Mercury and Mars Pair Up in the Night Sky!

Welcome to the January edition of our Night Sky Forecast with Chuck Wilcox! 🌌 This year, we're excited to introduce a special treat for our friends down under – Southern Hemisphere sky charts! Discover the fascinating differences in constellations between the northern and southern hemispheres – some appear upside down in the south, offering a unique perspective. It's a reminder that our night sky stories were often crafted by observers in the north.Notable star groups familiar to northern viewers become invisible in the south, but fear not, as new constellations like the southern crux emerge, adding to the cosmic spectacle. In the dawn sky, two elusive planets, Mars and Mercury, make a captivating appearance as a close pair. Best seen in the tropics and southern hemisphere, they draw closer throughout the month, culminating in a celestial rendezvous by the 28th – closer together than the width of the full moon!