What’s Up in the Sky

January’s Evening Planets:

Bright Jupiter will be in Aries the Ram all night. Saturn will be visible until 7 PM in Aquarius the Water-bearer and sets earlier every night. Uranus will be in Aries the Ram. Neptune will be in Pisces the Fish until 11 PM and setting earlier every night.

January’s Evening Stars:

The Winter Triangle of Sirius (the brightest star viewed from Earth) in Canis Major the Great Dog; Betelgeuse in Orion the Hunter; and Procyon in Canis Minor the Small Dog will be up all night. Find Castor and Pollux in Gemini the Twins, Rigel in Orion, Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull, and bright Capella in Auriga the Charioteer. See the stars of constellations Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Cepheus, Draco, Aries, Taurus, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

January’s Morning Planets:

Find Bright Venus moving between Scorpius the Scorpion and Sagittarius the Archer as of 4 AM at the beginning of January and rising later every day. Mercury will be moving between Ophiuchus the Serpent-bearer and Sagittarius the Archer as of 6 AM in the first half of the month. Uranus is in Aries the Ram until 4 AM and sets earlier every night, until 2 AM by the end of January.

January’s Morning Stars:

The Winter Triangle of Sirius, Betelgeuse, and Procyon will be up until the morning. See the Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle as of 7:00 AM and earlier every day this month.  Find Capella in Auriga, Arcturus in Boötes the Herdsman, Spica in Virgo, Vega in Lyra, and Aldebaran in Taurus until the morning. See the stars of Leo, Gemini, Cassiopeia, Hercules, Hydra, Cepheus, Draco, Libra, and the two Dippers.

January Skylights

Jan   1 Moon at apogee (251,600 miles away)

Jan   2 Earth at Perihelion (91.4 million miles from Sun)

Jan   3 Last quarter moon at 10:30 PM

Jan   4 Quadrantids Meteor Shower peaks- Predawn

Jan   6 Venus is 6° north of Antares – Predawn

Jan   6 Mars, Mercury, Venus, Moon line up – Sunrise  

Jan 10 Mars is 4° north of the Moon – Predawn

Jan 11 New Moon at 6:55 AM

Jan 12 Mercury shines at its greatest elongation

Jan 13 Moon at perigee (225,100 miles away)

Jan 14 Saturn is 2° north of the Moon – Predawn

Jan 15 Saturn, Moon, Jupiter line up – Sunset

Jan 17 First Quarter Moon at 10:55 AM

Jan 25 Full Moon at 12:55 PM

Jan 29 Moon at apogee (252,100 miles away)

Times given are EDT