LISTEN to this week’s Sky Report

I’m David Nakamoto, and I shall be taking over the monthly Sky Report from Anthony Cook, who is retiring from Griffith Observatory after 42 years.

This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through the period ending January 31^st, 2021. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.

Copper-red Mars is receding from us and appears high overhead after sunset. Mars reaches the meridian at 6:48 p.m. on the 1^st, and at 5:47 p.m. on the 31^st. Mars sets earlier each night, from 1:24 a.m. on the 1^st, to 12:37 a.m. on the 31^st. On the 20^th the gibbous moon is to the right of Mars, and on the 21^st it is to its left.

The giant planets Jupiter and Saturn start the month very low in the southwest. On the 1^st, they are about 12 degrees above the southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m. and set in the west-southwest by 6:32 p.m. By mid-month, both will be too low and too close to the Sun to observe. Jupiter is the brighter of the pair. Saturn is a few degrees to the right of Jupiter.

The brightest planet, Venus, appears low in the east and rises at 5:31 a.m. on the 1^st, with the Sun rising at 6:59 a.m. By the 31^st, Venus will rise at 6:11 a.m. with the Sun following at 6:51 a.m., and so Venus is unobservable. A telescope may reveal its current 98-percent gibbous phase at the beginning of the month. Venus is on the far side of its orbit as seen from the Earth and will get farther away each week. Its apparent motion gets slower as it continues to move farther from the Earth.

Mercury is too close to the Sun to be observed at the beginning of this month.  On the evenings of the 21^st through the 26^th, Mercury is 18 degrees east of the Sun and is visible low above the west-southwest horizon.

The last quarter Moon occurs on the 6^th. The Moon is new on the 12^th. First quarter is on the 20^th, and full moon is on the 28^th.

The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks on January 3^rd at 6:20 a.m. The meteors are faint, but the rate can be high. This year 25 meteors per hour or more is estimated. Unfortunately, the waning gibbous moon will interfere by making the skies bright, regardless of your location.  The Quadrantids originate from a point to the east of the end of the Big Dipper’s handle and north of the bright-orange-tinged star Arcturus.

Measures intended to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus keep Griffith Observatory closed to the public until further notice. Please check the Griffith Observatory homepage for current information.

Follow All Space Considered and Griffith Observatory on Twitter for updates on astronomy and space-related events.