The moon begins the year having just passed through full phase in late December. Lunar phases after full are seldom seen, since you have to wait up until well after sunset to see them.
Considering that the moon moves eastward 12.2 degrees per day, rising later and later, it appears about 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 1, and after 1 a.m. by Jan. 4. Of course, it is then easily seen in the daytime sky. Watch as it brushes by the star Spica Jan. 5, almost touching Venus in the early morning Jan. 10, and, as an evening object, sharing the western sky with Mars. In the afternoon of Jan. 21, Jupiter and the moon rise together. This would be a good chance to spot the giant planet in the daytime, with the moon as a guide, when Jupiter will be less than two degrees to the east. By 1:30 a.m. the moon will be right below Jupiter, among the stars of Orion, the Hyades, and the Pleiades. The moon is full Jan. 26.
Mercury is too close to the sun for viewing.
Venus, an early morning object, rises just before the sun, and is quickly lost in the daytime glare. The very thin crescent moon grazes by Venus Jan. 10.
Mars continues as a western evening object, as we view it across a good portion of the inner Solar System. It is indeed a small object at the distance of 2.2 astronomical units.
Jupiter will remain among the stars of the Hyades in Taurus, the Bull, throughout the first half of the year. Being out in full view each clear evening, the giant gas planet makes for an easy observation. Watch for the moon close by Jan. 21 an occultation in the Southern Hemisphere.
Saturn rises in the morning eastern sky ahead of the sun, so we don't get to see much of it before losing the Ringed Planet in the daytime glare. Watch for the waning crescent moon nearby on the morning of Jan. 6.
Uranus crosses the sky during the day, becoming visible in binoculars or a small telescope in the late afternoon. The waxing crescent moon Jan. 16 is a helpful guide, as it skims above the blue/green gas giant planet.
Neptune similarly occupies the daytime sky, about an hour ahead of Uranus - a difficult object to view so close to the sun.
- James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000 and is now editor's assistant and a contributor to Observer's Handbook, production manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal, and the society's national secretary. He was given the RASC Service Award at the 2012 general assembly in Edmonton.
