SkyEye: January 2024

Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events!

All times and dates are in UT with the time given to the nearest 30 minutes.
Planetary positions are geocentric apparent places, referred to the true equator and equinox of date.

The phases of the in January 2024

Day	Events
1	Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune begin 2024 at their maximum southerly declination for the year. Saturn's rings are also at their most open as seen from Earth. Also, the waning gibbous Moon reaches apogee.
2
3	Earth arrives at perihelion, the point in its orbit where it is closest to the Sun.
4	Unfortunately, the LAST QUARTER MOON will interfere with observations of the Quadrantid meteor shower which should peak around 09:00. The Moon also passes through its descending node today and is found 2.6° away from the first-magnitude star α Vir (Spica) at 23:00.
5
6
7	Bright Venus is 6.2° north of the first-magnitude star α Sco (Antares) just after midnight. Also on this day, Mars reaches its most southerly declination of the year.
8	The waning crescent Moon is 0.8° north of the first-magnitude star α Sco (Antares), leading to a lunar occultation for some observers around 14:30. Six hours later, the Moon and Venus are found 5.7° apart.
9	The Moon and Mercury are 6.6° apart at 19:00.
10	A very slender crescent Moon is 4.2° away from Mars at 08:30.
11	NEW MOON
12	Mars is at an equinox; autumn begins in the northern hemisphere and spring begins in the south. Also, Mercury reaches its greatest elongation west of 23.5° today.
13	The Moon reaches perigee.
14	The waxing crescent Moon and the ringed planet Saturn are 2.1° apart at 09:30.
15	The Moon and Neptune are 0.9° apart. This is close enough that some observers on Earth will see a lunar occultation at 20:30.
16
17	The Moon passes through its ascending node.
18	The FIRST QUARTER MOON and Jupiter are 2.8° apart at 20:30.
19	At 19:30, the waxing gibbous Moon and faint Uranus are 3.0° apart.
20	The Moon is 0.9° south of the open cluster M45 (Pleiades), leading to a lunar occultation at 13:30. Later in the day, dwarf planet 134340 Pluto is at conjunction.
21
22
23
24	The Moon is 1.7° south of the first-magnitude star β Gem (Pollux) at 19:00.
25	The FULL MOON passes 3.3° north of the open cluster M44 (Beehive) at 20:00. Also, Uranus reaches it maximum southerly declination and is stationary in right ascension, going from retrograde to direct motion.
26
27	Uranus is stationary in ecliptic longitude, returning to direct motion after starting the year in retrograde. Jupiter is at east quadrature which is a particularly interesting time to observe the interplay of shadows between the giant planet and its satellites. Mercury and Mars are 0.2° apart at 15:00, and an 90 minutes later, the waning gibbous Moon is 2.6° north of the first-magnitude star α Leo (Regulus).
28
29	The Moon reaches apogee.
30
31	The Moon passes through its descending node for the second time this month.

The position of the Sun and planets at mid-January 2024

Sun Sagittarius → Capricornus

Mercury Ophiuchus → Sagittarius The closest planet to the Sun is a morning sky object this month, rising higher above the eastern horizon until around the time of greatest elongation west on 12 January, and then heading back toward our star. It brightens steadily throughout the month, beginning at magnitude +0.6 and ending at −0.3. It has a close encounter with Mars on 27 January when the two objects are 20° away from the Sun.

Venus Scorpius → Ophiuchus → Sagittarius Venus dominates the eastern sky before sunrise. It is sinking back toward the horizon for most observers and is best viewed from southern latitudes. Shining at magnitude −4.0, it appears as a waxing gibbous globe in a telescope.

Earth and Moon Earth reaches perihelion on 3 January, the day before the peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower. The Moon occults the bright star Antares on 8 January, Neptune on 15 January, and the Pleiades open cluster five days later.

Mars Sagittarius At solar conjunction last November, the red planet inhabits the morning sky and is less than 20° away from the Sun for much of the month. Mars passes near by a number of interesting deep-sky objects early in January, including the Trifid Nebula (5 January), the Lagoon Nebula and open cluster M21 (6 January), the globular cluster M28 (12 January), and the globular cluster M22 (16 January), but all of these events take place whilst the planet is still quite near to the Sun and thus, may not be easily visible in dawn skies. Observers in equatorial and southern latitudes will have the best chance to see its close pass with Mercury on 27 January.

Jupiter Aries Jupiter is visible in the evening sky, already aloft at sunset, and best seen from northern temperate latitudes where it does not set until after midnight. East quadrature, when the planet is 90° away from the Sun, takes place on 27 January. The biggest planet in the solar system is slowly closing the distance with Uranus in the sky; the two objects will meet later this year.

Saturn Aquarius The famous rings of Saturn are slowly closing so the best time to observe them is this month when they are at their most open. Like Jupiter, Saturn is visible in the sky after sunset but it is much closer to the Sun in the sky than its larger neighbour, and sets by mid-evening. Solar conjunction takes place late next month.

Uranus Aries Sixth-magnitude Uranus is located not far from Jupiter in the sky; the larger, brighter planet will get closer over the coming months. The green ice giant enters 2024 in reverse and returns to direct motion near the end of January. Look for Uranus in the evening sky.

Neptune Pisces A small telescope is necessary to view the most distant planet in the solar system. This giant planet is also visible in the evening, located some 20° east of Saturn which is gradually creeping closer. Neptune is occulted by the Moon on 15 January.