The New Year opens with the moon at first quarter, and, a day later, it hangs right by Jupiter in the southern evening sky.
The moon is full Jan. 9; hard by Mars in the early morning sky Jan. 14; two degrees away from the bright star, Spica, Jan. 16; six degrees north of Saturn that same morning; seven degrees south of Venus in the western evening sky Jan. 25; and back to five degrees away from Jupiter again Jan. 30.
Mercury is visible in the south eastern dawn in the early part of the month. The speedy planet is the subject of close scrutiny from NASA's Messenger spacecraft, which is the first to orbit Mercury. Much solid science is being learned from the information radioed back to Earth.
Venus brightens the western twilight sky as the Evening Star, although not a star at all. The cloud tops of this second rock from the sun reflect almost all the sunlight they receive, making Venus one of the brightest objects in the sky. Pretty to look at, but most inhospitable - the surface temperatures are hot enough to melt lead. None of the Venera landers sent there by the former Soviet Union lasted more than two hours - the temperature and pressure were too much to withstand. Watch for a crescent moon nearby Jan. 25.
Mars appears in late evening at the south eastern horizon, crossing the sky through the night. Our speedier orbit around the sun makes Mars appear to stop moving eastward, then begin retrograde motion Jan. 25. The moon and the Red Planet share the sky Jan. 14.
Jupiter, the king of planets, has been retrograding since late 2011, and it begins proper motion in the early evening sky. Jupiter sets shortly after midnight. Watch for two close encounters with our satellite Jan. 2 and 30 - exactly one month apart.
Saturn rises in the constellation Virgo, the Maiden, in the early morning, hanging near the bright star, Spica, all through the year. Remember Saturn only moves very slowly against the background stars because of its large orbital period - 29.3 Earth years to go once around the sun.
Uranus is in the western sky in Pisces, the Fish, setting late in the evening. For the past 40 years, Uranus has been south of the celestial equator. Late in January, it crosses to the northern celestial hemisphere, where it remains until mid-century.
Neptune, always a challenge, is low in the western evening sky at sundown; closing in on the sun nearing conjunction at month's end.
- James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000. He is editor's assistant and a contributor to the Observer's Handbook, production manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal and is the society's national secretary.
