The Moon is just past new phase as the month begins, and already the events are lined up in the first few days. On January 2, Venus is just under 2 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 only visible in east Asia and western North America; 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 only for the ocean area south of India, but we see a pairing just after midnight on the 3rd. On the 9th, Aldebaran is less than a degree away from the Moon; full phase occurs on the 12th. On the 15th, Regulus, the regal star in Leo, The Lion, is occulted for viewers in South America; Jupiter is close by on the morning of the 19th; the 24th and the 26th see Saturn and Mercury a few degrees away, but difficult for viewing as the two planets are quite near the Sun; on the 30th and 31st, Neptune and Venus again are in close quarters; Venus this time is 4 degrees above the Moon.
Mercury has passed between us 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 quite visible in the waning daylight before the Sun actually sets. Neptune is a close companion on the 12th, and the Moon joins up on the 2nd and 31st. Look for faint Mars close by on that 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. In the 1st, the very faint Neptune is in close conjunction. The 3rd sees the occultation noted above in The Moon, and the 31st 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. On the 24th, the Moon passes 4 degrees below the ringed planet.
Uranus sets in the late evening, so 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 on the 1st; occulted by the Moon on the 2nd, and again on the 30th; within 0.4 degrees of Venus on the 12th.
Quadrantid meteors peak on the 3rd, 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 renowned Observer’s Handbook, and Production Manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal. The IAU named asteroid 1995 XC5 “(22421) Jamesedgar” in his honour.
