January 23, 2024: A January planet parade is visible during the nighttime hours. Bright planets, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are visible during the night.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:11 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:54 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Summaries of Current Sky Events
Summary for Venus as a Morning Star, 2023-24
Here is today’s planet forecast:
Morning Sky
Planet Parade
The planet parade begins before sunrise. Forty-five minutes before daybreak, brilliant Venus is low in the southeast, about 10° above the horizon. The planet rises over two hours before daybreak and has lost fifty minutes of rising time compared to sunrise since New Year’s Day.
Look for Antares, over 20° to the upper right of Venus and the same distance above the south-southeast horizon.
Two mornings ago, it crossed the boundary from Ophiuchus to Sagittarius. The Sagittarian’s stars are not bright but two conjunctions occur soon that are visible through a binocular. The Morning Star passes Kaus Borealis, also known as Lambda Sagittarii, in five mornings, and Nunki, known as Sigma Sagittarii, on February 2nd.
Mercury and Mars
Mercury is still a morning planet, but disappearing into brighter twilight. It is bright enough to be seen through a binocular when looking toward a clear, unobstructed southeast horizon.
Mars is making its way into the eastern morning sky. Mercury passes by in a close conjunction in four mornings.
Evening Sky
Bright Moon with Gemini
The bright gibbous moon, 97% illuminated, is one-third of the way from the east-northeast horizon to overhead at one hour after sundown. The Full phase, known as the Wolf moon this month, occurs at 11:54 a.m. CST on the 25th.
This evening, it is in front of Gemini’s stars, near the Twins, 8.2° to the upper right of Castor and 9.3° to the upper right of Pollux.
With this moonlight, mainly the sky’s brightest stars are visible. Betelgeuse, Orion’s shoulder, is nearly the same altitude as the moon in the east-southeast.
Procyon, the Little Dog Star, is about 10° up in the east and over 20° to the lower right of the lunar orb. Tomorrow evening this star rises at sunset.
The Dog Star, Sirius, is visible at this hour, low in the east-southeast. It is likely twinkling wildly, from the changing air currents of the winter night. This star rises at sunset in six evenings.
Jupiter
Farther westward at this hour, Jupiter is high in the southern sky. It moves eastward in front of Aries, 11.1° to the lower left of Hamal and 14.0° to the upper right of Menkar. While not in the same binocular field with Jupiter, Menkar is dimmed by the moonlight. Use the optical assist to see the star.
Saturn
Saturn is slowly heading toward bright evening twilight in the western sky. At this hour, it is over 15° above the west-southwest horizon. It sets nearly three hours after the sun.
The star Fomalhaut assists with Saturn’s identification. It is nearly 20° to Saturn’s lower left and over 5° above the horizon. However, Fomalhaut soon disappears into the blurring and dimming effects from the thick layer of atmosphere near the horizon.
Jupiter sets in the west-northwest about five hours after Saturn sets and after midnight. The moon appears farther westward, appearing low in the west-northwest an hour before daybreak tomorrow morning.
January’s planet parade begins tomorrow morning again, when Venus is visible above the southeast horizon during morning twilight.
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