The Sun’s Embrace: Earth’s Cosmic Dance at Its Nearest Point

The Sun descends towards the Pacific Ocean in this breathtaking image captured from the International Space Station. Earth reaches perihelion, the nearest point to the Sun in our year-long elliptical orbit, early this week. Credit: NASA

Friday, January 3
Asteroid 14 Irene attains opposition at 2 A.M. EST in the northwestern region of Gemini the Twins. This magnitude 9.6 main-belt object is observable nearly all night, from sunset until dawn, found approximately midway between the stars Tau (τ) and Epsilon (ε) Geminorum. Irene was the 14th asteroid located in the main belt, first seen by John Russell Hind in May 1851. It is a somewhat spherical body about 90 miles (150 kilometers) across.

Moreover, asteroid 2 Pallas is in conjunction with the Sun at 3 A.M. EST, making this celestial body currently unobservable. 

The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks this morning under exceptional conditions, with no Moon present in the night sky. This shower is renowned for generating numerous meteors beyond its peak, so you may catch shooting stars linked to it for several more days. You can anticipate around 25 to 30 meteors per hour early this morning during the peak, with increased meteor activity likely continuing this evening and into the following morning as well.

The radiant of the Quadrantids resides in the now-defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis, an area of the sky now occupied by Boötes. It is highest in the hours before dawn and sets in the evening shortly after sunset. 

Lastly, the Moon passes 1.4° south of Venus at 10 A.M. EST. Although neither is visible at that moment, they can be spotted in the evening sky, now 3.4° apart and 30° high towards the south at sunset. The crescent Moon is positioned to the upper right of the brilliant magnitude –4.4 Venus, creating a magnificent view that will last for hours. The duo will dominate the early evening sky long after the sunset, finally vanishing beneath the western horizon about four hours after the Sun has set. Take your time admiring the pair with binoculars, a telescope, or your camera. 

Sunrise: 7:22 A.M.
Sunset: 4:47 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:07 A.M.
Moonset: 9:03 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (17%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are provided in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is measured at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.

Saturday, January 4
Earth arrives at perihelion this morning at 8 A.M. EST, when our planet’s somewhat elliptical orbit takes us to our nearest point to the Sun for the year. On this day, we are merely 91.4 million miles (147 million km) distant from our star.

The Moon traverses 0.7° north of 1st-magnitude Saturn at noon EST; by sunset, the two are separated by 3°, with the Moon situated to Saturn’s upper left in the sky, and bright Venus located to the ringed planet’s lower right. Again, it presents a beautiful scene for astrophotographers, particularly if earthshine is present on the Moon, illuminating the parts of its darkened near side still cast in Earth’s shadow. 

Focusing on the illuminated section of our satellite with a telescope, you’ll easily identify the small, dark round area of Mare Crisium. To its north lies a large, oval-shaped crater spanning roughly 80 miles (130 km): Cleomedes. Inside this crater is a long, slender linear feature referred to as a rille. Known as Rima Cleomedes, this lighter-colored groove will be visible under high magnification and during periods of good seeing, set within the northeastern part of Cleomedes near several small craters marring the larger crater’s floor.

Sunrise: 7:22 A.M.
Sunset: 4:48 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:33 A.M.
Moonset: 10:15 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (26%)

Sunday, January 5
The Moon now progresses into Pisces and is positioned 1.1° north of Neptune at 10 A.M. EST. By evening, our satellite has moved more than 4.5° from Neptune, appearing to the ice giant’s upper left. Presently, Saturn and Venus, both positioned in Aquarius, lie to the far lower right of the crescent Moon. 

Wait for the sky to darken following sunset before using binoculars or a telescope to locate the solar system’s most distant planet, which is not visible to the naked eye. Neptune currently forms a pleasant triangle with the stars 20 and 24 Piscium, which shine at magnitudes 5.5 and 5.9, respectively. The gas giant is considerably fainter at magnitude 7.8, marking the apex of the triangle if using optics that do not alter the orientation of the view (like binoculars). The trio is situated near the southwestern edge of Pisces, approximately 4.7° southeast of magnitude 4.5 Lambda (λ) Psc. 

Sunrise: 7:22 A.M.
Sunset: 4:49 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:56 A.M.
Moonset: 11:27 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (36%)

Monday, January 6
The First Quarter Moon takes place at 6:56 P.M. EST. The Moon hangs in Pisces close to the 4th-magnitude star Epsilon Psc this evening and remains visible until just after midnight. 

In the east, the frosty moon Europa transits across Jupiter’s face tonight, starting around 8:25 P.M. EST. The brilliant planet is straightforward to locate, shining at magnitude –2.7 to the upper right of Aldebaran, the 1st-magnitude red giant marking the eye of Taurus the Bull. 

Through a telescope, one can observe Europa moving westward across Jupiter’s disk. Just before 10 P.M. EST, the small, dark spot of the moon’s shadow appears at the southeastern edge, following the moon’s path. Europa itself exits the southwestern edge roughly an hour later, at 11 P.M. EST, while the shadow lingers until about 12:30 A.M. EST (now early on the 7th in the Eastern time zone) before disappearing. 

