Actual Astronomy - Observer’s Calendar for January
Release Date: 01/01/2026
Actual Astronomy - Observer’s Calendar for January
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Hosted by Chris Beckett & Shane Ludtke, two amateur astronomers in Saskatchewan. This month in episode 516 we talk about the many things to see in the night sky including, carbon stars, double stars, 24P Schaumasse is a Comet that just cracks 8th magnitude making it visible in binoculars. We also detail how people can explore Jupiter through a telescope followed by many NGC and Messier Objects you can see in the winter sky. Jan 1 - Struve 627 in Orion Colorful Double Star Primary Star (A component): Yellow, golden-yellow, pale orange, or sometimes just white. Companion Star...
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Had Astra Historia - The 2026 Doggett Prize, Part 3
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Episode 209. Today’s guest: Professor Thomas Hockey, with the University of Northern Iowa, is the recipient of HAD’s 2026 LeRoy E. Doggett Prize, which is awarded biennially to an individual who has significantly influenced the field of the history of astronomy by a career-long effort. In this episode, we’ll not only conclude our discussion of his most recent book, but we’ll also talk about some rather fun and interesting topics. H’ad astra historia is the official podcast for the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society. We’re here to share...
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Had Astra Historia - The 2026 Doggett Prize, Part 2
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Episode 208. Today’s guest: Professor Thomas Hockey, with the University of Northern Iowa, is the recipient of HAD’s 2026 LeRoy E. Doggett Prize, which is awarded biennially to an individual who has significantly influenced the field of the history of astronomy by a career-long effort. In today’s episode, our focus is mainly on his more significant books. H’ad astra historia is the official podcast for the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society. We’re here to share stories from and about the people who study the stars, planets, and the cosmos....
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Astronomy Cast Ep. 776: The Matter - Antimatter Dichotomy
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Hosted by: Fraser Cain ( ) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay ( ) Streamed live on Dec 22, 2025. Shortly after the big bang there were almost exactly the same amounts of matter and antimatter in the Universe, but there was just enough of a difference that we live in a matter-dominated Universe. But it didn’t have to be that way! Explaining this mystery has been one of the great mysteries in astronomy, and today we’ll see if there’s been any progress! Why is the Universe the way it is? Specifically, why is it made mostly of matter? This is the question we'll look at today! This show is...
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Travelers in the Night Eps. 841 & 842: Moon Fragment & Tesla Recovered
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. From March 2025. Today's 2 topics: - Astronomers have yet to discover any long lasting natural object, beside our Moon, which orbits the Earth, however, occasionally, a small space rock enters into a temporary dance with our home planet. - My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Greg Leonard was asteroid hunting in the constellation of Hydra with our Schmidt telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona when a fast moving unknown point...
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The Cosmic Savannah - Ep. 77: Troublesome Inkathazo & the Age of Giants
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Hosted by Dr. Jacinta Delhaize, Dr. Tshiamiso Makwela & Dr. Daniel Cunnama. In this “mid-season special” episode, we introduce you to an extraordinary giant radio galaxy nicknamed “Inkathazo”, meaning ‘trouble’ in isiXhosa and isiZulu. We speak with Kathleen Charlton, a Master’s student from the University of Cape Town, about the discovery of Inkathazo and her newly published work on the topic. Kathleen spoke with us from the University of Oxford, where she was working with team members from the ‘MIGHTEE’ collaboration. She describes her experiences of first...
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EVSN - Six-Exoplanet System in Resonance, Challenges Formation Theories
The 365 Days of Astronomy
From January 27, 2021. It’s a day ending in ‘y’, and planetary formation theories are once again being challenged. This time the challenge comes from a six-planet system with five planets in resonance. Plus a cloudless Jupiter, TRAPPIST-1, volcanoes, and some science of the weird. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------...
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Space Stories - Second Landing
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Hosted by Dr. Pamela Gay. A gentle fancy for the Christmas Season—an oft-told tale with a wistful twistful of Something that left the Earth with a wing and a prayer. Earlier today, I had the stark realization that at the core of many Christmas stories is a core of sorrow or longing that must somehow be transformed into joy. Scrouge must learn charity. Ralphie longs for a bb gun and is betrayed by his joy. George is on the brink of suicide when his Guardian Angel intercedes. John McClane just needs to keep his wife alive (yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie). Over and over, the holiday...
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Space Stories - Solstice: When the Sun Stands Still
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Hosted by our Director, Avivah Yamani! What does “solstice” really mean? In this episode, we unpack the Sun’s yearly turning point, the seasonal flip between hemispheres, and the ancient sky-architecture of Stonehenge, from June solstice sunrise to December solstice sunset. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go...
