I'm glad you got to see some Geminids, @jo. I didn't see any, mainly due to temperatures around -25C the night of maximum, followed by a few days and nights of snow and light freezing rain.

The last half of this month has also lived up to this month's cloudy reputation, with plenty of snow for Christmas followed by mild temperatures that allowed the snow to sublimate right into thick fog that's persisted over much of the past 10 days or so.

There was a brief pause in the clouds Saturday, and I enjoyed the view of the planets and Orion that evening. Saturn and Venus are a lot closer now than when I saw them last, and will be closest (2 degrees apart) on January 17. Another highlight next month is Mars at opposition January 16 (just 3 days after the Moon covers it for much of North America).

Fun trivia note: the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, is roughly opposite the sun this time of year. That means that as we ring in the New Year at midnight tomorrow (or later today, depending on your time zone), it is at its highest in the southern sky (or the northern sky for those Down Under).

I had a couple of fun astronomical sightings yesterday (January 3).

First, the Moon was close to Venus, which made for a very pretty sight in the evening. But earlier that day, I used it as a signpost to see Venus in broad daylight, first with binoculars and then with the unaided eye.  It's the first time I'd seen Venus in daylight since the total solar eclipse last April, when we were able to follow the planet after the sun began reappearing (I often use the Moon as a 'shortcut' to see Venus in daylight; that was probably the ultimate example of doing so).

Around 6:45 pm, I stepped out to enjoy the nighttime view of the Moon and Venus, and was excited to see a string of about 30 satellites nearby, slowly rising up until they disappeared near the Moon. They turned out to be from the latest Starlink launch on New Year's Eve. It's been a while since I've seen one of these satellite parades. 

What interesting and lovely sightings, @stargazer! I did not see them that Venus and the Moon that night, as clouds dominated here. How cool you spotted Venus in the daylight, with the Moon being the pointer. And then the satellite train at night. I have not seen a satellite parade for quite awhile now, and it is always fun to see them, usually very unexpectedly.

This morning I was out for a walk for the first time in awhile (previous conditions were somewhat icy, but mostly strong winds), and it was really beautiful to be out walking in the winter's beauty again, albeit cold, with a very slight windchill. For the first time in awhile, as well, the sky was clear for the first part of my walk, with the Big Dipper right overhead, as the handle 'arced to Arcturus' and 'sped on to Spica'. Beautiful! Ruddy Mars was in the NW, with Gemini's Pollux and Castor close by. Orion was beneath the horizon already.

Clouds move in again tonight with more snow, and I don't see a hint of sun forecast over the next week. It remains cold. I love cloudy winter weather, but I do miss regular night sky gazing, which is more frequent for me all autumn season and very early spring.

'Tis after 24 hours, so ...

Last night's winter walk was so beautiful. There is nothing like crisp, cold, clear skies with no humidity or haze, snow all around on the fields. I started out in twilight, and ended up in the dark (intentional). The stars and planets were so magnificent that I stopped by the Old Silo to record a voice memo so I would not forget anything.  

Eastern sky: I saw a very orange Mars rise in the ENE sky. What a beauty! Within 10° above Mars was Pollux and Castor in Gemini. Far above Gemini was Capella.

To the right of Capella was the waxing gibbous Moon—very bright. The shadows on earth were stark and well-defined. Lovely! To the lower left of the Moon is shining Jupiter. About 5° to Jupiter's right was Aldebaran, which made me look for the Pleiades, but I failed to spot that star cluster. And this is why!

That bright orb outshone the nestled-up-the-the-Moon Pleiades, that is for sure.

Below Aldebaran was mighty Orion. Sirius, nor Procyon, had risen yet, but they must have been close to appearing over the horizon.

South: Venus was dazzling. Within 10° was Saturn, and forming a long, thin triangle was Fomalhaut way below Venus and Saturn.

NW: the beautiful Summer Triangle / Cygnus the Swan, as it sinks for the night.

One has to be dressed for the cold, of course, and I was bundled up, but even still, in activity I become warm quite easily, so was careful not to over-bundle.  

A lot of snow is coming all through tonight, and clouds dominate over the next week, so that is the last I will see the clear night sky for a while.

Although I love snow and am thrilled it is falling yet again today, I would like the sky to clear for this evening's occultation of Mars behind the Moon. But there is no chance here. The snow continues!

Your observation notes sound wonderful, Jo. It was like I was stargazing too.

Clouds have moved in here, but it isn't overcast and they aren't very thick. So there is a chance to see the occultation tonight. The biggest obstacle is the temperature. It's up to a balmy 7F/-14C now but it's expected to be around -4F/-20C by the time the occultation starts.

Boy did I feel like an idiot last night. I had not previously seen this was going to happen. My mom texted me that the moon was really close to Mars. I stepped out a few minutes later and didn't even see it. It must have been behind the moon and I didn't realize what was going on. Too bad! We had clear skies. I would have liked to watch it.

Argh, fantasia, that is so frustrating after the fact, isn't it? Because there is no way one can remedy it. I can relate.

stargazer, were you able to view the occultation? Was it clear enough (albeit cold)?

I'm sorry you missed it, fantasia! 

It was overcast here for the occultation, though the skies cleared around midnight and I got to see Mars about a degree from the Moon. By 5.45 this morning they were about 4 degrees apart in the west, and quite pretty.