Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 6, 2025

Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report.

MONDAY, JANUARY 6

■ First-quarter Moon (exactly first-quarter at 6:56 p.m. EST). Find the Great Square of Pegasus to the Moon’s upper right shortly after dark, and directly right of the Moon later. A diagonal through the Square points at the Moon (for evening in North America).

TUESDAY, JANUARY 7

■ After dinnertime now, the enormous Andromeda-Pegasus complex runs from near the zenith down toward the western horizon. Just west of the zenith, spot Andromeda’s high foot: 2nd-magnitude Gamma Andromedae (Almach), slightly orange. Andromeda is standing on her head. About halfway down from the zenith to the west horizon is the Great Square of Pegasus, balancing on one corner. Andromeda’s head is its top corner.

From its bottom corner run the stars outlining Pegasus’s neck and head, ending at his nose: 2nd-magnitude Enif, due west. It too is slightly orange.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8

■ The big Northern Cross in Cygnus, topped by Deneb, is nearly upright in the west-northwest right after full darkness falls. Another hour or so and it’s standing on the horizon. How straight up it stands depends on your latitude.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 9

■ The Moon occults several of the Pleiades early this evening for North America; later in the night for Europe. The stars will snap out of view on the dark limb of the 82% sunlit waxing gibbous Moon, then reappear from behind the bright limb up to an hour or more later. Eastern and central North America will get the most events. Farther west, it will still be daylight or bright twilight for some of them.

Binoculars may serve for a few of the disappearances, but a telescope will be much better. The reappearances on the bright limb may be difficult even with a telescope depending on the quality of the seeing.

The brightest Pleiad is Alcyone (Eta Tauri), magnitude 2.8.

The waxing gibbous Moon occults many of the Pleiades on the evening of January 9th for various parts of North America. The Moon passes Jupiter and Aldebaran on the 10th, then the Horns of Taurus on the 11th, as it waxes toward full. (Note, the Moon here is always drawn about three times its actual apparent size.)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 10

■ Now the Moon shines in line with Jupiter and Aldebaran, as shown above. How exactly in line? That will depend on your time and location. Watch the straightness of the line change hour by hour. Every hour the Moon moves by nearly its own diameter eastward against the stars.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 11

■ Now the Moon, two days from full, forms a triangle with Beta and fainter Zeta Tauri, the Bull’s horntip stars, as shown above.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 12

■ At this coldest time of the year, Sirius rises around the end of twilight. Orion’s three-star Belt points down almost to its rising place. After Sirius clears the horizon, it twinkles slowly and deeply through the thick layers of low atmosphere, then faster and more shallowly as it gains altitude. Its flashes of color also moderate and blend into shimmering whiteness as it climbs to shine through thinner air.

  Jan. 6-12: The Moon in the Pleiades on the 9th, The Sky