Calendar

In 2015, the bright waxing gibbous moon will wash out but the brightest Quadrantid meteors. Some meteors will be visible each night from 1 Jan to 6 Jan, but the best show will be between midnight and dawn on January 3 and/or 4, especially if you live at a northerly latitude.

see http://cantonbecker.com/retrograde for details…

This is the best day of the year to view Jupiter, as it makes it’s closest approach to Earth and will be fully reflecting light from the sun. There will also be plenty of light reflecting off of its four largest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. These will be visible on both sides of the planet. Even at its closest approach to the Earth, however, it is not possible to distinguish it as more than a star-like point of light with the naked eye, though a good pair of binoculars are sufficient to reveal it as a disk of light with accompanying system of moons.