The night sky this week

Every Monday, I pick the North American sky highlights for the week ahead (which also apply to mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere). Check out my main feed for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses and more.

The night sky this week: January 13-19, 2025

This week you can watch the full rising of the “Wolf Moon” in Occult Mars. Then you can see the red planet at its biggest, brightest and best for more than two years.

However, one of the planetary joys this week will be seeing Venus and Saturn closer each night this week, before they finally look set to “kiss” on Saturday.

Here’s everything you need to know about stargazing and astronomy this week:

Monday, January 13: A Full ‘Wolf Moon’ rises

A few hours before a major astronomical event comes a more familiar event – the rising of the January full moon, the “Wolf Moon”. Go somewhere with a good view of the eastern horizon to see it appear just after the sun has set in the west. It will look more prominent than usual and will be a nice, muted orange. The best time to see it will be a few minutes after moonrise where you are, although exactly where will depend on your location.

Monday, January 13 – Tuesday, January 14: A ‘full wolf moon’ hides Mars

Here comes one of the highlights of 2025 – a bright planet, Mars, eclipsed for a few hours by a nearly full ‘Wolf Moon’. The action will take place high in the sky and will be visible across North America, with action taking place between 8:44 PM EST on Monday, January 13 and ending at 12:52 AM EST on Tuesday, January 14 . where you are will determine what you see and when, with the event—Mars disappearing (ingress) and then reappearing (exit)—occurring in just over an hour. In-the-sky.org has a handy map to help you plan your viewing.

The event will occur while the moon and Mars are close to the bright star Pollux in Gemini, with Gemini’s other “twin,” Castor, nearby. At 34 and 51 light-years away, these star systems are in close proximity to the sun.

Monday, January 13: A comet approaches the sun

Remember October’s Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS? Today another comet, C/2024 G3 (ATLAS), makes its closest approach to Earth. However, since it is in the summer constellation of Sagittarius, it will not be visible from the Northern Hemisphere.

Wednesday, January 15: March in opposition

This week, the fourth planet, Mars, is in opposition. This happens every 26 months when Earth passes the red planet from within, as both planets orbit the sun, making Mars appear the biggest, brightest and best. It will rise in the east at dusk and set in the west at dawn, so it’s the perfect time to set a small telescope at the red planet to see its blush and, if you’re lucky, its caps. polar ice. Mars will be visible at night until the end of November when it will be submerged in the glow of the sun.

Thursday, January 16: Moon and order

The brightest star in the constellation Leo, “the lion,” Regulus, is one of the four bright stars that is often visited closely by the moon. Tonight, the two will appear a few degrees apart in the eastern sky, rising together — Regulus first — about four hours after sunset.

Saturday, January 18: Venus and Saturn in conjunction

If you’ve been watching the western sky after sunset for the past few weeks, you’ll have seen this coming. Saturn has been sinking and Venus rising, and tonight the inevitable result is a close conjunction of the two planets. They will appear a few degrees apart in the west shortly after sunset and set shortly after, so the observation window will be short.

The times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes. For more accurate location-specific information, consult online planetariums such as Stellarium.

I wish you clear skies and open eyes.