Events, Moon, Planets in January Home Page Evènements du mois Monthly Sky Charts

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.Events .Moon .Planets .Major Events .Minor Planets, NEOs .Comets .Shooting Stars .Occultations .Sun .check more! (occultations observers are advised to check in 'Events', and to turn to such dedicated sites like the I.O.T.A).. don't forget to check the weather! For the US: the NOAA . color codes: Wwd worldwide, UsA USA-Americas, EuA Europe-Africa, AsP Asia-Pacific, Chk Check for Your Zone. check the site's concept and the instructions of use

Editor's Choice Fine Picture Editor's Choice Sky At Tech News color codes: Wwd worldwide, UsA USA-Americas, EuA Europe-Africa, AsP Asia-Pacific, Chk Check for Your Zone. check the site's concept and the instructions of use

Events Home Page

.Events Seen All Month Long .Ephemerides Proper

(data from the former yearly ephemerides generator at Fred Espenak's NASA's eclipse website; miscellaneous data with the 'Astronomical Phenomena for The Year 2017,' a joint work by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office and the U.S. Naval Observatory; to be found at the latter's site; all time UT except otherwise stated)

Wwd Until about the morning of January 20th, Jupiter like a morning star, is finely seen moving relatively to Mars, also a morning star. A remarkable closeness -- of below 20 minute -- is reached about on the morning of Jan. 7. A fine photographic and visual show! Moon will come to add too!

Jupiter finely moving by Mars by dawn, with a remarkable closeness about the morning of Jan. 7! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon Stellarium

Wwd In the northern hemisphere only, the three main stars to the Summer Triangle, that distinctive feature of the summer skies, are seen like evening stars northwest!

Wwd At the Tropics and the southern hemisphere only, a whole set of fine constellations are seen embedded into the Milky Way on the southern horizon by dawn! Fine visual, or photographic opportunities as Moon will also come to add! The show is higher in the southern hemisphere!

Milky-Way embedded fine constellations seen South by dawn at the Tropics and the southern hemisphere! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon Stellarium

1 (1) Wwd The Quadrantids, one of the most important meteor showers of the year, usually begin to be active today as they are until next Jan.5. They usually are peaking on Jan. 2-3. more at the date of the peak

1 (2) Wwd Moon is at its perigee at 21:54 UT (distances non available)

2 (1) Wwd The Quadrantids are peaking on Jan 2-3 more back

2 (2) Wwd Moon reaches a northernmost declination at 00:01 UT

3 Wwd Earth, like each year by about this date, is at is perihelion today by 02:59 UT. The Earth is at its closest to the Sun as it paradoxically is winter days in the northern hemisphere. check more details about the aphelion-perihelion concepts with our tutorial Seasons

4 Wwd Moon is at a ascending node at 07:48 UT

5 Wwd There is a occultation of Regulus, the bright star to constellation Leo, the Lion today by Moon! check more at Occultations; check more too at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

10 UsA EuA Tomorrow morning, by all latitudes, last quartered Moon will be seen close to the pair Jupiter-Mars by dawn. Fine visual or photographic opportunities!

Moon close to the pair Jupiter-Mars by dawn! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon Stellarium

11 AsP Tomorrow morning, at all latitudes, last quartered Moon will be seen close to the pair Jupiter-Mars by dawn. Fine visual or photographic opportunities!

12 Wwd There is a occultation of minor planet Vesta today by Moon! check more at Occultations; check more too at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

15 Wwd Moon is at its apogee at 02:09 UT (distances non available), as it also reaches a southernmost declination at 16:28 UT that same day

18 Wwd Moon is at a descending node at 14:28 UT

26 UsA Moon past full, by all latitudes, is seen close to Aldebaran, the bright star to constellation Taurus, the Bull tonight

27 (1) AsP Waxing gibbous Moon, at all latitudes, is seen close to Aldebaran, the bright star to constellation Taurus, the Bull tonight

27 (2) Wwd There is a occultation of Aldebaran, the bright start to constellation Taurus, the Bull today by Moon! check more at Occultations; check more too at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

29 Wwd Moon reaches a northernmost declination at 11:32 UT

30 Wwd Moon is at its perigee at 09:54 UT (distances non available)

31 (1) Wwd The first lunar eclipse in 2018 occurs today, and the first great astronomical event in that year, the total lunar eclipse of January 31st, 2018. check more

31 (2) Wwd Moon is at a ascending node at 18:46 UT

Occultations observers are advised to turn to such dedicated sites like the I.O.T.A as they may also check below at our Occultation section

Moon Home Page

Full Moon is on January 2nd, at 02:24 UT
Last Quarter is on January 8th, at 22:25 UT
New Moon is on January 17th, at 02:17 UT
First Quarter is on January 24th, at 22:20 UT
Full Moon is on January 31st, at 13:27 UT

(source: ephemeris generator at Fred Espenak's NASA's eclipse website)

Planets Home Page

Mercury is reaching a greatest western elongation on Jan. 1 by 19:59. Since that time, Mercury, like a morning star will keep descending to the horizon all month long. The show is of interest in the northern hemisphere, mean at the Tropics or the southern hemisphere

Mercury a fine morning star in the northern hemisphere! picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based upon Stellarium

Venus is reaching a superior conjunction on Jan. 9 by 06:16. Venus thus is unobservable now as it is usually back like a evening star 35 days after a superior conjunction

Mars is now a high morning star in the northern hemisphere. The show is higher still at the Tropics and in the southern hemisphere too. A Mars Observation Campaign is unfolding 2018-2019 as it constitutes a remarkable, perihelic opposition, with Mars nearest to Earth at the same time it is nearest to the Sun on its orbit! Mars will reach a 24.2" of apparent diameter at its best as the observation campaign will span from when the Red Planet is reaching, then leaving 6" of apparent diameter! Don't miss those occasions of observing Mars! check more at our Mars Observation Campaign 2018-2019 page

