January offers a spectacular viewing opportunity for evening planets. Venus shines brightly in the western sky, reaching its greatest elongation on January 10th. Jupiter dominates the eastern sky, positioned opposite the Sun in December. Stay up late after sunset to spot Mars rising in the east. North American observers will be treated to a nearly full moon passing in front of Mars on Monday night, an event known as lunar occultation.
January offers a spectacular viewing opportunity for evening planets. Venus shines brightly in the western sky, reaching its greatest elongation on January 10th. Jupiter dominates the eastern sky, positioned opposite the Sun in December. Stay up late after sunset to spot Mars rising in the east. North American observers will be treated to a nearly full moon passing in front of Mars on Monday night, an event known as lunar occultation.
This alignment occurs as Earth, the faster runner, overtakes the slower-moving Mars in its orbit. Mars will be visible in the evenings for the remainder of 2025, reaching its closest point to Earth and appearing larger in telescopes. Planetary conjunctions offer the best views of Mars, which will reach its maximum apparent size in 2025. This is a favorable time to observe Mars as it completes its orbit. Mars will appear near Pollux in late January, then transition to Cancer and pass through the Messier 44 star cluster on May 4th. It will also pass close to Regulus and remain visible in the evening sky until its conjunction with the Sun on January 9th, 2026. The moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, are also visible from Earth. They can be observed using a telescope or planetarium software. Check your local observing calendar for the best times to see these celestial bodies
PLANETS MARS VENUS JUPITER LUNAR OCCULTATION ASTONOMY
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