Dazzling astronomical events to look out for this January

space & rocket center — Everything you need to know about space exploration can be found at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. (Hville Blast)

Happy New Year, Huntsville! This month is full of exciting astronomical events you won’t want to miss — grab your telescopes and binoculars, head outside and look up for a beautiful display of meteors, two moon phases and more.

1. Quadrantids meteor shower — Jan. 3-4

quadrantids meteor shower astronomical events — Viewing an astronomical event like a meteor shower is a great way to start the new year. (“Quadrantid meteor shower: January 4, 2012” by Donovan Shortey is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

This meteor shower is the result of dust grains left behind by 2003 EH1, a now-extinct comet. While the shower runs every year from January 1-5, it will peak the night of January 3 and the morning of the 4th this year.

Be sure to look out for this shower, which will produce up to 40 meteors per hour, from a dark location after midnight.

2. New moon — Jan. 11

crescent moon — New year, new moon. (Photo by Jim Strasma on Unsplash)

At 5:59 AM CT on Thursday, Jan. 11, the Moon will not be visible in the night sky since it will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun. This is a great time to observe galaxies and star clusters due to the lack of moonlight.

3. Mercury at greatest Western elongation — Jan. 12

Mercury on a black background — Witness the first planet from the Sun during its greatest Western elongation. (Photo by NASA on Unsplash)

Look up in the sky just before sunrise on Friday, Jan. 12 for the best time to view the planet Mercury. It will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky.

4. Wolf Moon — Jan. 25

full wolf moon — The full moon this month is known as the Wolf Moon, Old Moon and the Moon After Yule. (“Full Wolf Moon” by James Marvin Phelps is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)

The Moon’s face will be fully illuminated on Thursday, Jan. 25. This full moon was known by early Native Americans as the Wolf Moon because hungry wolf packs would howl outside their camps at this time of year.

If you’re able to see any of these astronomical events and get some pictures, we would love to see them! Share your pictures on social media and tag us or DM us at @hvilleblast.

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