Pam Eastlick

For PDN

Welcome to a bright and shiny new year! All our planet drama continues to be in the early morning sky as we have only one planet in our early evening sky.

But the good news is that you don’t have to get up nearly as early as you have been to enjoy those morning planets. We started the new year with sunrise at 6:44 a.m. Since I normally tell you to go sky gazing an hour after sunset, then it makes sense that 5:45 a.m. is a good time to view the early morning sky. And if it’s the planets you’re interested in, 6 a.m. isn’t too late since they’re pretty bright.

We’ll lose some more morning daylight this month but not a great deal and sunrise is at 6:48 a.m. on Jan. 31 for a loss of four more minutes of morning sunshine. Interestingly enough, that 6:48 a.m. sunrise time actually occurs on the 15th and sunrise will be stuck at 6:48 a.m. for the rest of the month. But that just gives you more time for planet gazing.

There are four of the five visible planets in the early morning sky. Jupiter is high overhead at 5:45 a.m. this week and it’s officially entered our western sky. Mars is much higher in the eastern sky and it’s definitely leaving Spica behind as it tracks endlessly eastward.

But the big surprise is Venus which is now dropping toward the eastern horizon as it tracks to the other side of the sun from us. You may have spotted Saturn below Venus as your Christmas present from the sky, and you may have been astounded at how fast Venus is approaching Saturn. By this Saturday, they will be less than a degree apart in the eastern sky. This is a close approach, and it will definitely be worth your time to get up and have a look!

Although our evening skies have only one visible planet, they certainly have much to recommend them. We’ll gain 13 minutes of evening daylight in January with the sun having set on New Year’s Day at 6:05 p.m. and setting on Jan. 31 at 6:18 p.m. Of course, you can view that as losing 13 minutes of evening darkness if you want to!

As it begins to grow dark, you’ll see two and possibly three bright stars close to the western horizon. The highest one on the right is Deneb, the brightest star in Cygnus the Swan. The lower one and closer to due west is Altair and you just might see another bright star to the left of Altair. That’s not a star, it’s Mercury, and this week is your last chance to see it in the early evening sky for several months.

Deneb and Altair form a large and famous triangle with the fifth-brightest star, Vega, but Vega has already disappeared below the western horizon. Which is just as well, because the triangle is called The Summer Triangle, and well, although it’s endless summer here, it’s actually winter in the northern hemisphere. Enjoy our winter skies!

Pam Eastlick is The Star Lady.