If you are into space and all things celestial, you'll want to pay attention next week. We are going to get plenty of action in the night sky, and most of it centers around our solar system's red planet. Here's what you should be looking for next week.
The next full moon, the Wolf Moon, will be on January 13th. It will pass in front of Mars, which will be at one of its closest points to Earth, making it seem like the moon ate the red planet. The phenomenon of Mars being hidden by the moon, will last an impressive hour!
An online influencer posted a video about the planet Mars and what to expect next week, but what was really cool is they wrote up a table that showed locations across the US and when they should be looking up at the moon. According to that influencer, Astro Alexandra, Minnesotans should be paying attention close to 8:08 pm for the moon to 'eat; Mars, and then around 9:10 pm Mars should start to appear on the other side of the moon. You can watch that reel if you like, here.
Mars isn't the only planet you'll be able to see across Central Minnesota's night sky. Venus is shining bright, off to the Southeast after sunset. Fans of the planet Saturn will be able to see it and its rings most of the month, also shortly after the sunsets, you could even catch a glimpse of Saturn's moon Titan, if you've got a telescope.
Incredibly it seems the rest of our solar system's planets will be visible at some point in January, you can head over here to check out where to look to see the other planets.
If you didn't catch January's meteor shower the Quadrantids you are out of luck as they are ending this weekend, but the peak was January 2nd and 3rd. For February, you'll want to be out watching the sky for meteors as the peak of the Centaurids will be February 8th.
Here's to hoping for some clear skies to take in the entire solar system!