In the evening sky you can see the four planets Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. Just after sunset, Venus and Saturn can be seen, while Jupiter and Mars remain in the sky for several hours. According to the astronomical calendar published by the Admiral Vasile Urceanu Observatory, Sirius is the brightest star that can be seen in the sky during this period.

Moon and visible planets

The Full Moon will come on January 7 (at 1:08). On January 6 and 7, the Moon will rise as the Sun sets and set as the Sun rises. The moon passes by Mars on the evenings of January 2, 3 and 4.

In the evening, 30 minutes after sunset, Venus is visible in the same direction. Although Venus is not yet visible in the night sky, it is easy to make out even when the sky is still bright.

Look to the southwest near the horizon at about 5:00 PM (but no later than 6:00 PM) and you will see Venus as a bright star.

Now it is far from us, but every day it is getting closer and better visible in the sky. The period of good visibility begins at the end of winter and will last until summer.

Saturn is in the same direction as Venus, but much less bright. Look at Venus and then at the top left where you should see a fixed star. This is Saturn.

The convergence of the two planets will take place between January 21 and 23.

Jupiter is high in the sky just after dusk and sets around 10:30 p.m., so you have plenty of time to see it. Around 19:00, look for a bright “star” high in the sky and show it to your children and neighbors. This is Jupiter, at a distance of 800 million kilometers from us, another world, completely different from ours and much larger.

Mars looks as good as it did in December. It is visible almost all night and is very bright.

You find it in the east just as it gets dark. It reaches high in the sky, almost overhead, around 9:00 PM and sets around 5:00 AM.

On January 2, Mercury was at its shortest distance from the Sun — 46 million km.

On January 4, the Earth is at its shortest distance from the Sun (perihelion) — 147 million km.

On January 7, Mercury is opposite the Sun.

January sky

During the winter months, a very bright star can be seen on the southern horizon. This is Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, in the constellation Canis Major.

In the upper right corner are three other bright stars in a straight line, which are part of the Orion constellation.

If you look closely, you’ll see that they’re framed by four other stars, all shaped like Orion the Hunter.

The two brightest stars in Orion are Betelgeuse and Rigel, located in the upper left and lower right of the belt. Use Orion’s belt to find other stars in its extension, in the lower left you will see the star Sirius, and in the upper right you will see Aldebaran in Taurus.

There is a bright star to the left of Sirius, about the same height as the Orion stars, and three smaller ones above. This is the star Procyon in the constellation Canis Minor.

From the “belt” to Betelgeuse, go to Gemini, Sirius, Procyon, and the star in Orion’s left south corner, Betelgeuse, forming a triangle called the “winter triangle.” It is not a constellation, but it is easy to identify.

Overhead we see Perseus, behind him Auriga with the bright star Capella.

In the west we see the square of Pegasus approaching the west, followed by Andromeda. At the time of the chart, there are two very bright planets in the sky, Jupiter in Pisces and Mars in Taurus.

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