The moon is just past new phase as the month begins, and already the events are lined up in the first few days.
Jan. 2, Venus is just under two degrees below the slender moon, and the following day, two occultations occur with Neptune and Mars, within a few hours of each other.
Neptune’s close encounter is visible in east Asia and western North America only. For the rest of us, it’s a close pairing. Neptune is so far away, though, that a telescope is required to view this event.
Mars, on the other hand, is occulted for the ocean area south of India only, but we see a pairing just after midnight Jan. 3. On Jan 9, Aldebaran is less than a degree away from the moon. Full phase occurs Jan. 12.
Jan. 15, Regulus, the regal star in Leo, the lion, is occulted for viewers in South America. Jupiter is close by on the morning of Jan. 19. On Jan. 24 and the 26 see Saturn and Mercury a few degrees away, but this will be difficult for viewing as the two planets are near the sun. Jan. 30 and 31, Neptune and Venus again are in close quarters. Venus is four degrees above the moon.
Mercury has passed between Earth and the sun and appears in the morning sky before dawn for most of the month. As noted above, the slender moon nears Mercury in the early morning sky.
Venus remains as the bright beacon in the southwestern evening sky, even visible in the waning daylight before the sun actually sets. Neptune is a close companion Jan. 12, and the moon joins up Jan. 2 and 31. Look for faint Mars close by on the last day of January. All three bodies will be within a binocular view.
Mars recedes from us in the western evening sky, as Earth pulls away from the ruddy planet. Jan. 1, a faint Neptune is in close conjunction. Jan. 3 sees the occultation noted above in the moon, and Dec. 31 has Venus and the moon in a close grouping.
Jupiter is a morning object, crossing the sky in the daytime, so the viewing window is narrow, after midnight until sunrise.
Saturn has been spending the last few weeks behind the sun, and becomes visible in the morning sky as it retrogrades in Ophiuchus. Jan. 24, the moon passes four degrees below the ringed planet.
Uranus sets in the late evening, so is hardly visible throughout January, as it crosses the sky during the day.
Neptune is a difficult subject at best, but January offers many events. Mars is within 0.02 degrees Jan. 1, occulted by the moon Jan. 2 and again Jan. 30, within 0.4 degrees of Venus Jan. 12.
Quadrantid meteors peak Jan. 3, this being one of the best displays in 2017 with an estimated 120 sightings per hour under the best conditions.
— 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 the society’s past-president, editor of the Observer’s Handbook and production manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal. The IAU named asteroid 1995 XC5 “(22421) Jamesedgar” in his honour.
