The Planets for January 2012
 As the new year begins the elusive Mercury can be found in the eastern sky just before sunrise. The first two weeks of January are the best to spot the planet as by the middle of the month it begins to be lost in the glare of the rising Sun.
The "Evening Star" dominates the western evening sky after sunset until joined by the thin crescent Moon on the 26th and 27th of the month. It begins the month among the faint stars of Capricornus moving into Aquarius on the 12th. On the 13th Venus will be just over one degree to the south of the outermost planet Neptune making it relatively easy to locate the gas giant with a telescope.
On the 5th of January the Earth will be at its closest point to the Sun in its orbit (147,097,193 km).
Rising at midnight as January begins, Mars can be found close to the stars depicting the back leg of Leo the lion. On the 15th it moves from Leo into Virgo where it is joined by the waxing gibbous Moon.
High in the northwestern sky after sunset, Jupiter is in a good position for observation this month. The Moon will be nearby on the 2nd and 3rd of the month and again on the 30th. The
"Jupiter 2" program, which can be downloaded free on the internet, is a handy tool for predictions of the position of the red spot and will also give accurate predictions of eclipses, occultation’s, Galilean moon transits and moon shadow transits of the planet while identifying each individual moon. Jupiter spends most of the month in Aries very close to the border of Pisces.
Rising just before 2:00am at the beginning of January, Saturn spends the month in the constellation of Virgo. Because of its slow journey around the Sun, almost thirty years, Saturn’s position in relation to the background stars changes very little over the period of a month. Virgo’s brightest star, Spica is only six degrees from Saturn and is the fainter of the two objects. The waning crescent Moon will join the pair on the 17th.
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The Planets for February 2012
This is not a good month to be observing the planet Mercury. It emerges from behind the Sun to enter the western evening sky on the 7th of the month and at its best sets only 48 minutes later than the Sun at the end of the month.
High in the western sky after sunset, Venus starts the month in Aquarius but quickly moves into Pisces on the 3rd where it will spend the rest of the month. On the 10th it will pass within half a degree of the gas giant Uranus and on the 25th and 26th the waxing crescent Moon will be close by. It will reach its greatest eastern elongation on the 27th of March.
Rising at 10:10pm among the stars of Virgo at the beginning of February, Mars moves into Leo on the 5th of the Month. It can be easily distinguished from the surrounding stars by its distinct orange glow. By the end of the month it will be entering the eastern sky by 8:00pm and will have moved to within fifteen degrees of Leo’s brightest star, Regulus. The waning gibbous Moon will be in the vicinity on the 10th of the month.
Make the most of February to observe the giant planet as by next month it will be getting very low in the western evening twilight and not at its best for observation. Jupiter is in among the stars of Aries where it will be joined by the waxing crescent Moon on the 27th of the month.
Situated among the stars of Virgo, Saturn rises just before midnight at the beginning of February but by the end of the month it will rise around 8:00pm, a more respectable time for the casual observer. The angle of the ring system, seen edge-on in 2009, has now opened up considerably making the telescopic view of the planet a much more spectacular experience and one not to be missed. Saturn spends the month around seven degrees from Spica, Virgo’s brightest star and is recognizable by its subtle yellow hue. The Moon joins the pair on the 13th of the month.
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The Planets for March 2012
March is not a good month for the observation of the planet Mercury as at its best, on the 5th it is only
18 degrees east of the Sun and setting less than 45 minutes later than the Sun and therefore will be hard to spot in the evening twilight sky. It is at inferior conjunction with the Sun on the 22nd after which it reenters the morning sky where unfortunately it will be hidden in the early morning twilight.
Unmistakable in the western evening sky after sunset, Venus is the brightest object in the night sky apart from the Moon. Moving from Pisces into Aries on the 5th it will rendezvous with Jupiter on the 14th when the pair will be just
3 degrees apart. The thin crescent of the waxing Moon will separate the two planets on the 26th and on the 31st Venus move to within
3 degrees of the Pleiades open star cluster.
Equinox on the 20th of March.
Rising around 8:00pm at the beginning of the month, Mars is visible all night long. Retrograding against the background stars this month it ends the month
5 degrees east of Leo’s brightest star, Regulus. The colour difference between these two bodies is quite striking with Mars the redder and slightly brighter of the two. The full Moon will pass by Mars on the 7th and 8th of the month.
The giant planet is fairly low in the western evening sky at the beginning of March and this will be the last opportunity to observe the planet in a reasonably dark sky. It will be setting two and a half hours after the Sun in the 1st of the month but by month’s end only one and a half hours later than the Sun. The brightest planet, Venus will pass by Jupiter on the 14th of the month and the waxing crescent Moon will join the pair on the 26th.
The ringed planet rises just prior to 10:00pm at the beginning of March but by the end of the month will be rising almost two hours earlier. It spends the entire month in the constellation Virgo and within
7
degrees
of Spica, the constellation’s brightest star. The colour contrast between Spica and Saturn is quite subtle with Saturn the yellower of the two. It is joined by the waning gibbous Moon on the 11th of the month.
Daylight savings ends in NSW on Sunday the 1st of April at 3:00am
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