Sky watchers have a chance to catch a planetary parade

During January, star gazers can view four of five planets with their naked eyes in the morning sky (Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn). In the final days of the month, Mercury joins the party, making it possible, at around 6 a.m., to see all five planets at the same time with the naked eye.

The breakdowns are:

Jupiter: In early January, Jupiter rises in the east at 11:30 p.m. and is high in the south at daybreak. At the end of January, it rises in the east by 9:30 p.m. and shines in the southwest as day dawns. The planet shines at minus 2 magnitude, brighter than any star.

Venus: Throughout the month, Venus hovers low in the eastern sky before daybreak. At minus 4 magnitude, it outshines all other sky dots. Venus rises at 4:20 a.m. in early January and is about one-fourth of the way up the eastern sky as day breaks at 6 a.m. By Jan. 31, Venus rises around 5 a.m., and is 20 degrees above the eastern horizon, or about the width of two fists, at dawn.

Saturn: The ringed planet rises at 5 a.m. in the east in early January, and by 3 a.m. at the end of the month. The planet is quite bright, at 0.5 magnitude, and the much-brighter Venus can be used to spot it. From Jan. 1-8, Saturn is found just below Venus, which is the brightest sky dot; for the rest of the month, look for Saturn above Venus.

Mars: The red planet rises in the east at 2 a.m. in early January, and at 1 a.m. at the end of the month. Mars is still a rather dim amber dot, at 1.25 magnitude. To find Mars, draw a line between the two brightest dots in the sky, Venus (near the horizon in the predawn hours) and Jupiter (high in the south). Mars is the slightly-red dot halfway between the brighter planets. Mars is just to the left of the slightly brighter light of the star Spica at the start of January, and 20 degrees (“two fists”) to the left of Spica by the end of the month. There is a nice contrast between the orange-ish color of Mars and the bluish-white color of Spica.

Mercury: Mercury begins the month in the evening sky, hovering low in the west for the first few days of January. Look for it right where the sun went down; it shines around zero magnitude, but can be hard to spot because it’s not dark enough to see it until 6:30 p.m., and because it sets by 7:15 p.m.

While we lose Mercury from the evening sky by Jan. 5, it pops up in the morning sky at the end of the month. In the last days of January, Mercury rises in the east around 5:30 a.m. and is washed out by the rising sun at 6:30 a.m., as it’s about 10 degrees (“one fist”) above the eastern horizon. In this morning appearance, Mercury hangs below brighter Venus.

As interesting as the planets are individually, it’s the parade of them in the predawn sky that really stands out in January .

Early in January, around 6 a.m., look for the blazing light of Jupiter high in the south; it will be three-quarters of the way between the south horizon and the very top of the sky. From Jupiter, look over to the eastern horizon. Find the planet Venus; at 6 a.m. it will be about 20 degrees above the eastern horizon, or the width of two of your fists held at arm’s length. At minus 4 magnitude, it is by far the brightest dot in the sky.

Saturn appears about 8 degrees (slightly less than one fist’s diameter) below Venus, shining at 0.5 magnitude. Much as Mars is paired with a star to its right, so is Saturn; look just to the right of Saturn and you’ll find the reddish star Antares.

By Jan. 7, the planet Venus will appear close to Saturn. Just before daybreak on Jan. 7, find Venus low in the west at 6 a.m. Saturn will be just below Venus. Look below Saturn for a tiny sliver of a very old crescent moon.

On Jan. 8, Venus and Saturn will be in a tight gathering, with Venus only about one-third of a degree (less than a moon’s width) above Saturn. On the following morning, Jan. 9, Venus will be about one-third of a degree below Saturn. In fact, Saturn and Venus will appear to be closer to each other on this morning than at any time in the past 10 years.

As the month continues, Venus will appear a little lower in the predawn sky each day, but will remain easy to find due to its brightness. The other planets span the morning sky. From Jan. 9-27, look for Venus near the horizon; then Saturn, Mars and Jupiter as they go higher and higher in the sky.

From Jan. 28-31, spectators have the chance to see all five planets at once.

Go out around 6 a.m. Find Venus low in the east. It will be about one fist’s diameter above the horizon and incredibly bright. Look down below Venus, and you will find Mercury, just rising at 6 a.m. and shining brightly at 0.3 magnitude. Mercury rises at 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 31 and is lost in the breaking day by 6:30 a.m., so you only have an hour to catch it.

Draw a line from Venus, which is again low in the east, to Jupiter, which is high in the southwest. Jupiter will be the only dot of light that is brighter than Venus. Along that long line between the two brilliant planets, look for Mars, which will be almost halfway between Venus and Jupiter, and for Saturn, halfway between Mars and Venus.

As with the start of the month, the waning moon can again help mark the planets at the end of January. On Jan. 28, the moon is just to the left of Jupiter; on Jan. 28 and 29, the moon is between Jupiter and Mars; and on Jan. 31, the moon is just to the right of Mars.

Meteor shower

The Quadrantid Meteor shower also occurs in January. Best viewing for this annual shower should be in the predawn hours on Jan. 4 (12:01 a.m. until dawn). While there is a waning crescent moon rising at 2:30 a.m., it should not provide much interference with viewing. In a dark location you could see up to 20 meteors per hour. To view this, or any, meteor shower, just find a dark location and get comfortable.

Laser light show

Bishop Museum’s J. Watumull Planetarium rented a high-quality laser-light system and has been offering shows for three months. It is the first laser-light show in a dome anywhere on the island, and it ends Jan. 3.

For more information on day and evening laser shows, and for evening show reservations, visit bishopmuseum.org/planetarium/lasers.html.