Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 January 10

Comet Leonard’s Tail Wag

Image Credit: NASA, NRL, STEREO-A; Processing: B. Gallagher

Explanation: Why does Comet Leonard’s tail wag? The featured time-lapse video shows the ion tail of Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) as it changed over ten days early last month. The video was taken by NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory-Ahead (STEREO-A) spacecraft that co-orbits the Sun at roughly the same distance as the Earth. Each image in this 29-degree field was subtracted from following image to create frames that highlight differences. The video clearly shows Comet Leonard’s long ion tail extending, wagging, and otherwise being blown around by the solar wind — a stream of fast-moving ions that stream out from the Sun. Since the video was taken, Comet Leonard continued plunging toward the Sun, reached its closest approach to the Sun between the orbits of Mercury and Venus, survived this closest approach without breaking apart, and is now fading as heads out of our Solar System.

Tuesday over Zoom: APOD editor to present the Best APOD Space Images of 2021

10 January 2022 Daily Correspondence Digest for the Southern Hemisphere’s Moon Phase and Planetary Positions

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious, you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else, you know was on the date the person was born.

From Moongiant.com

Today and tonight the Moon will be in a Waxing Gibbous phase. This phase is when the moon is more than 50% illuminated but not yet a Full Moon. The phase lasts about 7 days with the moon becoming more illuminated each day until the Full Moon. During a Waxing Gibbous the moon rises in the east in mid-afternoon and is high in the eastern sky at sunset. The moon is then visible through most of the night sky setting a few hours before sunrise. The word Gibbous first appeared in the 14th century and has its roots in the Latin word “gibbosus” meaning humpbacked.

Visit the January 2022 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s Waxing Gibbous Phase

The Waxing Gibbous on January 10 has an illumination of 57%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On January 10 the Moon is 8.05 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Phase Details

Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 57%
Moon Age: 8.05 days
Moon Angle: 0.50
Moon Distance: 396,986.00 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,119,066.35 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

For Your Local Time and Date

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for this Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America

10 January 2022
08:00 pm GMT 5:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:20 Capricorn 33
Moon:02 Taurus 38
Mercury:09 Aquarius 09
Venus:17 Capricorn 37 Rx
Mars:20 Sagittarius 07
Jupiter:02 Pisces 32
Saturn:13 Aquarius 00
Uranus:10 Taurus 51 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 52
Pluto:26 Capricorn 15
True Lunar Node:00 Gemini 32
Mean Lunar Node:29 Taurus 01 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):19 Gemini 33

Chiron:08 Aries 40

Ceres:28 Taurus 01 Rx
Pallas:19 Pisces 03
Juno:21 Capricorn 14
Vesta:29 Sagittarius 48
Eris:23 Aries 41 Rx

Fire:4

Earth:8
Air:4
Water:3

Cardinal:6
Fixed:6
Mutable:7

Obliquity of the Nine Planets

Southern Hemisphere

The time for this Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Cape Town, South Africa

10 January 2022
03:00 pm GMT 5:00 PM SAST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:20 Capricorn 20
Moon:00 Taurus 07
Mercury:09 Aquarius 01
Venus:17 Capricorn 45 Rx
Mars:19 Sagittarius 58
Jupiter:02 Pisces 30
Saturn:12 Aquarius 58
Uranus:10 Taurus 51 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 52
Pluto:26 Capricorn 15
True Lunar Node:00 Gemini 32
Mean Lunar Node:29 Taurus 01 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):19 Gemini 32
Chiron:08 Aries 39
Ceres:28 Taurus 02 Rx
Pallas:19 Pisces 00
Juno:21 Capricorn 09
Vesta:29 Sagittarius 41
Eris:23 Aries 41 Rx

Fire:4
Earth:8
Air:4
Water:3

Cardinal:6
Fixed:6
Mutable:7

Obliquity of the Nine Planets

Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for this Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

