Happy New Year! Celestial Events in January and 2021

Hello and happy 2021! In addition to listing January's celestial events, I'm going to throw in a few highlights for the whole year to look forward to. Don't worry, I'll still do my monthly notice so you will have a reminder before things happen. I will also start including "Observations challenges" for the New Moon days- featuring a prominent object to attempt to observe when skies are the darkest. 

January 2nd- Quadrantids Meteor Shower
This meteor shower will be best viewed from dark skies shortly after skies are completely dark, at least an hour after sunset. The Waning gibbous moon will be too bright to see a lot of the faint meteors, so best viewing will be in the hours before it rises. At its peak you will be seeing meteors every few minutes.

January 13th- New Moon Observation Challenge
The New Moon is always the best time to see Deep Sky Objects, either with your naked eye, or with a telescope. Orion is a prominent part of the January evening sky, with the naked-eye visible Nebula "M42" tucked in his scabbard. Binoculars or a telescope will reveal the fuzzy nebulosity around the bright core, a small group of stars known as the trapezium.

January 24th- Mercury at Greatest Elongation
Elongation is referring to angular separation from the sun. With interior planets- they can only get so far away from the sun, versus outer planets that have "opposition" where they rise as the sun sets. During this greatest Eastern Elongation, Mercury will be the highest it gets, making it the best opportunity to try and spot this little planet in the sky. Look in the western sky close to the horizon just after sunset. Best viewing will likely be during blue hour, when the sun is set and stars are visible but it is not yet completely dark. Through a telescope, this little planet will appear to have phases just like the moon! 

January 28th- Full Moon
This is the brightest night of the month, with the full "Wolf" Moon shining brightly over our night side, bright enough to cast shadows, 

Look Forward to these Events in 2021: 

February 11th- Venus/Jupiter close Conjunction
March 9th & 10th- Quadruple Conjunction (Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, & the Moon)
April 17th- Occultation of Mars
May 24th- Total Lunar Eclipse
June 10th- Annular Eclipse
July 12th- Venus & Mars Conjunction
August 12th- Perseid Meteor Shower
August 18th- Mars/Mercury Conjunction
November 7th- Occultation of Venus
November 19th- Partial Lunar Eclipse
December 4th- Total Solar Eclipse
December 31st- Occultation of Mars

As always, I welcome any questions or comments! I wish each of you a safe and prosperous new year!