Jupiter is now a high morning star in the northern hemisphere. The show is higher still at the Tropics and in the southern hemisphere too

Saturn, after its conjunction last month, keeps unobservable. A ring maximum aperture had been reached in 2017

Uranus keeps high now, West, in the northern hemisphere or at the Tropics by 10:30 p.m. local time. By that same time, the show is also high in the southern hemisphere, about northwest

Neptune keeps observable in the northern hemisphere due to early twilight, and at the Tropics too but the faraway world is not usefully available in the southern hemisphere

Pluto is unobservable now. Pluto in 2018 is reaching a rare 'special' opposition as the latter will occur because the planet will reach its orbit's line of node. (according to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) since 2006, Pluto is not considered a planet anymore, but categorized like a dwarf planet instead along with Ceres, Eris, Makemake, and Haumea, and the prototype of a new category of 'trans-Neptunian', 'Pluto-class' objects)

Major Events Home Page

The Total Lunar Eclipse of January 31st, 2018

The Total Lunar Eclipse of January 31st, 2018

As the Full Moon of January 31st coincidates with the Moon at the perigee, the total lunar eclipse of January 31st, 2018 will constitute a 'supermoon' eclipse and like the second Full Moon in a same month, it will be a 'blue supermoon' eclipse. Total lunar eclipses, generally, are to observe! As the Moon during that total eclipse will transit deep enough into the Earth's umbra, the eclipse, at greatest, will be dark enough. The entirety of the total eclipse will be seen from China and central Siberia up to Alaska -- which means the eclipse will concern almost all of the Pacific area, the southeast of it excepted. Either side of that area, the eclipse will either be visible by moonrise or by moonset check our page dedicated to that event

Minor Planets, NEOs Home Page

.Minor Planets .Nearest NEOs

Minor Planets

Minor planets are those biggest asteroids in the Asteroid Belt which may be easily observed by amateurs from the Earth, namely Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta (due to the new categorization by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) by 2006, Ceres belongs to the 5 dwarf planets in the solar system with Pluto, Eris, Makemake, and Haumea). check data and charts at our section Minor Planets on the yearly Calendar page as our tutorial 'Asteroids and Asteroid Hunting' is of help too. Any remarkable event linked to a minor planet may have a notice here below

Ceres is reaching its opposition by January 31st, at the 6.9th magnitude. more about Ceres in 2018 at our "Minor Planets in 2018"

Nearest NEOs

Some small asteroids dubbed Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are regularly making close approaches at Earth. People interested in such close approaches may obtain recent and upcoming data at NASA site Near-Earth Object Program (their section "Close Approaches"). Date, miss distance in AU or Lunar Distance (LD), estimated diameter, and relative velocity are available. For further observational purposes, check at the Near-Earth Object Program ephemeris Generator. For more about NEOs see tutorial "About NEOs"

Comets Home Page

Once every time, the solar system treats us with a remarkable comet, a eery view spanning up to thirty degrees of sky! Most of the time however comets are the domain of dedicated observers as mostly weak and, at the most, hovering at the limit of the naked-eye visibility. A good site to get information about current such comets is the British Astronomical Association Comet Section page or also the Weekly Information about Bright Comets page (which often points to comets close to the visual magnitude). Our 'Comets and Comet Hunting' tutorial will also be helpful. Remarkable comets otherwise usually will be presented below!

Shooting Stars Home Page

->of note: dates of swarms and peaks as given below are the average ones. More refined dates may be given in the Ephemerids section

->note: shooting stars afficionados will be aware of checking Moon at the dates of the showers

• Quadrantids back are usually active Jan. 1-5 with their peak usually on Jan. 2-3. Their radiant is at R.A. 230° and dec. +49°. They have a hourly rate of 120, which makes them one of the most important meteor shower of the year
• Shooting stars afficionados may turn to such dedicated sites like IMO, The International Meteor Organization for more about the above and about possible minor showers this month

for more about the meteor showers of this month, for possible other meteor showers for this month, and for more about shooting stars, generally, see our tutorial "Shooting Stars"

Occultations Home Page

Each month, Moon occults some relatively bright stars, that is the Moon, beginning either with its bright or its dark visible face, is passing in front of a star. This is called an occultation. The Pleiades, on the other hand, due to their position near the eclipic, are often occulted by Moon too. Some planets, at last, along the year, may be occulted by Moon or they themselves, or their satellites, may be seen too occulting a star. The asteroids too may occult stars. Yearly lists of such phenomenons are to be found at Sky & Telescope/SkyTonight.com, either in their newsstand issues or at their site, as a list of occultations of most brilliant stars, the planets and the Pleiades are available at the I.O.T.A site (I.O.T.A. stands for "The International Occultation Timing Association"). Most notable occultations are signaled below

Regulus back, the bright star to constellation Leo, the Lion is occulted by Moon on Jan. 5th, 2018 by 08:00 UT! The show is available for Alaska, eastern tip of Russia, northern Canada, Greenland, Svalbard, Iceland, most of Europe, north westernmost Africa. check more at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

minor planet Vesta back is occulted by Moon on Jan. 12th, 2018 by 04:00 UT! The show is available for southern Africa, Madagascar, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, S.W. Australia, Tasmania. check more at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

Aldebaran back, the bright star to constellation Taurus, the Bull is occulted by Moon on Jan. 27th, 2018 by 11:00 UT! The show is available for most of India, Central Asia, most of China, Mongolia, most of Russia, Alaska, N.W. North America. check more at such sites like "The International Occultation Timing Association" (I.O.T.A.)

check on this site for more about occultations, theoretically

Sun Home Page

click to last Sun