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Deep Astronomy - The Largest Galaxy in the Universe: IC 1101
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Hosted by Tony Darnell. From Sep 21, 2012. This video was done by request from a Space Fan. Hope it's what you had in mind. IC 1101 is over one billion light years away in the constellation Virgo, just over the border from Serpens. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit for cool Astronomy Cast and...
info_outlineHosted by Chris Beckett & Shane Ludtke, two amateur astronomers in Saskatchewan. actualastronomy@gmail.com
This month in episode 516 we talk about the many things to see in the night sky including, carbon stars, double stars, 24P Schaumasse is a Comet that just cracks 8th magnitude making it visible in binoculars. We also detail how people can explore Jupiter through a telescope followed by many NGC and Messier Objects you can see in the winter sky.
Jan 1 - Struve 627 in Orion Colorful Double Star
- Primary Star (A component): Yellow, golden-yellow, pale orange, or sometimes just white.
- Companion Star (B component): Bluish, blue-green, lilac, or pale green.
Jan 2 - 40 Harmonia at opposition
a large S-type (silicate) asteroid located in the inner region of the Main Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter.
- Discovery: It was discovered on March 31, 1856, by German-French astronomer Hermann Goldschmidt.
- Naming: It is named after Harmonia, the Greek goddess of harmony and peace, to mark the end of the Crimean War.
- Size: It has a mean diameter of approximately 111.3 kilometers (69.1 miles), making it larger than 99% of all known asteroids.
- Orbit: Harmonia orbits the Sun every 3.42 years (approx. 1,250 days) with a relatively low eccentricity of 0.046, meaning its path is nearly circular.
- Rotation: It completes one full rotation on its axis every 8.91 hours
Jan 3 - Full Moon
- Quadrantid Meteors ZHR = 120 in Evening for NA observers
- Moon interferes
They are named after Quadrans Muralis, a 19th-century constellation that is no longer officially recognized. Constellation Origin: Lalande created the constellation to honor the mural quadrant, a large wall-mounted scientific instrument he and his nephew used at the observatory of l'École Militaire in Paris to measure star positions.
- Location: It was situated in the northern sky between the modern constellations of Boötes, Draco, and Hercules, near the "handle" of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major).
- Decline: In 1922, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) omitted Quadrans Muralis when it formalized the official list of 88 modern constellations, reassigning its stars to neighboring constellations
- Jan 5 - Sig Orionis colorful double star
- Sigma Orionis AB: This is the brightest component of the system and is a very close binary that appears as one star in most amateur telescopes. It is actually a triple system itself (Aa, Ab, and B).
- The primary stars (Aa and Ab) are highly massive, very hot blue stars that orbit each other every 143 days.
- The outer component (B) orbits the inner pair every 157 years.
- Sigma Orionis C, D, and E: These are additional companion stars that are farther from the AB pair and can be observed with small-to-medium sized telescopes, making the system appear as a beautiful quartet or quintuple system.
- Component D is magnitude 6.62 and is about 13 arcseconds from the AB pair.
- Component E is magnitude 6.66 and is approximately 41 arcseconds away. This star is notable as the prototype of the rare "helium-rich" stars.
Jan 6 - Regulus 0.5-degrees South of Moon
Jan 8 - 24P Schaumasse Comet just cracks 8th magnitude, at Mag. 7.9 it is firmly a Bino comet
Jan 10 - Last Quarter
- Jupiter at Opposition - mag. -2.5, 46 arc seconds in Gemini
- GRS looks nice and Orange/Red
- NEB and SEB are prominent
- How to best observe? Powers/Filters/Bino viewers
- Book rec. Jupiter and How to Observe It by John McAnally
- NGC 1851 well placed but I’d need to dig a trench to see it
- Carbon Star RV Monoceros
Jan 11 -Follow Arcturus into daylight this week
- M79, M42, M43, M78 well placed
Jan 12 - Lunar Curtis X visible
Jan 14 - Antares 0.6-degrees N of Moon - not for us
- NGC’s 1807 and 1817 well placed
Jan 15 - NGC 1514 well placed
Jan 17 - NGC 2169 well placed
Jan 18 - New Moon
Jan 23 Saturn, Neptune 4-degrees S of Moon
- 44 Nysa at Opposition M=8.8
- Largest and brightest of Nysian Family of Asteroids
- It was discovered by Hermann Goldschmidt on May 27, 1857, and named after the mythical land of Nysa in Greek mythology
- M3, M5 well placed
Jan 26 - First quarter
- Lunar Straight Wall
- Eyes of Clavius
Jan 28 - Jeweled Handle on Moon
Jan 31 - Jupiter 4-degrees S of Moon
- Crater Baily
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Every bit helps! Thank you!
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