The new moon of January will be at 7:36 a.m. Eastern Time on Jan. 29, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, and two days later a young moon will pass near Saturn and near Venus as they cluster together in the evening sky.
A new moon is when the sun and moon share the same celestial longitude, a position also called conjunction. At new phase, you can’t see the moon from Earth because the illuminated side is facing away from us, and on top of that new moons rise and set with the sun; even if one could light up the side of the moon facing Earth it would be lost in the solar glare. The only way to see the new moon is when it passes in front of the sun, causing a solar eclipse; the next isn’t due until March 29.
On the day of the new moon, Jan. 29, Venus is still a bright evening star, and when the moon is not out it is the first celestial object one can see with the naked eye; it is a distinct, bright star even relatively close to sunset. By 6 p.m. in New York City the sky is dark enough to see Venus in the west and Saturn just below it; the latter is at an altitude of about 22 degrees; Venus is about 9 degrees higher. Saturn sets at 8:13 p.m. on Jan. 29 in New York; Venus follows at 9:13 p.m. Eastern Time.
Visible Planets
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On Feb. 1, three days after the new moon, observers in the eastern half of Asia will see the moon occult Saturn, though it will occur in the daytime; while observing it is possible one must exercise extreme caution as the thin crescent moon will be rather close to the sun in the sky. (Some observers will be able to see the moon occult Saturn in the evening or even at night; but this is only if you are in the very far north of Alaska or Siberia).
For observers in the Americas, Africa and Europe, the moment of conjunction won’t be visible, as by the time it happens the moon will have set, but if one looks to the southwest in the evening on Jan. 31 one will see the young moon – a thin crescent still – will be just visible above the southwestern horizon, below and to the right of Saturn. From New York City, for example, the sun sets at 5:12 p.m. and by the end of civil twilight at 5:41 p.m., the moon sets at 7:54 p.m. and Saturn at 8:06 p.m.; the actual conjunction is at 11:52 p.m. Eastern. However one will see the moon, Saturn and Venus in a rough line; making them an easy trio to spot.
Australians (and others in the Southern Hemisphere) will see the three-day-old moon near Saturn as well, but at the moment of closest approach the planet will appear to be above the moon – in Melbourne, Australia the close pass will be at 3:01 p.m. local time. By dusk (sunset is at 8:33 p.m. on Feb. 1) Saturn will be to the left of, and in mid-southern latitudes, almost level with the moon at dusk. Moonset in Melbourne is at 10:13 p.m. local time; Saturn also sets at 10:13 p.m. by 9 p.m. Saturn, the moon, and Venus will form a rough horizontal line in the west running from south to north about 13 degrees above the western horizon.
To see the moon occult Saturn one must be in Asia; for example in Hanoi the conjunction is at 9:43 a.m., when Saturn disappears behind the moon. Saturn won’t be easily visible without a telescope and if using one care must be taken – daytime observations of any objects near the sun can be dangerous; accidentally pointing any optical aids at the sun while looking through them can result in permanent blindness. (It’s often a good idea to first look through the eyepiece of a telescope using a phone or other device, for example, to make sure it is aligned with the moon correctly). The planet reappears at 10:27 a.m.
As one moves north and east the conjunction gets later in the day; from Seoul, South Korea, the moon passes in front of Saturn from 11:39 a.m. to 2:23 p.m. local time; the occultation happens an hour later (local time) in Vladivistok, and an hour later in Sapporo, Japan. However, the only places where the occultation will be visible after dark are in the far north of Siberia and the Arctic Ocean. One such location is the remote city of Anadyr, Russia, where sunset is at 3:52 p.m. local time. The occultation starts at 4:56 p.m. and ends at 5:13 p.m. local time.
Turning eastward, Mars rises in New York at 3:10 p.m. on Jan. 29; by 6 p.m. it is about 29 degrees above the horizon and just to the right of Pollux, one of the bright stars in Gemini, the Twins. Mars is recognizable because it will look distinctly red-ornage compared to Pollux, which is more yellow-white. The planet is visible most of the night; it doesn’t set until 6:32 a.m. on Feb. 1.
Jupiter is high in the southeast from mid-northern latitudes; on Jan. 29 it rises in New York at 12:35 p.m. Eastern and transits at 7:57 p.m. By 6 p.m. it is already a good 58 degrees high; nearly two thirds of the way to the zenith. In the constellation Taurus, the Bull, Jupiter is just above Taurus’ brightest star, Aldebaran. One can tell the two apart because of Aldebaran’s more orange hue.
For Southern Hemisphere observers, where the Sun sets much later, the sky doesn’t get fully dark until about 9:30 p.m. By 9 p.m. on Jan. 30 in Melbourne, Australia, Saturn is just becoming visible above the western horizon, about 14 degrees high; the planet sets at 10:21 p.m. local time. Venus is to the right (northward) and sets at 10:26 p.m.
