When to Watch the Eclipse of the Moon The Night Sky This Week: Seven Stars While Venus Shines
Every Monday, I select the week’s celestial highlights for North America, which also extend to the northern hemisphere’s mid-northern latitudes. For more in-depth articles on eclipses, astronomy, stargazing, and other topics, see my main feed.
This Week’s Night Sky: January 6–12, 2025.
Being an inner planet in relation to Earth, Venus never seems “full” to us because, from our vantage point, it never receives the full light of the sun. But as it approaches Earth, as it is at this moment, something else occurs: it transforms into a crescent that is smaller, brighter, and ever-larger. Use a small telescope to observe Venus, which is brilliant in the southwest after midnight, as it gets smaller and brighter over the course of the next month or two.
Here is all you need to know this week about astronomy and stargazing, from the moon’s first of many occultations of the Pleiades open star cluster to our natural satellite approaching Jupiter:
January 6th: First Quarter Moon Monday.
The moon is currently in its first quarter, which is when it seems to be half-lit from Earth. At this point in the early evening, the moonlight starts to illuminate the night skies so intensely that it becomes harder to see stars.
A full moon is approaching, which means a brilliant moon will be in the sky as night falls, so while stargazing is still important, don’t worry about faint constellations or schedule a vacation to a dark sky this week or next.
The Moon Occults Pleiades on Thursday, January 9.
The Pleiades (pronounced “plee-er-deez”), an open cluster of seven bright stars (hence the nickname “Seven Sisters”), is one of the most stunning views in the night sky. It is located near the ecliptic, which is the sun’s apparent journey through our daytime sky. The moon occasionally obscures the Pleiades because it orbits Earth at an angle of roughly five degrees to the ecliptic.
As soon as it gets dark, look high above east to observe a waxing gibbous moon that is 81% lighted next to the Pleiades. Over the next three or four hours, it will appear to travel over its stars. Use binoculars since the moon will be quite brilliant.
The moon will experience multiple Pleiades occultations in 2025, continuing its nearly six-year trend.
Venus is the planet furthest from the sun on Thursday, January 9.
Venus will be 47 degrees east of the sun today, its greatest angular separation. As long as it remains visible in the sky during its current apparition, that is. After sunset, look west.
Jupiter and the Moon Conjunct on Friday, January 10.
Today, the new 90% waxing gibbous moon will travel near the bright planet Jupiter after occulting the Pleiades. The red supergiant star Aldebaran, the eye of the bull in the constellation Taurus, can be reached by traveling approximately the same distance in a straight line from the moon to Jupiter once more. The Pleiades are also visible in the area.
Jan. 11, Saturday: Venus at Dichotomy.
Now is a good time to mount a small telescope on Venus after sunset because it has entered its dichotomy, or half-lit phase. After sunset, it will be visible in the southwest sky.
This week’s topic is the Pleiades.
The Pleiades, the nearest open star cluster to the solar system, will be obscured by the moon this week. This will be a breathtaking sight to see with the unaided eye and with binoculars. You can see roughly six stars making the shape of a “mini Big Dipper” if you look directly at it. You can see a luminous patch of mist on its side, which represents the combined brightness of over 800 newborn blue stars. About 444 light-years separate the Pleiades’ stars.