Monthly Night Sky information provided by Chris Vaughan (@Astrogeoguy) at Starry Night Education (@StarryNightEdu).
On Friday, January 10, Venus will officially reach its widest separation of 47 degrees east of the sun. Viewed in a telescope (inset), the planet will exhibit a half-illuminated phase. For best results, observe Venus during evening twilight when the contrast between the bright planet and the surrounding sky is lower. After Friday, our sister […]
At dusk on Friday, January 10, look to the east for the brilliant planet Jupiter shining several finger widths to the lower right (or celestial south) of the bright, waxing gibbous moon – cozy enough to share the view in binoculars (orange circle). The duo will make a lovely photo opportunity when composed with some […]
A few days before Mars reaches opposition on January 15-16, the red planet will be closest to Earth on Saturday, January 11 in the Americas. That night, Mars will be 59.70 million miles, 96.08 million km, or 5.33 light-minutes away. You can view the bright reddish planet from late evening onward, near the bright stars […]
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 […]