10 January 2022
06:00 am GMT 5:00 PM AEDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:19 Capricorn 58
Moon:25 Aries 32
Mercury:08 Aquarius 46
Venus:17 Capricorn 58 Rx
Mars:19 Sagittarius 42
Jupiter:02 Pisces 25
Saturn:12 Aquarius 56
Uranus:10 Taurus 51 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 51
Pluto:26 Capricorn 14
True Lunar Node:00 Gemini 32
Mean Lunar Node:29 Taurus 02 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):19 Gemini 29

Chiron:08 Aries 39
Ceres:28 Taurus 02 Rx
Pallas:18 Pisces 54
Juno:21 Capricorn 00
Vesta:29 Sagittarius 29
Eris:23 Aries 41 Rx

Fire:5
Earth:7
Air:4
Water:3

Cardinal:7
Fixed:5
Mutable:7

The Witch Said What?!

Weekly Horoscope Sunday, January 9 to Saturday, January 15, 2022

Click here for Georgia Nicols’ Daily Horoscopes

All Signs

This week vague reasons allegedly for the common good will be used to justify acts of insurrection; while the real motive is greed and power. (Ah ha!) Neptune at odds with Mars indicates manipulation by others. Hey, when issues are fuzzy, or you suspect you’re being played, remember: you are responsible for your own decisions. You are responsible for your own actions. You are your own person. As long as you come from a place of kindness, honesty and a genuine desire to benefit – that’s all you can do. In fact, if you can do that, bravo! Personally, I’m lucky. Where I live, it’s so laid back, if someone waves a knife, it has butter on it. Hot tip: You can click http://www.againstmalaria.com and buy a mosquito net for $2 and save the life of a child in Africa. Hello? Two bucks? The life of a toddler? No brainer. Start this year with the highest good.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that with the Sun and Venus at the top of your chart, you are admired and respected. People see you as talented, capable and on top of your game. (Regardless of what’s really happening.) In fact, a romance with a boss could blossom. (Old bosses, parents and people in authority from your past are emerging out of the ether.) The bad news is you might become a victim of propaganda and fast talk by persuasive people who want your support. Don’t believe everything you hear. Think for yourself. Someone might try to talk you into agreeing with them. If you think something fishy is going on – it is!

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Keep your wits about you this week. You might make travel plans for the future, especially plans to recoup a cancelled trip. Why? Mercury goes retrograde this week and it loves to replay the past. Don’t be unwittingly seduced by propaganda that is not true. It might appear to be for a good cause, which seduces you to support it. But is this the real truth? It’s important to know. “You take the blue pill… You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill …and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” Go forward with plans for travel, further education and exploring opportunities in medicine and the law. Think carefully about everything else.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

This week is full of positive energy; and yet, it’s prone to possible deception, dupery and dissimulation. To say nothing of the hyperbole of alliteration. (Ah, never miss a chance to feed the soul of a wordsmith.) To get right down to it, on the one hand, gifts, goodies and favours from others will come your way. You might get a loan or a mortgage. However, on the other hand (yes, you have different rings) you could be the victim of some double-dealing. Someone might cloud an issue or veil the truth. They might trick you to get something from you or your share of something. (Wow, keep your eyes open!)

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Relations with partners, close friends and members of the general public are blowing hot and cold. One complication could be that old friends and ex-partners are back on the scene. (Could be a sticky wicket.) Relations with others are warm and bonding; however, there is a chance of confusion, veiled facts and misperceptions. “Natasha?” “Heathcliff?” “No, it’s Boris!” Be certain of your facts before you agree to anything important, especially when discussing matters with those who are closest to you. Remember, often when we are fooled, we are really fooling ourselves.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

You’re ready to work hard and party hard. A great balance if you can swing it. You want to be productive and accomplish a lot. You want your efforts to count, which is why you want to be efficient. (You’re making lists.) Meanwhile, some of your ego is tied up in creative projects, socializing with others and dealing with kids. But somewhere along the line, an element of confusion might make you question yourself. You might even question your good impulses? Don’t let others make you lose faith in yourself. You are Leo the Lion – King of the Jungle. (And it’s a jungle out there.)

