To help you learn about the southern night sky, Sydney Observatory provides an audio guide/podcast, transcript of that audio, and a sky map or chart each month. This month’s guide is presented by Melissa Hulbert, an Astronomy Educator at Sydney Observatory.
Mel provides fascinating insights into the February night sky, with her tour including the constellations Orion, Taurus, Canis Major and the former constellation of Argo Narvis (the Ship of the Argonauts) – which has since been broken up into three smaller constellations, each being a part of the ship: Carina (the keel), Vela (the sails) and Puppis (the poop).
Planets to look out for this month are Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn – with the Moon close to Venus and Jupiter after sunset from 25 to 28 February, making a striking trio in our western sky.
Listen to the audio, or read the transcript below for more details.
HEAR THE AUDIO
You can subscribe with iTunes or upload the audio to your iPod or mp3 player, or listen to it on your computer.
SEE THE SKY CHART
We provide an embedded sky map (below) and a February 2012 night sky chart (PDF) which shows the stars, constellations and planets visible in the night sky from anywhere in Australia. To view PDF star charts you will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader if it’s not on your computer already.
BUY THE BOOK
Our annual book, ‘The 2012 Australasian sky guide’, by Dr Nick Lomb has more information and star maps for months from December 2011 until December 2012 inclusive, plus information about the Sun, twilight, the Moon and tides, and a host of other fascinating astronomical information. You can purchase it ($16.95) at Sydney Observatory and Powerhouse Museum shops or other good bookshops, or online through Powerhouse Publishing (additional packing/postage costs apply).
To help you learn about the southern night sky, Sydney Observatory provides an audio guide/podcast, transcript of that audio, and a sky map or chart each month. This month’s guide is presented by Geoffrey Wyatt, Sydney Observatory’s Senior Astronomy Educator.
Geoff provides fascinating insights into the night sky as we see it now and as we have learned from it through history. Stars and constellations that feature this month include Sirius in Canis Major, Betelgeuse (sounds like ‘Beetlejuice’) in Orion, Aldebaran in Taurus, and Fomalhaut in Pisces Austrinus. Geoff will also help you to make sure you can tell the difference between Crux, or the Southern Cross, and a false cross in the sky.
Jupiter and Venus are planetary highlights this month, with a lovely photographic opportunity on 26 January just after sunset, with the 10% waxing crescent Moon appearing 7 degrees almost directly below Venus.
Listen to the audio, or read the transcript below for more details.
HEAR THE AUDIO
You can subscribe with iTunes or upload the audio to your iPod or mp3 player, or listen to it on your computer.
SEE THE SKY CHART
We provide an embedded sky map (below) and January 2012 night sky chart (PDF) which shows the stars, constellations and planets visible in the night sky from anywhere in Australia. To view PDF star charts you will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader if it’s not on your computer already.
BUY THE BOOK
Our annual book, ‘The 2012 Australasian sky guide’, by Dr Nick Lomb has more information and star maps for months from December 2011 until December 2012 inclusive, plus information about the Sun, twilight, the Moon and tides, and a host of other fascinating astronomical information. You can purchase it ($16.95) at Sydney Observatory and Powerhouse Museum shops or other good bookshops, or online through Powerhouse Publishing (additional packing/postage costs apply).
To help you learn about the southern night sky, Sydney Observatory provides an audio guide/podcast, transcript of that audio, and a sky map or chart each month. This month’s guide is presented by Geoffrey Wyatt, Sydney Observatory’s Senior Astronomy Educator.
Geoff provides fascinating insights into the night sky as we see it now and as we have learned from it through history. For example how Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (the Big Dog), and also the brightest star in the sky, enabled the ancient Egyptians to calculate the length of the year.
Among the night sky highlights Geoff tells us about for this month is the Geminid meteor shower which you’ll have a chance to see on 15 December. Listen to the audio, or read the transcript below for more details.
HEAR THE AUDIO
You can subscribe with iTunes or upload the audio to your iPod or mp3 player, or listen to it on your computer.
