January 27
The Little Dog's Star
Sun Position
The Sun lies in Aquarius, about 18.9° 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
Procyon rises in the early evening and stands east of Sirius, the eighth-brightest star and one of our nearest stellar neighbors. Visible worldwide.
Deep Sky Object
Messier 48, an open cluster about 2,500 light-years away near the Hydra–Monoceros border. Both hemispheres.
Featured Star
Procyon (α CMi), a yellow-white subgiant in Canis Minor, 11.5 light-years away. Procyon, the forerunner of the dog star, traveling with a dead star for company.
Around This Date
- January 27, 1967The Apollo 1 fire killed astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee during a ground test, three lives lost that reshaped every subsequent spacecraft NASA built.
- January 28, 1986Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven crew members, the accident that grounded the shuttle program for nearly three years and reshaped how NASA assessed risk.
A bright near neighbor, eleven light-years and a faint white dwarf companion.