cosmonauts Yevgeny Khrunov and Aleksei Yeliseyev made the first crew transfer between two spacecraft in orbit, moving from Soyuz 5 to Soyuz 4 via spacewalk, a critical step toward future space station operations.
- January 16, 2003Space Shuttle Columbia launched on mission STS-107, its final flight, the foam damage that would cause its destruction on reentry on February 1 was sustained shortly after this liftoff.
The hunter's dog stands guard at the brightest post in the sky.