WEBVTT

NOTE This file was exported by MacCaption version 8.0.00 to comply with the WebVTT specification dated March 23, 2013.

00:00:02.436 --> 00:00:04.404
[Preston] What's Up for January?

00:00:04.404 --> 00:00:06.607
 The planets have some
 close encounters,

00:00:06.874 --> 00:00:08.742
 the bright stars of winter

00:00:08.742 --> 00:00:11.178
and a chance to catch a comet.

00:00:11.778 --> 00:00:14.648
 All month after sunset,
 you can see four planets

00:00:14.648 --> 00:00:16.750
 without the aid of binoculars
 or a telescope.

00:00:17.217 --> 00:00:20.954
 You'll find Mars in the east,
 Jupiter high overhead

00:00:20.954 --> 00:00:23.123
 and Saturn in the southwest
 with Venus.

00:00:23.857 --> 00:00:27.160
 January 2nd finds the Moon
and Mars high in the southeast

00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:28.028
 after sunset,

00:00:28.395 --> 00:00:30.931
 in a lovely grouping
with the Pleiades and Aldebaran.

00:00:31.465 --> 00:00:35.602
 Then from about January
 18th to the 24th, watch Venus

00:00:35.602 --> 00:00:38.939
 cross paths with Saturn
 as the glow of sunset fades.

00:00:39.506 --> 00:00:41.508
 Look for the pair low
 in the southwest,

00:00:41.508 --> 00:00:44.478
about 45 minutes after the sun
 dips below the horizon.

00:00:45.078 --> 00:00:48.582
 The two planets appear
their closest on January 22nd,

00:00:48.582 --> 00:00:51.618
 when they'll be only a third
 of a degree apart on the sky.

00:00:51.985 --> 00:00:53.520
 You'll be able to capture
 both of them

00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:54.554
 in the same field of view

00:00:54.554 --> 00:00:56.556
 through binoculars
 or a small telescope.

00:00:56.990 --> 00:01:00.327
 On the 23rd, the two planets
 are still only a degree apart

00:01:00.327 --> 00:01:02.963
 and will be joined
 by a slim crescent Moon.

00:01:03.597 --> 00:01:06.767
 And on January 25th,
 looking to the southwest

00:01:06.767 --> 00:01:10.704
 30 to 45 minutes after sunset,
look high above Venus and Saturn

00:01:10.704 --> 00:01:12.739
 to find the Moon
 only a degree apart

00:01:12.739 --> 00:01:15.108
 from Jupiter,
 about halfway up the sky.

00:01:16.543 --> 00:01:19.913
 January nights
 are filled with bright stars.

00:01:20.414 --> 00:01:22.316
 Looking toward the south
 or southeast

00:01:22.316 --> 00:01:25.319
 in the first few hours after
 dark, you'll spy the bright

00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:27.888
 constellations of winter
 in the Northern Hemisphere.

00:01:28.455 --> 00:01:30.691
 Of course, there's Orion
 the hunter,

00:01:30.691 --> 00:01:33.961
 the big dog constellation
 Canis Major, and the lesser

00:01:33.961 --> 00:01:37.698
known little dog, Canis Minor,
 with its bright star Procyon.

00:01:38.231 --> 00:01:41.335
 And Y-shaped Taurus,
 the bull, includes

00:01:41.335 --> 00:01:44.171
the bright Hyades and Pleiades
 star clusters.

00:01:44.404 --> 00:01:45.639
 And just east of Orion,

00:01:45.639 --> 00:01:48.008
 you'll find the bright stars
 Castor and Pollux,

00:01:48.008 --> 00:01:50.477
 which form the heads
 of the twins in Gemini.

00:01:51.078 --> 00:01:53.580
 Make sure you take a moment
 to appreciate the beauty

00:01:53.580 --> 00:01:56.049
 of the January sky,
 which more than meets the

00:01:56.049 --> 00:01:59.419
 definition of “star studded,”
 with so much to marvel at.

00:02:00.754 --> 00:02:02.656
 A recently discovered comet

00:02:02.656 --> 00:02:05.158
 is now passing through
 the inner solar system

00:02:05.158 --> 00:02:07.060
 and should be visible
 with a telescope

00:02:07.060 --> 00:02:09.029
 and likely with binoculars.

00:02:09.029 --> 00:02:14.868
The comet, which has a mouthful
 of a name C/2022 E3 (ZTF) 

00:02:14.868 --> 00:02:16.803
 was first sighted
 in March last year

00:02:16.803 --> 00:02:18.872
 when it was already
 inside the orbit of Jupiter.

00:02:19.606 --> 00:02:22.609
 It makes its closest approach
 to the sun on January 12th

00:02:22.609 --> 00:02:25.345
 and then passes its closest
 to Earth on February 2nd.

00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:28.915
 Comets are notoriously
 unpredictable,

00:02:28.915 --> 00:02:31.518
 but if this one continues
its current trend in brightness,

00:02:31.518 --> 00:02:33.587
 it'll be easy to spot
 with binoculars,

00:02:33.854 --> 00:02:36.023
 and it's just possible
 it could become visible

00:02:36.023 --> 00:02:38.191
 to the unaided eye
 under dark skies.

00:02:38.792 --> 00:02:40.594
 Observers in the
 Northern Hemisphere

00:02:40.594 --> 00:02:41.395
 will find the comet

00:02:41.928 --> 00:02:44.431
in the morning sky as it moves
 swiftly toward the northwest

00:02:44.431 --> 00:02:45.732
 during January.

00:02:45.732 --> 00:02:46.600
 It'll become visible

00:02:46.867 --> 00:02:48.702
 in the Southern Hemisphere
 in early February.

00:02:49.302 --> 00:02:51.938
 This comet isn't expected
 to be quite the spectacle

00:02:51.938 --> 00:02:54.574
 that Comet
 NEOWISE was back in 2020.

00:02:54.941 --> 00:02:56.843
 But it's still an awesome
 opportunity

00:02:56.843 --> 00:02:58.245
 to make a personal connection

00:02:58.245 --> 00:03:01.615
 with an icy visitor from the
 distant outer solar system.

00:03:03.383 --> 00:03:06.219
 Here are the phases of
 the Moon for January.

00:03:07.954 --> 00:03:10.190
 Stay up to date
 with all of NASA's missions

00:03:10.190 --> 00:03:13.593
 to explore the solar system
 and beyond at nasa.gov.

00:03:14.061 --> 00:03:16.997
I'm Preston Dyches from NASA's
 Jet Propulsion Laboratory

00:03:16.997 --> 00:03:18.465
 and that's
 What's Up for this month.