What’s visible in January 2013?

Sky map for January 2013

Sky map for January 2013

The Sun

1st January 2013 6th January 2013 11th January 2013 16th January 2013 21st January 2013 26th January 2013 31st January 2013
Sunrise 08:28 UTC 08:26 UTC 08:23 UTC 08:19 UTC 08:14 UTC 08:07 UTC 07:59 UTC
Sunset 16:03 UTC 16:10 UTC 16:17 UTC 16:25 UTC 16:34 UTC 16:43 UTC 16:52 UTC

The Moon

Last Quarter New Moon First Quarter Full Moon
5th January 2013 11th January 2013 18th January 2013 27th January 2013
03:59 UTC 19:44 UTC 23:46 UTC 04:39 UTC

Planets

Mercury

Mercury is just about visible before dawn at the beginning of January (below and to the left of Venus), then again at the end of January just after sunset (below and to the left of Mars).

Venus

Venus is now becoming harder to spot as it ends its morning apparition and  gets closer to the Sun in the pre-dawn sky. For the first half of January, look for it in the south-east at about an hour before dawn. During the second half of January it rises closer and closer to sunrise, until by the end of the month it will be lost in the glare of the Sun.

Mars

Mars can be seen low in the western sky after sunset at an elevation of about 10°.
On 12th January 2013, a slim crescent Moon (about 1-day old) can be seen nearby.

Jupiter

Jupiter is still very prominent in the evening and night sky this month, and can be found in the constellation of Taurus, near Aldeberan. It’s a good time to look at Jupiter as it’s high in the sky with an elevation of about 60°, and so is less affected by atmospheric haze.
A conjunction on the night of the 21st January 2013 will see Jupiter and the Moon less than 2° apart.

Saturn

At the start of January, Saturn rises at about 03:00 UTC and is in the constellation of Virgo, however by the end of the month it will have moved into Libra and be rising at about 01:00 UTC.

As Saturn reaches Greatest Western Quadrature (when it is westernmost of the Sun, as viewed from Earth) at the end of the month, it will be possible to see the shadow of the rings cast onto the planet’s disc.