As in the Northern Hemisphere Mars is in the east, though lower in the sky; in Melbourne the Red Planet is only 11 degrees high at 9 p.m. (Mars rises in Melbourne at 7:40 p.m. on Jan. 30). Mars sets the next morning at 4:47 p.m. Rather than being above Pollux in the sky, it will seem to be closer to the horizon as the sky is “upside down” in the Southern Hemisphere.
Jupiter, meanwhile, is almost due north by 9 p.m.; the planet transits at 9:20 p.m. and in Melbourne is about 31 degrees high, and sets Jan. 31 at 2:11 a.m. AEDT. As with Mars, with the sky “reversed” Jupiter will appear below Aldebaran rather than above it.
Stars and Constellations
Winter constellations are in full swing for Northern Hemisphere observers at the end of January. On the night of the new moon in mid-northern latitudes the sun has set by 6 p.m. At that point the brightest stars are already above the horizon; Sirius, the brightest of them, rises at 5:01 p.m. in New York City (and similar local times in Chicago, Denver, or Sacramento). A fun observation exercise is to see how soon after it rises one can spot it; in New York it is only 9 degrees high by 6 p.m. and the sky is just starting to get truly dark as the last light of evening fades. Sirius is bright enough that it is quickly recognizable, as it is a bright blue-white.
By 7 p.m. the entirety of Sirius’ parent constellation, Canis Major, the Big Dog, is above the horizon. Looking upwards from Sirius one will see the three stars of Orion’s Belt. They are named (from left to right) Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka. Below the Belt and to the right is Rigel, also a white (or for some people, blue-white) star, marking Orion’s left foot. Above the Belt and to the left is Orion’s right shoulder, the bright and ruddy Betelgeuse. If one looks to the left (northward) of Sirius, towards the East, one can see a whitish star, Procyon, the brightest star in Canis Minor, the Little Dog.
Above Procyon and to the left of Orion one can see Gemini, the Twins, and the two stars Castor and Pollux. Castor is the uppermost of the two stars, as the Twins are on their “side” just after they get above the horizon. North and west of the Twins is Auriga, the Charioteer. Auriga contains the bright star Capella, which from the latitude of New York City and above never sets – it is one of the circumpolar stars. At 7 p.m. on Jan. 29 it will be about 72 degrees above the Eastern horizon.
Near Capella are four other stars that with it form a pentagonal shape; the “bottom” star nearest Orion is Elnath, which was once “shared” by Taurus, but now is designated as Beta Tauri, the upper “horn” of the Bull. To the south and west of Elnath (towards the right from the point of view of an observer) is Aldebaran.
By 9 p.m. The Big Dipper is almost vertical and in the northeast; the “bowl” faces west (left). One can use it to find Polaris, the Pole Star, by using the two stars that are the front of the bowl (the top of the asterism at this time of night). The stars are called Dubhe and Merak, the former is the one to the left. Drawing a line between them to the left takes one to Polaris. But Polaris isn’t the only star the Dipper can point to. If one draws a line to the right, connecting the stars at the back of the bowl (these will be the two lower in the sky) one reaches Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, the Lion, which at 9 p.m. will be almost due east and about 27 degrees high (this will vary depending on one’s exact latitude but it will be similar in any mid-Northern latitude city).
For Southern Hemisphere observers, January is when Puppis, Carina and Vela, the three constellations that make up the ship (connected to the Argo, the famous ship of Jason and the Argonauts) are prominent. As it is the austral summer the sun doesn’t set until after 8 p.m.; for the sky to get fully dark one must wait until about 9:30 p.m. At that point in the northeastern sky one would see an “upside down” Orion, with the Belt stars above Betelgeuse, which from places such as Melbourne, Australia is below them and to the right. Rigel, meanwhile, is upwards and to the left, and this time when one follows the River from Cursa, one goes up a full 62 degrees to a point just west of north to Achernar.
Sirius is above and to the right of Betelgeuse, and one can draw a line between them southwards (this will be to the right) and above that line is the bright Canopus, the brightest star in Carina, the Ship’s Keel, about 52 degrees high and due east. Carina is one of three constellations that make up the legendary Argo, the ship Theseus the hero of Greek legend sailed. Between Canopus and Sirius is a group of seven fainter stars that forms a long shape something like a foot and an ankle; that’s Puppis, the Poop Deck. Look just below that towards the horizon and one can see a ring-shaped group of eight stars that is Vela, the Sail.
Turning a bit further south – it will be to the right and further towards the horizon – one can see Crux, the Southern Cross, just between 12 and 17 degrees high in the south-southeast. From the latitude of Melbourne Crux is circumpolar – it never sets. Crux is one of the smallest of the 88 constellations in the sky; at that hour in January the top of the cross is pointed towards the horizon. If one turns nearly due south one will see Rigil Kentaurus, otherwise known as Alpha Centauri. The Centaur is mostly below the horizon, but by midnight the constellation has almost completely risen.
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