Overview
- Jupiter reaches opposition on January 10, shining all night as the month’s brightest planet, while Saturn is confined to early evening and fades in visibility.
- Earth passes perihelion on January 3 at 18:15 CET, a routine orbital milestone unrelated to winter temperatures.
- The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks around January 3, but a concurrent full Moon will wash out many fainter meteors, leaving fewer visible than usual.
- Two comets, C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) and 240P/NEAT, appear near Uranus in the Aries–Taurus evening region in early January, with 3I/ATLAS fading and becoming difficult after the start of the month.
- A dense run of lunar occultations favors Central Europe late in the month, including HIP 223ab on Jan 23, a Mu Arietis graze across Germany on Jan 26, a Taygeta graze in northern Switzerland on Jan 27, twin grazes on Jan 28, and HIP 27629 on Jan 29.