Moon and 4 planets after sunset January 3 to 5

Following new moon on January 2, 2022, the young moon – a waxing crescent – will return to the west after sunset. It’ll pass 4 planets. Bright Venus will be exceedingly near the sunset glare. So will you see it? It’ll be hard. And Mercury, too, will be difficult to see when the moon passes by on January 3. But on January 4 and 5, if your sky is clear, you should easily see the young moon near Saturn and Jupiter. Chart by John Jardine Goss.

Moon and 4 planets in early January 2022

Venus spent December 2021 sliding sunward, dropping closer to the sunset point as western twilight darkens each day. As the year ends, you might catch Venus exceedingly near the sunset glare. But Venus will soon disappear entirely, for all but the most experienced and dedicated skywatchers. That’s because Venus is about to move between the Earth and sun in its smaller, faster orbit. It’ll be at inferior conjunction – nearest the Earth-sun line – on January 8-9, 2022.

At inferior conjunction, Venus will officially leave our evening sky, and enter our morning sky.

You might catch Venus on January 3, as the moon sweeps past.

Mercury was nowhere to be found for most of December 2021. It was moving around the far side of the blinding sun, as seen from Earth. But on the last several evenings of the year, Mercury appears far enough from the sun on our sky’s dome to let us glimpse the planet, briefly, perhaps 30 minutes after sunset, in the sunset direction. You’ll need a sky that’s clear to the horizon in the sunset direction. On January 3, the thin waxing crescent moon will float near Mercury and the sunset horizon. It’ll help you this sometimes-elusive little planet.

In the first week of January 2022, Mercury will climb a little higher as it swings away from the sunset, approaching its greatest apparent distance from the sun in our sky – 19.2 degrees – on January 7. This is Mercury’s greatest eastern elongation.

Afterwards, Mercury will drop closer to the horizon each evening. It’ll quickly become lost in the bright twilight after mid-January. Much as Venus does on January 9, Mercury will fly between us and the sun on January 23. It’ll be lost in the solar glare after mid-January and for the rest of the month.

Jupiter is the 2nd-brightest planet. As January begins, and Venus disappears, Jupiter will become the evening sky’s brightest “star.” But Jupiter is also sinking toward the sunset glare. From mid-northern temperate latitudes, by the beginning of January, it will appear near the sunset point in early evening for only about 40 minutes after sunset.

Saturn is still near Jupiter in our sky, nearly a year after their late 2020 great conjunction. Saturn is fainter than Jupiter, and its faintness against a background of bright evening twilight will make it harder to spot. Saturn will be shining about as brightly as some of the brighter stars, though, such as Altair, which will be twinkling near Saturn on early January evenings.

Helping to positively identify Saturn and Jupiter, the thin crescent moon glows near them on the evenings of January 4 and 5.

Bottom line: It’ll be tough to spot Venus and Mercury near the moon in the bright western twilight on the evening of January 3, 2022. Jupiter and Saturn will be much easier to see on the evenings of January 4 and 5.

The post Moon and 4 planets after sunset January 3 to 5 first appeared on EarthSky.

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Following new moon on January 2, 2022, the young moon – a waxing crescent – will return to the west after sunset. It’ll pass 4 planets. Bright Venus will be exceedingly near the sunset glare. So will you see it? It’ll be hard. And Mercury, too, will be difficult to see when the moon passes by on January 3. But on January 4 and 5, if your sky is clear, you should easily see the young moon near Saturn and Jupiter. Chart by John Jardine Goss.

Moon and 4 planets in early January 2022

Venus spent December 2021 sliding sunward, dropping closer to the sunset point as western twilight darkens each day. As the year ends, you might catch Venus exceedingly near the sunset glare. But Venus will soon disappear entirely, for all but the most experienced and dedicated skywatchers. That’s because Venus is about to move between the Earth and sun in its smaller, faster orbit. It’ll be at inferior conjunction – nearest the Earth-sun line – on January 8-9, 2022.

At inferior conjunction, Venus will officially leave our evening sky, and enter our morning sky.

You might catch Venus on January 3, as the moon sweeps past.

Mercury was nowhere to be found for most of December 2021. It was moving around the far side of the blinding sun, as seen from Earth. But on the last several evenings of the year, Mercury appears far enough from the sun on our sky’s dome to let us glimpse the planet, briefly, perhaps 30 minutes after sunset, in the sunset direction. You’ll need a sky that’s clear to the horizon in the sunset direction. On January 3, the thin waxing crescent moon will float near Mercury and the sunset horizon. It’ll help you this sometimes-elusive little planet.

In the first week of January 2022, Mercury will climb a little higher as it swings away from the sunset, approaching its greatest apparent distance from the sun in our sky – 19.2 degrees – on January 7. This is Mercury’s greatest eastern elongation.

Afterwards, Mercury will drop closer to the horizon each evening. It’ll quickly become lost in the bright twilight after mid-January. Much as Venus does on January 9, Mercury will fly between us and the sun on January 23. It’ll be lost in the solar glare after mid-January and for the rest of the month.

Jupiter is the 2nd-brightest planet. As January begins, and Venus disappears, Jupiter will become the evening sky’s brightest “star.” But Jupiter is also sinking toward the sunset glare. From mid-northern temperate latitudes, by the beginning of January, it will appear near the sunset point in early evening for only about 40 minutes after sunset.

Saturn is still near Jupiter in our sky, nearly a year after their late 2020 great conjunction. Saturn is fainter than Jupiter, and its faintness against a background of bright evening twilight will make it harder to spot. Saturn will be shining about as brightly as some of the brighter stars, though, such as Altair, which will be twinkling near Saturn on early January evenings.

Helping to positively identify Saturn and Jupiter, the thin crescent moon glows near them on the evenings of January 4 and 5.

Bottom line: It’ll be tough to spot Venus and Mercury near the moon in the bright western twilight on the evening of January 3, 2022. Jupiter and Saturn will be much easier to see on the evenings of January 4 and 5.

The post Moon and 4 planets after sunset January 3 to 5 first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/3zjO3eH