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Sydney Observatory night sky map

A map for each month of the year, to help you learn about the night sky
January 2015
www.sydneyobservatory.com.au
This star chart shows the stars and constellations visible in the night sky for Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart and Adelaide
for January 2015 at about 8:30 pm (summer time) and at about 7:30 pm (local standard time) for Perth and Brisbane. For
Darwin and similar locations the chart will still apply, but some stars will be lost off the southern edge while extra stars will be
visible to the north. Stars down to a brightness or magnitude limit of 4.5 are shown. To use this star chart, rotate it so that the
direction you are facing (north, south, east or west) is shown at the bottom. The centre of the chart represents the point directly
above your head, called the zenith point, and the outer circular edge represents the horizon.

South Celestial Pole
LMC
SMC
Centre of the Galaxy
ANDROMEDA
ANTLIA
APUS
AQUARIUS
ARA
ARIES
AURIGA
CAELUM
CANIS MAJOR
CANIS MINOR
CAPRICORNUS
CARINA
CETUS
CHAMAELEON
CIRCINUS
COLUMBA
CORONA AUSTRALIS
CRUX
DORADO
EQUULEUS ERIDANUS
FORNAX
GEMINI
GRUS
HOROLOGIUM
HYDRA
HYDRUS
INDUS
LACERTA
LEPUS
LYNX
MENSA
MICROSCOPIUM
MONOCEROS
MUSCA
NORMA
OCTANS
ORION
PAVO
PEGASUS
PERSEUS
PHOENIX
PICTOR
PISCES
PISCIS AUSTRINUS
PUPPIS
PYXIS
RETICULUM
SAGITTARIUS
SCULPTOR
TAURUS
TELESCOPIUM
TRIANGULUM
TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE
TUCANA
VELA
VOLANS
Achernar
Adhara
Aldebaran
Alpha Centauri
Betelgeuse
Canopus
Capella
Hadar
Mimosa
Pollux
Procyon
Rigel
Sirius
N o r t h
N
E
E
a
s
t
S
E
South
S
W
W
e
s
t
N
W


Mars is visible low in the west in Aquarius. Early in the evening Venus can be seen low in the west as the bright evening star.
On the 22nd a thin crescent Moon is located near Venus, while the next evening it has moved close to Mars. The best time to
view the Moon using binoculars or a small telescope is a few days either side of the first quarter Moon on the 27th. The two
brightest stars in the night sky can also be seen; Sirius in the constellation Canis Major is the brightest star followed by the star
Canopus in Carina. Crux (the Southern Cross) is low in the south and can be difficult to find.




2015 Australasian sky guide book
The 2015 Australasian sky guide has details on the
sky for the whole year, including rise and set times for
the Sun, Moon and planets, and tidal information for
Sydney. Available from Sydney Observatory, the
Powerhouse Museum and good bookshops (RRP
$16.95); also via mail order (postal charges apply) at
www.powerhousemuseum.com/publications/

Daily activities at Sydney Observatory
Sydney Observatory is open for night and day visits
every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and
Good Friday. Programs include telescope viewings,
3D space theatre and Sydney Planetarium sessions.
Bookings are essential for night telescope viewing.
Watson Road, Observatory Hill, The Rocks.
www.sydneyobservatory.com.au Ph (02) 9921 3485


Sydney Observatory is part of the Powerhouse Museum. The Sydney Observatory night sky map is prepared by Dr M Anderson using the
software TheSky. 2014 Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney.
Star Brightness
Zero or brighter
1
st
magnitude
2
nd

3
rd
4
th

Moon Phase
Full Moon: 05th
Last quarter: 13th
New Moon: 21st
First quarter: 27th
Chart Key
Bright star
Faint star
Ecliptic
Milky Way
Planet
LMC or Large Magellanic Cloud
SMC or Small Magellanic Cloud
P
SOUTHERN CROSS
SCORPIUS
POINTERS
FALSE CROSS
ERIDANUS
Fomalhaut
M45 (Pleiades or
Seven Sisters)
Sirius
M42
P
Mars
Moon on 27th
P
Venus on 7th
Moon on 23rd
P
Venus on 22nd
Moon on 22rd

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