Monthly Night Sky information provided by Chris Vaughan (@Astrogeoguy) at Starry Night Education (@StarryNightEdu).
From Friday until Sunday night, January 12, the nearly full moon will shine inside the Winter Football asterism, also known as the Winter Hexagon and Winter Circle. The asterism is composed of the brightest stars in the constellations of Canis Major, Orion, Taurus, Auriga, Gemini, and Canis Minor – specifically Sirius, Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Castor […]
The January full moon, which always shines in or near the stars of Gemini or Cancer, will occur on Monday, January 13 at 5:27 p.m. EST, 2:27 a.m. PST, or 22:27 GMT. At that time, the bright red planet Mars will be shining just to the moon’s lower left (or celestial east). This full moon […]
On Monday evening, January 13, observers across the continental USA, northern Mexico, south and eastern Canada, and northwestern Africa will be treated to the full moon passing in front of, or occulting, Mars. The event can be observed with unaided eyes, binoculars, and any backyard telescope. The start and end times vary by location, so […]
Mars will officially reach opposition at 10 p.m. EST on Wednesday, January 15. On that night, the bright red planet will rise with the stars of Gemini at sunset, climb to its highest position due south around midnight local time, and then set at sunrise. The bright, recently full moon will rise two hours after […]
After several months of courtship, the motion of the bright planet Venus will pass only a generous thumb’s width (or 2 degrees) from 200 times fainter Saturn on Friday evening, January 17. The duo will be close enough to share the view in binoculars and backyard telescopes (orange circle) using a low magnification eyepiece. Try […]