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

This week you seek a balance between social occasions, sports, fun times with kids and dealing with old flames who are back in your life – versus – dealing with increased chaos at home and within your family. Oy! Conflict at home might drive you to seek fun escape with others. Your challenge will be to make sure that in both areas (home and family as well as your social world) that people are being straight with you. The truth is someone might be dealing from the bottom of the deck. You are perceptive! You’re the most observant sign in the zodiac! Keep your eyes open and trust your intuition.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Your focus on home and family continues. Some are entertaining, or redecorating and tweaking your digs. (You love to do this and you’re good at it.) You will socialize with your safe cabal of friends and family. Mercury will go retrograde this week and attract relatives and family back into your world, especially people you haven’t seen for a while. Be aware that the confidence with which you will assert yourself this week (and you will be confident in conversations with others) might be unsettled for some reason. You might wonder if you’re losing your touch. Relax. This shaky feeling will be gone before you can say creme brulee.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

You’re busy! Fortunately, you find it easy to be charming, which is why people want to see you. This week is peppered by disruptions, delays, transportation problems, missed buses, confused communications and missed appointments. They are minor aggravations, but frustrating! Don’t worry, you’re not losing it. What’s happening is Mercury is going retrograde in the part of your chart that deals with ground transportation, daily communications, and your daily habits. On top of this, confusion and possible deception about money, cash flow, earnings and possessions might cloud things. It’s all a bit maddening but this is nothing you can’t handle. Entertain loved ones.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

You have strong energy this week because fiery Mars is in your sign. Naturally, this indicates a time of great activity in your life, when you will work hard to further your own interests. This is why you won’t hesitate to assert yourself among others. Because you will be more proactive and much more of a fighter for your own rights than usual, relations with those who are closest to you might be sensitive. Meanwhile, personally you are focused on money, cash flow and your possessions. No question. How is it then that something will happen or someone will say something that makes you question your right to do what you want to do? This is unnerving. Fortunately, it’s a passing thing.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

You feel cocky and confident with the Sun, Mercury and Venus in your sign. The Sun boosts your confidence and attracts good things to you. Venus makes you charming and sociable. Admittedly, Mercury goes retrograde this week, which will create silly errors, mixed-up communications, misplaced items, traffic problems, transportation glitches as well as machinery breakdowns – including computers. No! Unfortunately, yes. But the challenges of Mercury retrograde are never big. They’re just irritating. Your greatest challenge week will be self-doubt and a shaky confidence. Something going on behind the scenes makes you nervous. The truth is it has no basis and will be quickly gone.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Friendship is important to you, and indeed, you are a good friend to others. However, this week it seems like so much is going on behind the scenes. Financial matters look strong. Likewise, you are confident as you have set off on a new path in the last year. But privately, something requires your attention. For some of you, it’s a secret love affair. Others might feel challenged or downcast or disappointed by dealing with a friend or a group. You might feel that people question your integrity. (This would be a blow.) More likely, someone is feeding your insecurities. The thing to know is that this dark cloud on your horizon is gone in a week. Courage!

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

Many people are making demands on your time right now. They want to see your face. They want to connect with you. They want your advice and they want your company. On top of that, suddenly, old friends from the past and people from organizations from the past are coming out of the woodwork. You’re more involved with creative, artistic people, as well. While this is going on, privately, your ambition is aroused and you want to make a name for yourself. Natch! It’s the beginning of the year and you intend to sparkle! (And of course, you will because Jupiter is in your sign for the first time since 2010.) Don’t let anyone rain on your parade. Things might happen that make you question your success. You might be afraid you’ll be “found out.” (I’m navel lint!) These insecure feelings will be gone in a week