Sunrise: 7:22 A.M.
Sunset: 4:50 P.M.
Moonrise: 11:20 A.M.
Moonset: —
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (47%)

Tuesday, January 7
Early birds are in for a delight this morning, as the planet Mercury is positioned close to the Trifid (M20) and Lagoon (M8) nebulae in the southeastern sky moments before dawn today.

Approximately 40 minutes prior to sunrise, the magnitude –0.4 planet is roughly 5° up. A small telescope should reveal the planet’s 85-percent-illuminated phase. With your finder scope or a pair of binoculars, explore the region about 2° east and southeast of the planet. There, you may detect the stars associated with M20 and M8, respectively. The nebulae themselves will be too dim to discern in the brightening sky.

Additionally, nearby and ascending about 30 minutes after Mercury in the east is Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS). Approaching perihelion — its closest point to the Sun in its orbit — on the 13th, the comet has been becoming brighter and was recently tracked at around 5th magnitude. You may catch sight of it with binoculars or a telescope about 5° southeast (to the lower left) of Mercury this morning. Be aware that the comet may have intensified in brightness since the time of writing — stay alert to Astronomy.com for further details on how to observe it if that is the case.

The Moon attains perigee, the nearest point to Earth in its orbit, at 7:01 P.M. EST this evening. At that moment, our satellite will be located 230,013 miles (370,170 km) away.

Sunrise: 7:22 A.M.
Sunset: 4:51 P.M.
Moonrise: 11:45 A.M.
Moonset: 12:38 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (59%)

Wednesday, January 8
Emerging in the east as the Sun descends is the deep red carbon star R Leporis, commonly referred to as Hind’s Crimson Star. Approximately two hours after sunset, you’ll see this star about 20° up, positioned roughly 7.5° to the right of the bright magnitude 0.2 Rigel, Orion’s knee.

Nevertheless, the distinction here is that you won’t be able to perceive this star without optical assistance. This is due to R Lep being a variable star whose magnitude fluctuates from 5.5 to 11.7 over approximately 427 days. At present, it’s approaching the faint end of that scale, recently sighted at magnitude 10, which means you’ll need a telescope to observe it. (When at its most luminous, however, the star is barely visible to the naked eye.)

Carbon stars appear such a vivid red as the plentiful carbon compounds in their atmospheres absorb shorter wavelengths of light (the blue and green sections of the spectrum) more efficiently, allowing primarily longer-wavelength red light to penetrate. Hind’s Variable Star was uncovered by John Russell Hind in 1845 — the same astronomer who discovered asteroid 14 Irene, which we observed earlier this week.

Sunrise: 7:22 A.M.
Sunset: 4:52 P.M.
Moonrise: 12:14 P.M.
Moonset: 1:53 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (70%)

Thursday, January 9
The Moon journeys 4° north of Uranus at 11 A.M. EST, having transitioned from Aries (where Uranus resides) into Taurus.

A few hours afterward, the Moon obscures several stars in the Pleiades star cluster (M45), observable in all time zones except Pacific, where the occurrence happens during daylight. The farther east you are, the darker the sky will be as Luna appears to drift in front of the brilliant cluster from our perspective.

The precise timing of the occurrence significantly relies on your location — the International Occultation Timing Association’s website for 2025 bright star occultations contains links to detailed lists of disappearance and reappearance times by city. (Note, this event takes place on January 10 UTC, so click on the occultations displayed for that date.)

Observers in the eastern U.S. will probably witness 4th-magnitude Electra vanish first behind the Moon’s edge around 7 P.M. EST. Approximately 20 minutes later, a similarly bright Merope disappears. In parts of the Midwest, the Moon narrowly misses Electra, making Merope the first star to fade around 6 P.M. CST. A little over half an hour later, Alcyone fades, followed by Atlas and Pleione about 45 minutes later. If you possess a small telescope, you can observe even more stars disappear as the Moon obscures several 7th-magnitude stars in this area as well.

Venus achieves its greatest eastern elongation at midnight EST, now at a distance of 47° from the Sun.

Sunrise: 7:22 A.M.
Sunset: 4:53 P.M.
Moonrise: 12:49 P.M.
Moonset: 3:08 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (79%)

Friday, January 10
Gliding through Taurus, the Moon crosses 5° north of Jupiter at 6 P.M. EST. The two will be visible nearly all night, with bright Jupiter remaining prominent even as the Moon approaches about 90 percent Full this evening. Indeed, the magnitude –2.7 planet gives the impression that the Bull has two eyes, positioned to the upper left of the red giant Aldebaran, Taurus’ most brilliant star.

To the lower left of Taurus lies Gemini, its two brightest stars forming an almost vertical arrangement as they rise. At the “top” is magnitude 1.6 Castor, while below it is magnitude 1.2 Pollux. Carefully compare their colors — can you perceive that Castor appears more blue-white compared to Pollux, which radiates a yellow tint? Below these two stars and slightly to the left is a significantly brighter red point of light — this is magnitude –1.3 Mars, which approaches opposition on the 15th. The Red Planet now appears 15” across in the sky, with the massive canyon Valles Marineris discernible roughly centrally on the disk around 9 P.M. local time in the central U.S.

Sunrise: 7:22 A.M.
Sunset: 4:54 P.M.
Moonrise: 1:32 P.M.
Moonset: 4:24 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (88%)

Sky This Week is partially sponsored by Celestron.