What's in the sky in January 2024? Astronomical events to keep your eye out for including meteor showers

January is a fresh start filled with resolutions, promises for the future, and a new year. This month also means a new trip around the same old Sun - with a myriad of surprises in the night sky to keep us in awe. 

There are a few things to keep an eye out for in January, but there are three main things to look out for - including the Moon in the Pleiades and the peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower. Here is everything you need to know. 

What is in the sky in January 2024?

3-4 January: The first few days of January bring the Quadrantid meteor shower, which peaks overnight between 3 and 4 January. It will only last a few hours and comes from the debris left behind by an asteroid, 2003 EH1, which has a 5.5-year orbit around the Sun. If conditions are ideal, the Quadrantids have a maximum rate of 110 meteors per hour. The waning crescent Moon will rise just after midnight on the 4th, so it will only cause minimal light pollution. 

18 January: Jupiter will shine away as it forms a close conjunction with the first quarter Moon. The two can be seen moving across the sky together from sunset until around 01:00. 

20 January: The Moon will pass by the Pleiades star cluster, which will sit in the constellation of Taurus. This picturesque view can be seen via the use of visual aids such as binoculars. 

1-31 January: Throughout January, the Beehive Cluster, located in Cancer, is visible and will shine at its brightest towards the end of the month. The stars will be very faint, but one way of finding the Beehive Cluster is to use the stars Pollux and Castor in Gemini, and Regulus in Leo, as this open cluster lies about halfway between Regulus and Gemini’s brightest stars.

Moon phases for January 2024

The Moon phases for this month are: 

• Third Quarter: 4 January (03:30)
• New Moon: 11 January (11:57)
• First Quarter: 18 January (03:52)
• Full Moon: 25 January (17:54)