January 23
The Bull's Red Eye
Sun Position
The Sun lies in Aquarius, about 19.8° 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
Aldebaran glows orange as the eye of Taurus, lying in front of the Hyades cluster though not part of it. Visible from both hemispheres.
Deep Sky Object
The Hyades again, the V of Taurus at about 150 light-years, the nearest true cluster to the Sun. Both hemispheres.
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 24, 1990Japan's Hiten spacecraft launched, becoming the first lunar probe sent by any nation other than the United States or the Soviet Union, opening the era of international deep-space exploration.
- January 23, 1930Clyde Tombaugh continued his blink-comparator survey at Lowell Observatory during the week he would discover Pluto, painstakingly comparing paired photographs of the same sky region to spot anything that had moved.
The bull's eye is closer to us than the herd behind it.