You Can See the Moon, Venus, and Saturn Have a Close Encounter This Weekend
Venus and Saturn follow their conjunction by having an encounter with the moon.
It is quite a month for anyone hoping to get an easy view of the planets around the solar system. Five planets visible to the naked eye appear just after dusk each night in January.
The last few nights, Venus and Saturn have been getting closer and closer to each other. On the night of January 22, the two will be at their closest. They will be just a third of a degree apart, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The next night, on January 23, Venus and Saturn are just a little further apart and will be joined by the crescent moon, creating a beautiful tableau in the night sky.
To see the trio making friends, just step out and look to the southwest after dusk. Venus and Saturn sit relatively close to the horizon, but they should be easy to spot since you can simply look for the moon. The planets will be the bright objects sitting near the crescent moon, which will be slim, having just past its new phase on January 21.
The moon will start to pull away from the planets the following night, moving toward a meet-up with Jupiter on January 25. It's another chance to see the moon have a close encounter with a planet in our solar system.
Ready to go stargazing?
Here are all the best stargazing events that you can get out and see this year or you could stay in a stream the northern lights from home. If you're just getting started, check out our guide to astronomy for beginners or easy stargazing road trips from big US cities.