January opens with a sky full of stars and planets in the evening sky. Taurus the Bull appears high in the southern skies during January’s evening hours. Two bright star clusters, known as the Hyades and the Pleiades, help construct the constellation. The “V” shaped cluster forms the bull’s head and face, although the bright reddish star Aldebaran that forms the bull’s eye is not part of the cluster. Aldebaran is one of the largest stars in our part of the galaxy. If placed in our solar system, it would extend beyond the orbit of Mars. The Pleiades ride on the bull’s back. The Taurus region of the sky is best explored with the low power of binoculars. The stars in the clusters are so widely spread that they are best viewed with at low power.
First Quarter: January 1 & January 31
Full Moon: January 9
Last Quarter: January 16
New Moon January 23
Mercury opens 2012 low in the southeastern sky before dawn. The planet is difficult to locate without a good horizon and binoculars. Antares and Sabik are nearby. Mercury disappears into the bright sun’s glare during the second week of the month and is invisible until it appears in the evening sky in late February.
Mars rises in the eastern sky around midnight this month, appearing near Denebola — Leo’s tail. On January 13, its identification is easier when the moon is nearby.
A few days later, the moon is near Saturn. At 5:30 a.m. on January 16, the moon appears near the planet and Spica.
On the morning of January 19, the moon makes a nice configuration with Antares and the stars of Scorpius around 5:30 a.m.
The chart above shows the positions of the visible planets at mid January 2012. Mercury is headed for superior conjunction (behind the sun) and Mars for opposition (Earth is between Mars and the sun.) Saturn and Jupiter are nearly on opposite sides of the their planetary orbits from each other.