Stargazers can celebrate the new year by looking up at one of the briefest meteor showers of the year.
On the first five days of 2025, the Quadrantid meteor shower will streak across the sky with a peak of 40 shooting stars per hour. But January’s headliner is Mars, which will be at its biggest and brightest for the year. Astronomy buffs can also see star clusters throughout the month.
Frank Bifulco, board member of the Rockland Astronomy Club, said January is good for stargazing because celestial objects appear much earlier in the evening. “The bad thing is it’s cold out, and that’s the trade-off with the winter,” he added.
As soon as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, revelers can look up and see the yellow and white stars of the Beehive star cluster in the southern portion of the sky, right in the center of the constellation Canis Major, which is just below the brightest star in the heavens, Sirius.
The bluish Pleiades and yellowish Hyades are two visible star clusters in the Taurus constellation during the early-evening hours this month. On Jan. 9, the moon will appear to the right of the Pleiades.
“The Pleiades are a super-bright blue,” said Kat Troche, a NASA solar system ambassador. “It’s one of the well-known, well-studied star clusters.”
In January, planets are rising earlier and more visible. On Jan. 3, Venus will appear to the bottom right side of the moon after sunset. The hottest planet in our solar system will continue to be one of the brightest objects in the night sky, appearing in the western portion of the heavens.
“Venus is so bright. You can see it in Midtown Manhattan, not a problem at all,” Bifulco said.
Saturn will also be visible. On Jan. 4 the gas giant will appear beneath and to the right of the moon.
But Mars is the leading act among the planets. On Jan. 13, it will have an occultation when it begins to move behind the moon at 9:21 p.m. and then reappear on the other side just over an hour later. Occultations are a rare sight in New York City.
Three days later, Earth’s neighbor will be in opposition, meaning it will be at its closest distance to our planet. Mars will be fully illuminated by the sun.
“Mars is going to be very easy to find because it’s going to be right near the moon,” Troche said. “It’ll be this bright-red color. You cannot miss it.”
Stargazers willing to brave the cold can check out the nonprofit Amateur Astronomers Association’s Jan. 7 sidewalk event with telescopes in Brooklyn.