January and February 2024’s Astronomical Events

Welcome to 2024, a new year, a new revolution around the sun! While last year we were able to observe beautiful planets, bright stars and meteor showers on clear nights, the new year will have all of that and more in store for us. Even better, as part of the sun’s 11-year emission cycle, this year will bring some of the strongest and brightest northern lights we’ve ever seen. So far, we have started the year strong by experiencing the Quadrantid Meteor Shower, Saturn up close, and the first full moon of the year.

On the night of January 3, into the early hours of the morning of January 4, stargazers in the northern hemisphere were able to watch the peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower. Between 1 and 5 am, nearly 100 meteors were spotted shooting through the sky and lighting up the sky. 

On January 13, the two bright dots visible in the sky were the moon and Saturn, a beautiful pairing of our classic moon and the unique ringed planet. Throughout the entire month, Saturn was relatively visible in the sky to the naked eye, but the intricacies of the rings were only visible through a telescope.

Near the end of the month, we saw January’s full moon. The Wolf Moon appeared on the night of the 25th and marked the first full moon of the year. According to NASA, the name comes from packs of hungry wolves that were hungry during the midwinter season. 

Continuing the beautiful uniqueness of the January night sky, February will have many lovely astronomical events for us to observe. On February 7, we will be able to see Venus shining bright in the sky, joining the moon in the Sagittarius constellation. On February 9, the month’s New Moon will occur! You can follow February’s moon phases with the schedule below:

Be sure to keep an eye out for these incredible events!