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January, 2019 Programs
THE OBSERVATORY WILL NOT BE OPEN FOR THE TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE ON SUNDAY NIGHT, JANUARY 20TH BECAUSE OF CLOUDY WEATHER. We urge you to glance at the sky occasionally and have your binoculars ready in case you get a break in the clouds from your own backyard! You might catch a glimpse of the eclipse.
Open every Saturday evening in January: 5, 12, 19, 26. Always check this site, our telephone 402-441-7094, and social media for last-minute changes due to weather. These programs will run, depending on what can best be captured in the telescopes on a given night.
THE SUN AND THE STARS — a new program on our star and its more common and exotic siblings. Running time: 21 minutes.
THE WINTER CONSTELLATIONS — science and mythology of the night sky above Lincoln right now. Running time 20 minutes.
EARTH’S NEAREST NEIGHBOR — (runs on nights when the moon is brightest, instead of Winter Constellations). Running time: 20 minutes.
EXPLORE MARS 2018 — The latest science from the Red Planet. Running time: 21 minutes.
Your Window on the Universe
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Our Telescopes
Featuring views of the night skies through our 3 Telescopes!
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Presentations & Programs
Astronomy Presentations every Saturday Night!
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It's all FREE
There is NO ADMISSION CHARGE
HOURS
We’re open every Saturday year-round.
Hyde may be closed if Saturday falls on or very near a major holiday. If in doubt call first: (402) 441-7094.
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March 15-August 31
Sundown to 11 PM
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September 1-30
8 PM to 11 PM
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October 1-March 14
7 PM to 10 PM
What we are looking at through the observatory’s telescopes in January
Solar System Objects
Mars is low in the Southwest and visible through the telescopes during viewing hours, but it appears very small because it is much farther away from us than it was at closest approach last summer. Jupiter, Venus and Saturn are all in the pre-dawn sky, not visible in the evening. Venus is the very bright “star” high in the southeast morning sky, rising over 3 hours before the sun early in January.
The Moon
On Sunday night, January 20, a total lunar eclipse will occur, and the observatory will be open for the event. The moon enters the Penumbra (light outer shadow of the Earth) at 8:36 p.m.; Partial eclipse begins at 9:34; Totality at 10:41; maximum at 11:12 p.m. Totality ends at 11:44 p.m. On Saturday public nights this month: January 5 — The night before New Moon, not visible; January 12 — Two days before First Quarter, the moon is in the sky all evening with a clearly-defined terminator (boundary between light and dark), an excellent night for moon viewing; January 19 — Two days before Full phase, the moon will be bright and washing out other objects in the sky, but the terminator will be close to the moon’s edge yielding only fair lunar viewing; January 26 — Approaching Last Quarter, the moon is not in the evening sky, so no moon viewing is possible.
Deep Sky Objects
Galaxies, nebulae, globular star clusters and other objects will be targets for the Hyde telescopes throughout the month, depending upon sky conditions (best seen on January 5 and 26, when the moon will not be blotting out faint objects in the sky). The bright constellations of winter dominate the sky now: Orion the Hunter and his dogs, Canis Major with the brightest star in the northern sky, Sirius, and Canis Minor and its bright star Procyon.