This new year will bring the return of your favorite summer night sky objects. A few of my favorites include the Beehive Cluster, the Hercules Cluster, and the Ring Nebula. Perhaps this new year will bring a never-before-seen, naked-eye comet! Two major events taking place this year include Perseverance landing on Mars in February, and hopefully the launch and deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope near the end of the year.
The astronomy forecast for January shows the return of the Quadrantid Meteor Shower, a close pairing of Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, and the Moon during the early part of the month, and a conjunction with Saturn and the Sun, followed by yet another conjunction of Jupiter and the Sun near the end of the month. These conjunctions will not be as exciting as the one between Jupiter and Saturn in December.
 |
| Mercury |
Mercury will be a hard target during the first week of the month since it quickly gets lost in the evening glow of sunset. As Mercury moves further from the Sun from our vantage point, it will become easier to see as it moves closer to Saturn and Jupiter. These three planets will change places with each passing day. On the 7th, Mercury can be found below Saturn, by the 10th, the innermost world will be about halfway between the gas giants and to the east (left) creating a planetary triangle. Two sunsets later, Mercury will be the last of this trio to sink below the western horizon. On the 13th, the 1% lit Moon will join these planets, but will be hugging tight to the horizon after sunset. The following night, the Moon can be found higher in sky, be 4% illuminated, and will follow the curve that Saturn, Jupiter, and Mercury seem to create in the evening sky. On the 23rd, Mercury will reach its greatest eastern elongation, meaning it will be be as high in the sky that it will get during its current orbit around the Sun. If you continuously observe Mercury at the same time throughout the month, you will notice it climbing higher in the sky until the 23rd were it reaches its maximum altitude. The following night, Mercury will begin to fall closer to the Sun.
 |
| Venus |
Our sister planet, Venus, will rise approximately an hour and ten minutes before the Sun as the month begins. As we march through the first month of the year, Venus will appear to move closer to the Sun, rising a little bit later with each passing day. By the end of the month, Venus rises about 30 minutes before the Sun and may be hard to spot in the bright sunrise. In early February, Venus will be too close to the Sun for Earthbound observers to view. Currently, Venus is located on the far side of the Sun from the Earth, meaning that observers using binoculars or a telescope will be able to see a nearly "full" phase of Venus, at 98%, on the 31st. On the 11th, a thin crescent Moon will be found near Venus. This crescent Moon will have about 3% of the lunar surface lit by the Sun from our vantage point.
 |
| Mars |
The distance between the Earth and Mars will continue to increase. If you have a large telescope, you should still be able to pick up some Martian detail, although it won't be as clear and prominent as it was in October when Mars was at opposition. The red planet will still be easy to detect with unaided eyes due to its brightness and contrast to the surrounding stars. The fourth planet from the Sun will be found in the constellation of Aries for the majority of the month, which can be found nearly overhead after sunset.
 |
| Jupiter |
 |
| Saturn |
Jupiter and Saturn did not disappoint observers in December with their conjunction. Unfortunately, they will not stay above the western horizon for long after sunset, meaning you will want to get your telescope set up before sunset to observe this pair of planets. As mentioned, the pair will be joined by Mercury, creating an excellent shot for those into astrophotography. If you want to view these two gas giants, you will want to do so in the early part of the month, as they appear to be rapidly approaching the Sun.
Jupiter will likely be the first point of light to be seen after sunset. With each passing sunset, this gas giant will be found closer and closer to the western horizon as it approaches its conjunction date with the Sun on the 28th. By the third week of the month, Jupiter will be hard to spot in the brightness of sunset.
Saturn will have a similar demise as Jupiter, which will happen earlier in the month. The ringed world, which shines less brightly and is found closer to the Sun from our point of view, will likely be lost in the sunset by the second week of the month. The conjunction between Saturn and the Sun will occur on the 23rd.
 |
| Neptune |
 |
| Uranus |
The outer two planets are best viewed through a telescope but can still be seen through a pair of binoculars. Uranus can be found to the left (east) of Mars as the month begins. The eastward motion of Mars in our night sky will bring it closer to Uranus until the 20th, when Uranus can be found almost directly below the red planet. On this date, the Moon can be found to lower right of Uranus. Neptune will continue to be found in the constellation of Aquarius throughout the month. On the 16th, the Moon can be found directly below the most distant planet in our solar system.
Meteor Shower
The Quadrantid Meteor Shower returns this month! Under Moon-free conditions, an observer can expect to see up to 120 meteors/hour. Unfortunately, this year brings an 80% lit Moon in the sky, which will drown out all but the brightest of meteors. If you want to brave the cold for this shower, head away from city lights on the 3rd of the month and look towards the constellation of Bootes (contains the bright star Arcturus) around 5 in the morning. By this time, the constellation will be nearly overhead, placing it in an ideal location for viewing.
Spot Me....🕵️
I've had you try to spot quite a few different objects in the night sky, most of which require a telescope. During the cold month of January, I won't encourage you to stay outside for long or suggest objects that require a telescope. As the two gas giants move closer to the Sun for their respective conjunctions, I do urge you to give them a glance this month before they disappear from our evening sky. They will reappear in the morning sky around the middle of February, however. I also urge you to look at the Moon this month. The amount of craters that you can see on its surface changes daily as the amount of sunlight reflecting off of the lunar surface changes. If you are the type of person that wants to get out your telescope so you can see as much surface detail as possible or you received a new moon filter that you are itching to try out, be sure to dress warm!
As always, leave a comment to let us know what you see!
Monthly Breakdown
January 03: Quadrantid Meteor Shower Peaks
January 06: Last Quarter Moon 🌗 January 11: Moon passes within 2° of Venus
January 11: Mercury and Jupiter pass within 2°
January 13: New Moon 🌑
January 14: Moon passes within 2° of Mercury
January 17: Moon passes within 4° of Neptune
January 20: First Quarter Moon 🌓
January 21: Moon passes within 5° of Mars and Uranus
January 21: Mars and Uranus pass within 2°
January 23: Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation
January 23: Saturn and Sun conjunction
January 28: Jupiter and Sun conjunction
January 28: Full Moon 🌕
Think About This....💡
During the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on the 21st, I was able to take out my telescope to witness this great event. I was also able to share it with many others that joined me during the evening. As mentioned, I was unable to get a good image through my telescope, but my niece was able to capture one that same night that she has allowed me to share! I was able to get a shot of the Moon through my telescope with my phone, so I will also share that with you as well.
While viewing the conjunction, I heard many people (not in my group!) complain that the two planets weren't brighter during conjunction. I took that to mean that they were expecting the shine from both planets to be combined, making them brighter. I think these people forgot that Saturn is further out from the Sun than Jupiter is. Since this is the case, if Jupiter and Saturn were perfectly aligned to the Earth, we would only be able to see Jupiter since it would block the view of Saturn!
Jupiter and Saturn conjunction taken by my niece.
Moon through telescope.
Great Conjunction taken by Damian Peach and submitted to Astronomy Picture of the Day.
The above image is similar to what I was able to see through my telescope. Notice the 4 Galilean Moons of Jupiter spanning the top portion of the image, and Saturn's moon, Titan near the bottom center. If you look closely, you can also see the Great Red Spot at the top left of Jupiter.
Stay tuned for more exciting news and events!
 |
| Now get outside and look up! |
Planet images taken by NASA.
Andrew vs. the Cosmos taken by Jeff Greenland.
I'm hoping the weather will be good this month
ReplyDelete