January 14
A Landing on Titan
Sun Position
The Sun lies in Capricornus, about 21.5° 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
Orion's Belt and Sword cross the meridian together in the evening, the Sword's middle 'star' revealing itself as the Orion Nebula in binoculars. Visible worldwide.
Deep Sky Object
The Orion Nebula (M42) again at its evening best, its four central Trapezium stars carving a cavity in the surrounding gas about 1,340 light-years away. Well-placed in both hemispheres.
Featured Star
Alnitak (ζ Ori), a blue supergiant in Orion, about 1260 light-years away. Alnitak, easternmost belt star, blazing beside the Horsehead's dark pillar.
Around This Date
- January 14, 2005ESA's Huygens probe landed on Titan, the first landing on a moon in the outer solar system, transmitting images of an orange methane-haze world for over an hour before its battery faded.
- January 14, 2008MESSENGER made its first Mercury flyby, returning the first close images of the innermost planet since Mariner 10 in 1974.
A machine touched down beneath an orange sky a billion miles away.