SEE THE SKY CHART
We provide an embedded sky map (below) and December 2011 night sky chart
(PDF) which shows the stars, constellations and planets visible in the night sky from anywhere in Australia. To view PDF star charts you will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader if it’s not on your computer already.
BUY THE BOOK
Our annual book, ‘The 2012 Australasian sky guide’, by Dr Nick Lomb has more information and star maps for months from December 2011 until December 2012 inclusive, plus information about the Sun, twilight, the Moon and tides, and a host of other fascinating astronomical information. You can purchase it ($16.95) at Sydney Observatory and Powerhouse Museum shops or other good bookshops, or online through Powerhouse Publishing.
To help you learn about the southern night sky, Sydney Observatory provides an audio guide/podcast, transcript of that audio, and a sky map or chart each month. This month’s audio sky guide is presented by Melissa Hulbert, one of the astronomy educators at Sydney Observatory.
HEAR THE AUDIO
You can subscribe with iTunes or upload the audio to your iPod or mp3 player, or listen to it on your computer.
SEE THE SKY CHART
We provide an embedded sky map (below – it can take a moment or two to load) and this November 2011 night sky chart (PDF) which shows the stars, constellations and planets visible in the night sky from anywhere in Australia. To view PDF star charts you will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader if it’s not on your computer already.
BUY THE BOOK
Our annual book, ‘The 2012 Australasian sky guide’, by Dr Nick Lomb and available from mid-November, has more information and star maps for months from December 2011 until December 2012 inclusive, plus information about the Sun, twilight, the Moon and tides, and a host of other fascinating astronomical information. You can purchase it ($16.95) at Sydney Observatory and Powerhouse Museum shops or other good bookshops, or online through Powerhouse Publishing.
To help you learn about the southern night sky, Sydney Observatory provides an audio guide/podcast, transcript of that audio, and a sky map or chart each month. This month’s audio sky guide is presented by Dr Andrew Jacob, one of the astronomy educators at Sydney Observatory.
HEAR THE AUDIO
You can subscribe with iTunes or upload the audio to your iPod or mp3 player, or listen to it on your computer.
SEE THE SKY CHART
We provide an embedded sky map (below – it can take a moment or two to load) and this October 2011 night sky chart (PDF) which shows the stars, constellations and planets visible in the night sky from anywhere in Australia. To view PDF star charts you will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader if it’s not on your computer already.
BUY THE BOOK
Our annual book, ‘The 2011 Australian sky guide’, by Dr Nick Lomb has more information and star maps for months from December 2010 until December 2011 inclusive (next year’s, covering December 2011 to December 2012 will be available from mid-November), plus information about the Sun, twilight, the Moon and tides, and a host of other fascinating astronomical information. You can purchase it ($16.95) at Sydney Observatory and Powerhouse Museum shops or other good bookshops, or online through Powerhouse Publishing (a packing/postage fee applies for online purchases).
To help you learn about the southern night sky, Sydney Observatory provides an audio guide/podcast, transcript of that audio, and a sky map or chart each month. This month’s audio sky guide is presented by Geoffrey Wyatt, senior astronomy educator at Sydney Observatory.
HEAR THE AUDIO
You can subscribe with iTunes or upload the audio to your iPod or mp3 player, or listen to it on your computer.
SEE THE SKY MAP
We provide an embedded sky map (below – it can take a moment or two to load) and this September 2011 night sky chart (PDF) which shows the stars, constellations and planets visible in the night sky from anywhere in Australia. To view the PDF star chart, you will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader if it’s not on your computer already.
BUY THE BOOK
Our annual book, ‘The 2011 Australian sky guide’, by Dr Nick Lomb has more information and star maps for months from December 2010 until December 2011 inclusive (next year’s, covering December 2011 to December 2012 should be available from November), plus information about the Sun, twilight, the Moon and tides, and a host of other fascinating astronomical information. You can purchase it ($16.95) at Sydney Observatory and Powerhouse Museum shops or other good bookshops, or online through Powerhouse Publishing.
