January is a good month for interesting planetary alignment. You will have a lot going on in the night sky. For most of the month, six out of the eight planets will be visible in the heavens. Mercury is currently on the other side of the Sun and you are standing on number eight (unless you are on the International Space Station).
They are super easy to spot. Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars will be visible in order from west to east, with Venus and Jupiter being the brightest objects. Venus in particular is difficult to miss – if you look west after sunset, it will be right there.
Then there is Saturn, which is not that bright due to how far away from the Earth it is, but it can be seen even from the light-polluted city centers when the sky is clear. To spot it, go from Venus towards the Moon or Jupiter – it’s going to be there. The easiest days to spot Saturn, though, are January 17 and 18 when it will be in conjunction with Venus. The two will share a cosmic kiss before Saturn moves more westerly in the night sky.
Jupiter will also be extremely easy to spot. It is bright and after sunset is up in the high on the celestial dome. After Jupiter, there will be Mars. Mars is also very bright, reaching its brightest point on January 16 as it reaches opposition.
Jupiter (left) and Taurus star Aldebaran, in the sky above the Houses of Parliament in London. If you can see it in central London with a lamppost shining light on you, you can spot it wherever.
Image credit: © Dr Alfredo Carpineti/IFLScience
Even in a light-polluted environment the planets will be easy to spot, but if you are blessed with less light pollution and can see a lot more of the night sky, there is an easy way to recognize the planets. First, they will be roughly around the line that the Moon and Sun follow in the sky – AKA the ecliptic – and secondly, the planets do not twinkle. Unlike stars, which are for all intents and purposes point sources, planets are little disks, and the light from a disk is not so easily bent by the atmosphere.
These four planets you will be able to see all month and into February without any special tools. But you can also see Uranus and Neptune with a telescope. The two ice giants will be found in the sky between Saturn and Jupiter all month. You can use The Sky Live Planetarium to find them more accurately.
But what if you want to see all the planets? Well, you’ll have to wait until mid-February, when Mercury too will appear in the night sky right after sunset!
Source Link: How To See Four Planets (And Two More) Align In The Sky This January
