Look up! 5 celestial events to watch in January 2023

Sky guide A meteor shower, a solar phenomenon, and more. by Jennifer Walter Updated: Feb. 20, 2024 Originally Published: Jan. 1, 2023 Future Publishing/Future Publishing/Getty Images

It’s 2023, and with the new year comes a new calendar of wondrous celestial events.

Sarote Impheng / 500px/500Px Plus/Getty Images

This month, keep an eye out for a spectacular meteor shower, a yearly solar phenomenon, and the meeting of two bright planets.

Daniel Garrido/Moment/Getty Images Here are 5 skywatching highlights for January:

5. Quadrantids meteor shower Major meteor showers are sparse until spring, so don’t miss the Quadrantids in early January. picture alliance/picture alliance/Getty Images

Only about 25 meteors pass through in the sky every hour, but the Quadrantids are known to produce bright fireballs.

picture alliance/picture alliance/Getty Images The shower peaks on the evening of Jan. 3 and is visible until Jan. 16 .

4. Earth at perihelion On January 4, our planet will reach the point in its slightly-lopsided orbit where it is closest to the Sun, called perihelion. NASA/SDO

The change is barely noticeable to the naked eye (and not worth burning your retinas to stare at).

NASA/SDO The Sun appears larger at perihelion than any other time of year — but only by 3.6 percent from Earth’s farthest point from the Sun.

3. Full Moon Instead of staring at the Sun, wait until January 17 to gaze at the first Full Moon of the new year. Shutterstock

Daniel Garrido/Moment/Getty Images January’s full Moon is also known as the Wolf Moon , due to the oft-heard calls of wolf packs howling to each other in North American winters.

2. Mercury shines bright January will be a fantastic month to spot Mercury, especially from the Southern Hemisphere. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington Around the middle of the month, the planet will rise just before dawn and reach its highest altitude on January 23. On January 30, Mercury hits its greatest elongation with the Sun. From there, it will grow brighter into early February for a spectacular early-morning sight.

1. Venus and Saturn close approach Just after sunset on January 22 , you can catch a glimpse of these two planets nestled close together. Marina Vukovic / EyeEm/EyeEm/Getty Images

Afterward, Saturn will continue to sink toward the horizon, and Venus will rise higher as the days pass.

Marina Vukovic / EyeEm/EyeEm/Getty Images They start to become a visible pair on January 20, but will be at their closest point on January 22.