New moon, Mars and a meteor shower, first month of 2022 has a lot happening in skies – India Today

With comet Leonard brightening the night skies in December, accompanied by the Geminid meteor showers, stargazers are in for new celestial events donning the night skies in 2022. The first month of the new year will have it all from a new moon being accompanied by Mars to a meteor shower streaking past.

The stargazing will commence after January 2 as the night sky become full of unique events in the new year. January will be ideal for spotting planets and stars in the skies since a few nights before and after the new moon are going to be the darkest.

Here's what's all is happening in January:

2022 will begin with the new moon rising in night skies after January 2, when it is aligned with the Sun with Earth on the opposite side. However, we cannot see the new moon since the alignment of the Sun, the Moon, and Earth leaves the side of the Moon that faces Earth in darkness and the new moon comes up during the daytime, closer to the glare from the sun rendering it mostly invisible.

New moon nights are optimal for stargazing since the nights are dark. Meanwhile, it brings with it high tides due to the higher gravitational pull of the lunar body. During the new moon phase, its gravitational force combines with that of the Sun to raise ocean waters in the same direction with increased speed and currents.

With the new moon rising, the Quadrantid meteor shower will peak on the night of January 2 and January 3 morning. The meteor showers produce enough fireballs for us to see and in 2022 the peak coincides with the new moon, making for great viewing conditions, provided the skies are clear.

According to Nasa, the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Botes, which includes the bright star Arcturus. the best viewing will be after midnight, once Botes rises above your local horizon. The source of the Quadrantids is thought to be the asteroid 2003 EH1, which might actually be an extinct comet.

January will end with Mars coming close to the Moon and will be visible in the morning skies. Joining the pair in the southeastern sky will be Venus. Having left the evening skies last month, Venus is now rising before the Sun as the "Morning Star." The Red Planet is slowly coming into our view after emerging from behind the Sun, during which all communication with rovers and probes on the planet were shut.

Nasa said that Mars will continue to brighten and climb higher over the next few months, where it'll have super-close conjunctions with Saturn and Jupiter.

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New moon, Mars and a meteor shower, first month of 2022 has a lot happening in skies - India Today