Saturday SkyWatch

 

 

Saturday 24th January 2026

 

🌌 Saturday SkyWatch! 🌌

🌅 Sunset & Observatory Hours

  • Sunset: 8:24 PM
  • Nautical Sunset: 9:28 PM
  • Astronomical Sunset: 10:04 PM
    This Saturday we will be open from sunset till 11pm.

☁️ Weather & Viewing Conditions

 

B.O.M. Forecast for The Rock: http://www.bom.gov.au/places/nsw/the-rock/

To learn how to read the Clear Outside forecast page, follow this link: https://clearoutside.com/page/how_to_use/

Waxing Crescent

Moon Phase

Tonight’s Moon is a Waxing Crescent (31%). It is 5.6 days old and sets at 11:15 PM.

 

ℹ️ Other Information

 We recommend to bring a jacket as the weather can been tricky. As always feel free to bring a picnic blanket, some snacks and non-alcoholic refreshments.  Please don’t forget to bring your Aeroguard or Bushmans in case of mosquitoes or other annoying insects.

 

🔭 In the Sky Tonight

Note that just because these objects are in the sky at the moment, you may not always see them. Visibility is dependent on weather, moon brightness, atmospheric conditions, and equipment parameters. Check the weather and viewing conditions above, and if in doubt ask a friendly volunteer if you’re able to see an object in the night sky!

 

Feature Object: NGC 3372  (Eta Carinae Nebula)

Also known as ‘Keyhole Nebula’ is a diffuse nebula about 7,500ly away. It is the largest and most splendid nebula in the sky, surpassing the well known Orion Nebula (M42).  Eta Carinae is currently on the limits of being visible to the naked eye, but an outburst in the mid 1800’s made it one of the brightest stars in the sky, second only to Sirius.  It is not visible to much of the Northern Hemisphere which relates to it’s little recognized status.  It is a large star forming region and is illuminated by the young hot stars.  The central star (Eta Carinae) is one of the most massive stars known and is 100 times the mass of our sun, emitting 4 million times as much light and will undoubtedly explode as a supernova.  While the timing of this is uncertain, it could be within our lifetime.

 

Prominent Constellations

Taurus, Orion, Dorado, Tucana, Sculptor, Cetus, Triangulum, Pisces, Fornax, Eridanus, Horologium, Reticulum

Note: Crux is under 15° altitude during the spring / summer months

 

Celestron Alignment Stars

Achernar, Sirius, Diphda, Canopus, Betelgeuse, Alnair

Other Bright Stars

Acrux, Adhara, Alhena, Aludra, Ankaa, Avior, Bellatrix, El Nath, Menkar, Miaplacidus, Mintaka, Mirzam, Naos, Peacock, Procyon, Regor, Rigel, Saiph, Scutulum, Suhail, Wezen

 

Open Clusters

M 38 (Starfish Cluster), M 36 (Pinwheel Cluster), M 37 (Salt and Pepper Cluster), M 35 (Shoe Buckle Cluster), NGC 2244 (Rosette Nebula), M 41 (Little Beehive Cluster), M 50 (Heart-Shaped Cluster), NGC 2360, NGC 2362, M 47, M 46, M 93 (Critter Cluster), NGC 2477 (Electric Guitar Cluster), NGC 2506, NGC 2516 (Southern Beehive Cluster), M 48, NGC 3532, NGC 3766, NGC 4609, C 41 (Hyades), C 85, C 100, C 102, NGC 2467 (Skull and Crossbones Nebula), NGC 1980 (Lost Jewel of Orion), NGC 3114 (Hand Cluster), NGC 2547 (Golden Earring Cluster), Cr 70 (Orion s Belt Cluster), Cr 69 (Orion Cluster), C 41, M 45 (Pleiades)

 

Globular Clusters

NGC 104 (47 Tucanae), NGC 362 (75 Tuc), NGC 1261, NGC 1851, M 79, NGC 3201, NGC 4372, NGC 4833, NGC 6101

 

Galaxies

PGC 17223 (Large Magellanic Cloud), NGC 292 (Small Magellanic Cloud), NGC 55 (String of Pearls Galaxy), NGC 300 (Sculptor Pinwheel Galaxy), M 33 (Pinwheel Galaxy), M 74 (Phantom Galaxy), M 77 (Squid Galaxy), NGC 1097, NGC 1232 (Eye of God Galaxy), NGC 1269 (Snow Collar Galaxy), NGC 1313 (Topsy-Turvey Galaxy), NGC 1407 (Eridanus A Group), NGC 6744 (face-on-spiral), NGC 7793 (Bond s Galaxy), C 51 (Scarecrow Galaxy), NGC 981, IC 2032

 

Active and Interacting Galaxies

NGC 247 (Needle s Eye Galaxy), NGC 253 (Sculptor Galaxy), NGC 1316 (Fornax A), NGC 1365 (Great Barred Spiral Galaxy), NGC 1566 (Doradus)

 

Bright Nebula

M 1 (Crab Nebula), M 42 (Orion Nebula), M 43 (De Mairan’s Nebula), M 78 (Flame Nebula), NGC 2070 (Tarantula Nebula), NGC 2238 (Rosette Nebula), NGC 2261 (Hubble s Variable Nebula), NGC 3372 (Eta Carinae Nebula), C 31 (Flaming Star Nebula), NGC 1555 (Hin s Variable Nebula), IC 2177 (Seagull Nebula), IC 434 (Horsehead Nebula), NGC 2032 (Lump Star Nebula), NGC 1579 (Northern Trifid Nebula), NGC 1333 (Embryo Nebula), NGC 2170 (Angel Nebula)

 

Dark Nebula

B 22 (Taurus Dark Cloud), B33 (Horsehead Nebula)

 

Planetary Nebula

NGC 246, NGC 2392 (Eskimo Nebula), NGC 2867, NGC 3132, NGC 3195, NGC 7293 (Helix Nebula), NGC 2440 (Albino Butterfly Nebula), NGC 1535 (Cleopatra s Eye Nebula), IC 418 (Spirograph Nebula)

 

Planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

 

🪐 Upcoming Astronomical Events for this week

Jan 1: Mercury at its highest in the morning sky.

Jan 6: Venus reaches superior conjunction (behind the Sun).

Jan 8: Mercury at greatest elongation west (best morning view).

Jan 10: Jupiter at opposition. Brightest and most visible for the year.

Jan 12: Hydrid Meteor Shower peaks.

Jan 17: Neptune ends retrograde.

Jan 17: Comet Wierzchos (C/2024 E1) should now be visible for the next few weeks at Mag 5.3 in rising in the sky to the SW.

Note: All other astronomical events occurring this week are not visible from the Southern Hemisphere, or only visible through the daytime.

 

As always, don’t forget to look up wherever you are!
– The TRRO Team

 

References

List data is gathered using ‘Starry Night Enthusiast V8.1.0.2048’, Google AI and the following links.

Time and Date   https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@-35.27,147.12

B.O.M.                  https://www.bom.gov.au/places/nsw/the-rock/

Clear Outside     https://clearoutside.com/forecast/-35.27/147.12

Celestron             https://www.celestron.com/blogs/knowledgebase/can-all-named-stars-listed-in-the-hand-control-be-used-for-alignment

Objects below 15o azimuth are not included.