January 15
The Comet's Cargo Returns
Sun Position
The Sun lies in Capricornus, about 21.3° 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 lower foot, marked by Saiph, anchors the constellation's tall rectangle high in the evening south. Visible from both hemispheres.
Deep Sky Object
Messier 43, a comma-shaped piece of the Orion complex just north of the main nebula, about 1,340 light-years away. Both hemispheres.
Featured Star
Mintaka (δ Ori), a blue giant / blue main-sequence pair in Orion, about 900 light-years away. Mintaka, the belt's western pearl, rising due east from every place on Earth.
Around This Date
- January 15, 2006NASA's Stardust capsule returned to Earth carrying the first samples collected from a comet, particles from comet Wild 2 that had traveled from the outer solar system to a Utah desert.
- January 15, 1973Soviet Luna 21 landed on the Moon with the Lunokhod 2 rover, which would go on to cover over 37 kilometers, a record for surface travel on another world that stood for decades.
A handful of comet dust crossed the solar system to reach a desert.