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Six of our planetary neighbours will be visible in the night sky this month, four of which you should be able to see without the need for a telescope.
Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and Venus will all be visible as bright points in the night sky over the next couple of weeks, whilst Uranus and Neptune will flicker more faintly, meaning they could be hard to spot without extra ocular assistance.
Just after sunset on some evenings you should be able to see Venus and Saturn low in the western sky.
If you look high above you should see Jupiter, and to the east you'll be able to find Mars. Planets often seem to line up across the sky, so that's not unusual. But what is likely to be special is seeing four or five bright planets at the same time, which doesn't happen every year.
On 17 and 18 January there’s also likely to be an event called a conjunction, when two planets line up in such a way that they’re almost touching in the sky.
This will happen between Venus and Saturn, and from Earth’s point of view, they’re predicted to look like they’re just 2 degrees apart.
Pictured: In actuality the distance between Saturn and Venus will be closer to 1.3 billion kilometres, but from our perspective they should look almost twinned.
Express asked La Societe Guernesias' Astronomy section out how we can get the most out of the January skies this year.
"If the reader has a pair of binoculars or small telescope they will be able to see the four Galilean moons, Io, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa around Jupiter," they said.
"There are two space missions currently in space and on their way to study the Jovian system: JUICE and Europa Clipper. There is much interest in Europa as it is thought to be an ocean world, where there is a global ocean, which may harbour life, beneath a thick crust of ice.
"Another splendid sight this time of year is the winter constellation of Orion the Hunter. Below Orion's belt a cloudy/fuzzy area can be seen with the naked eye. Through a pair of binoculars or a telescope a little more detail can be seen. This is one of the closest star forming regions to Earth. Within it, new stars and planetary systems are being born out of the cloud of interstellar gas and dust.
"If we ever get a reasonable break in the weather and clear skies we will open up the David Le Conte Astronomical Observatory to the public."
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Pictured top and above: All images courtesy of La Societe Guernesias Astronomy Section, and the David Le Conte Astronomical Observatory.
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