As cosmic traffic goes, the new year starts strong.
Venus emerges mid-month as a morning object in the southeastern heavens, accompanying Earth’s other neighbor, the dimmer Mars. See it before sunrise after Jan. 15.
Monday evening (Jan. 3) catch the fleet planet Mercury (-0.8 magnitude, bright) skimming the southwest horizon at dusk. Look closely to the lower left of Mercury to spy the wispy, skinny hint of the new crescent moon.
Higher in the young evening heavens, the large ringed Saturn (+0.7 magnitude, dim) follows the nimble and quick Mercury, and seems to jog toward the southwest horizon, while Jupiter at -2.1 magnitude (very bright), high in the southwest at dusk, follows Saturn in line.
The waxing moon scoots by Saturn on the evening of Jan. 4, and then Earth’s lunar companion seems to slide by Jupiter on Jan. 5-6.
Late in January, in the southwest heavens, the large gaseous Jupiter remains on the only visible planet in the evening sky.
The Quadrantid meteors zip briefly through dark heavens, peaking on the evening of Jan. 3, according to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. At peak — a narrow window — the forecast is for more than one hundred shooting stars an hour. If you’re patient, you can see a few. Step outside and look up. Astronomers believe these meteors may have originated from near-Earth asteroid 2003 EH1, a probable former comet, as suggested by astronomer Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute.
On Jan. 4, our home blue planet reaches perihelion — Earth’s closest point to the sun — on our annual orbiting tour around the sun, according to the observatory.
Late in January, while jogging or walking your dog before sunrise, you may notice a thin crescent, waning moon approaching the hard-to-see Mars (+1.5 magnitude) on Jan. 28-29. As mentioned earlier, that observably brilliant object to the left of Mars: Venus.
For the Northern Hemisphere, Comet Leonard is tricky, as that dirty, fuzzy snowball reaches perihelion on Jan. 3. It’s extremely low and dim on our evening southwest horizon, to the left of Saturn. You’ll need binoculars, that is if you can see it at all. The Southern Hemisphere probably has a better view.
It may break into fragments or slightly brighten: “Who knows what it will do, as the comet gets closer to the sun,” said astronomer Geoff Chester, of the Naval Observatory. “Comets are like cats, you can’t tell them what to do, and you can’t tell what they’re going to do.”
Down-to-Earth events:
●Jan. 7 — Heavenly wonder: Gaze at the winter sky via the National Air and Space Museum’s Phoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The observatory is adjacent to the museum’s southeast terrace, near Independence Avenue and 4th Street SW. Masks are required. For information or schedule changes, visit their website: airandspace.si.edu
●Jan. 8 — “Planetary Magnetic Fields and Habitability,” an online talk by astronomer Peter Driscoll of the Carnegie Institution for Science, where he addresses the long-term habitability of rocky planets and speculates on how the magnetic fields of exoplanets may be detectable. The presentation is hosted by the National Capital Astronomers. The virtual Zoom doors open at 7 p.m. and the meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. To register, visit capitalastronomers.org
●Jan. 9 — “Touring the Universe Through Binoculars,” an online talk by Philip Harrington, a contributing editor at Astronomy magazine. Harrington will offer ways to find astronomically worthy binoculars in the vast expanse of models available. Hosted by the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, the online Google Meet event is from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at meet.google.com/osh-bcyd-gti. For information, visit novac.com
Blaine Friedlander can be reached at SkyWatchPost@gmail.com.