To help you learn about the southern night sky, Sydney Observatory provides an audio guide/podcast, transcript of that audio, and a sky map or chart each month. This month’s audio sky guide is presented by Mel Hulbert, astronomy educator at Sydney Observatory.
HEAR THE AUDIO
You can subscribe with iTunes or upload the audio to your iPod or mp3 player, or listen to it on your computer.
SEE THE SKY MAP
We provide an embedded sky map (below – it can take a moment or two to load) and this August 2011 night sky map (PDF) which shows the stars, constellations and planets visible in the night sky from anywhere in Australia. To view PDF star charts you will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader if it’s not on your computer already.
BUY THE BOOK
There is more information and detail in our annual book, ‘The 2011 Australian sky guide’ by Dr Nick Lomb. It has information and star maps for months from December 2010 until December 2011 inclusive, plus information about the Sun, twilight, the Moon and tides, and a host of other fascinating astronomical information. You can purchase it ($16.95) at Sydney Observatory and Powerhouse Museum shops or other good bookshops, or online through Powerhouse Publishing.
To help you learn about the southern night sky, Sydney Observatory provides an audio guide/podcast, transcript of that audio, and a sky map or chart each month. This month’s audio sky guide is presented by Dr Nick Lomb, Sydney Observatory’s ‘astronomer about town’ (he was Curator of Astronomy at Sydney Observatory until the end of 2009). Since then Nick has been pursuing other astronomical interests and projects as well as continuing his valued association with Sydney Observatory.
HEAR THE AUDIO
You can subscribe with iTunes or upload the audio to your iPod or mp3 player, or listen to it on your computer.
SEE THE SKY MAP
We provide an embedded sky map (below – it can take a moment or two to load) and this printable July 2011 night sky map (PDF) which shows the stars, constellations and planets visible in the night sky from anywhere in Australia. To view PDF star charts you will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader if it’s not on your computer already.
BUY THE BOOK
There is more information and detail in our annual book, ‘The 2011 Australian sky guide’ by Dr Nick Lomb. It has information and star maps for months from December 2010 until December 2011 inclusive, plus information about the Sun, twilight, the Moon and tides, and a host of other fascinating astronomical information. You can purchase it ($16.95) at Sydney Observatory and Powerhouse Museum shops or other good bookshops, or online through Powerhouse Publishing.
To help you learn about the southern night sky, Sydney Observatory provides an audio guide/podcast, transcript of that audio, and a sky map or chart each month. This month’s audio sky guide is presented by Geoffrey Wyatt, Senior Astronomy Educator at Sydney Observatory.
HEAR THE AUDIO
You can subscribe with iTunes or upload the audio to your iPod or mp3 player, or listen to it on your computer.
READ THE TRANSCRIPT
Here is the transcript of the sky guide audio for June 2011.
SEE THE SKY MAP
The June 2011 night sky map (PDF) shows the stars, constellations and planets visible in the night sky from anywhere in Australia. To view PDF star charts you will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader if it’s not on your computer already.
More information and sky maps
There is more information and detail in our annual book, ‘The 2011 Australian sky guide’ by Dr Nick Lomb. It has information and star maps for months from December 2010 until December 2011 inclusive, plus information about the Sun, twilight, the Moon and tides, and a host of other fascinating astronomical information. You can purchase it at Sydney Observatory and Powerhouse Museum shops or other good bookshops, or online through Powerhouse Publishing.
This is a transcript of a podcast of the June 2011 night sky guidepresented by Geoffrey Wyatt. Download and listen to the podcast as you gaze up at the night sky. (more…)
About
The 'Observations' blog is run by the staff of Sydney Observatory which is located at Observatory Hill, The Rocks, in Sydney, Australia.
This site is for discussion purposes only and does not represent the official views of Sydney Observatory. Any views expressed on this website are those of the individual post author only. Sydney Observatory accepts no liability for the content of this site.
Please direct any correspondence to web [at] phm.gov.au.
