The Skies of Mexico

Tom wrote and asked, "What is different between the skies of Mexico, and the skies further north?" Well, Tom, not as much as you might expect, but there are differences, and some of them are quite dramatic. First of all, when the Sun sets in Mexico, it plunges almost directly down into the horizon, instead of meandering off at an angle, as it does further north. As a result, darkness descends swiftly, and the sky stays dark longer. More importantly, some impressive sights that are completely or partially hidden below the southern horizon further north now present themselves in all their glory. And possibly most important of all, the nights are warm all year round. All of which makes Mexico the perfect place to spend some time out under the stars, to not only bask in their sparkly splendour, but to also become a little bit more familiar with the Universe in which we reside.

The first thing a more northerly stargazer will notice is not the differences in the night sky, but the similarities, and that is no small thing, speaking to the fact that all of us on this planet, no matter where we live, come together under the same sky. We all see the same Moon, the same planet Venus or Jupiter blazing away as the morning or evening "star". Even if you come down to Mexico all the way from Alaska, you will still see familiar sights like Orion, and the Big Dipper. You will, in fact, see all the same stars, planets and constellations you are used to seeing. They will be in slightly different positions from what you're used to, but they will all be there, with the possible temporary exception of a few northerly constellations that are visible all year round in the north, and will now be dipping down below the northern horizon for part of the year. This is because Polaris, the North Star, that fixed navigational beacon about which all the other stars rotate through the night, is much closer to the northern horizon in Mexico.

But the brief absence of a few northern stars is more than made up for by the wealth of stars, constellations, and deep sky objects now visible above the southern horizon that were hidden to northern stargazers. At this time of year, as evidenced by this week's sky map, there's not too much that is spectacularly different, except that you can now follow the river Eridanus, which begins at the feet of Orion, all the way to its southern terminus at the seventh brightest star in the sky, Achernar, which means the end of the river. You can also see the brilliant southern star Canopus, the second brightest star in the sky, sharing the celestial stage with the very brightest star in the sky, Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major.

However, in a couple of months, the action picks up. The Southern Cross (aka the constellation Crux), will be visible, and surrounded by the great southern constellation of Centaurus, the Centaur, it is quite a sight. The Southern Cross and most of Centaurus will definitely be new sights for northern visiters. The Southern Cross is such a significant constellation it can be seen on no less than five national flags. And Centaurus contains arguably the most famous star in the sky, Alpha Centauri, a three star system containing Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth, only 4.2 light years away (a mere 26 trillion miles, give or take).

Close on the heels of Centaurus and Crux are the spectacular zodiac constellations of Scorpius, the scorpion, and Sagittarius, the archer. Although at least part of these constellations are visible further north, their lower portions are usually lost below the horizon, or diminished by their proximity to the horizon, and all its attendant dust, haze, and atmospheric turbulence. And that's a shame, because it is an area of the sky that looks down through the middle of the Milky Way into the heart of our galaxy, and it is a plethora of beautiful nebulae and star clusters. In Mexico, the two constellations are well up out of the horizon haze, and with just your naked eyes they are truly a magnificent pair. With binoculars you can begin to see some of the nebulae and star clusters, and with a small backyard telescope, you can get lost for days...

Visible through the Spring and Summer months, the image below shows Sagittarius, the archer, with his arrow pointed at Antares, the blood red heart of the scorpion, with all the wonders of the Milky Way between them. For more info, and weekly updates on the night sky in Mexico, be sure to bookmark this page, and check back regularly with mexicanskies.com.

The Sun is in Ophiuchus.

Current Solar Flare (X-ray) activity : Current Status of Solar Geomagnetic Field :

(Updated every ten minutes from the NOAA Space Environment Center through n3kl.org.)

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	Sunday, Dec 6	Monday, Dec 7	Tuesday, Dec 8	Wednesday, Dec 9	Thursday, Dec 10	Friday, Dec 11	Saturday, Dec 12
Sunrise	7:02 am	7:03 am	7:04 am	7:04 am	7:05 am	7:06 am	7:07 am
Sunset	5:20 pm	5:20 pm	5:20 pm	5:20 pm	5:21 pm	5:21 pm	5:21 pm
Moonrise	10:19 pm	11:25 pm	12:28 am wed	12:28 am	1:29 am	2:31 am	3:32 am
Moonset	11:34 am mon	12:08 pm tue	12:41 pm wed	12:41 pm	1:13 pm	1:48 pm	2:25 pm
Moon Phases

Current Morning Star(s):	Planet Venus (very low in the east, mag -4.2)	Current Evening Star(s):	Planet Jupiter (high overhead, mag -2.0)

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HOME PAGE - Weekly map of the night sky, and current astronomical events.	OUR PLACE - Weekly article on things terrestrial.
SOLAR SYSTEM - All Things Held Captive By The Sun	WORLD PEACE - Astronomy is the key!
CONSTELLATIONS - Everything Else In The Universe	MUSIC - "The food of love..." Original songs, and more...
PLANET WATCH - Weekly update of the planets in our sky.	GUITAR TUTORIAL - Learn the basics of playing the guitar.
E. T. WATCH - The scientific search for extraterrestrial life.	HIGHWAY 61 - An original novel about polar bears, suicide bombers, and God.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER WATCH - Comets and asteroids heading our way.	PHOTO GALLERY - A collection of original observatory photos.
SHUTTLE WATCH - The exploits of NASA's Space Shuttle.	HUMOUR GALLERY - A collection of humour from the web.
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - The latest news from the first Human home in space.	THE FRANK GALBRAITH LEGACY - The legacy of a Cariboo musician.
FREE ASTRONOMY SOFTWARE - The best things in life really are free.	THE MEXICAN SKIES OBSERVATORY - Santa Elena, Oaxaca, Mexico.
ASTROLOGY - Astronomy's Evil Twin?	MEXICAN SKIES ARCHIVES - Selected articles from previous years.

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Previously in Mexican Skies...

Jan 18 Which Way Is Up?	June 7 Saturn's Rings Disappear

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