Stargazing in January: When to look out for tonight's Wolf Moon, a Super New Moon and more

It features in a month of astronomical events that has already featured spectacular meteor showers and will also include a "super new moon" and a good chance to see the planet Mercury.

The Quadrantids meteor showers, the first of the new year, lit up the skies earlier in the week, and tonight should offer a chance to see the first full moon of the year.

There are a number of spots in the West Midlands that make good stargazing sites on clear nights, most notably in the Shropshire Hills where four distinct spots have been designated Dark Sky Discovery sites.

They are the car parks at Carding Mill Valley, Cross Dyke, Pole Cottage and the Shooting Box. All four sites have the darkest Milky Way Class rating, meaning that the skies are dark enough to see the Milky Way with the naked eye.

The Wrekin near Telford is another Dark Sky Discovery site, while Cannock Chase is home to no fewer than seven sites recommended by Go Stargazing based on light pollution, distance from nearby towns and parking provision.

Those sites are the car parks at Brindley Bottom, Camp Field, Coppice Hill, Penkridge Bank, the White House, Stile Cop and Seven Springs.

There are a multitude of free stargazing phone apps to help identify and track celestial objects, including the planets we share our solar system with.

January 6: Wolf Moon

It's the first full moon of the new year tonight, sometimes called the Wolf Moon.

A full moon occurs when the whole face of the moon appears lit up, because of the Earth and moon's positions in the sky in relation to the sun. It happens once a month.

January's full moon is sometimes called the Wolf Moon because of ancient traditions. Humans began associating the early months of the year with the howls of hungry wolves with prey thin on the ground in winter.

The best time to see tonight's full moon, or its "peak", will be at 11.07pm in the UK according to Royal Museums Greenwich.

January 21: Super New Moon

The New Moon is when the sun and moon are aligned, with the moon coming between the sun and our Earth.

It means the side of the moon facing us will be in darkness and the night sky will be particularly dark - perfect for spying distant stars or planets.

Because of the elliptical shape of the moon's orbit around Earth, it gets closer and further away from us throughout the month.

When a New Moon occurs while the moon is near its closest point to Earth, it is called a Super New Moon. January 21 will be one such occasion.

January 22: Conjunction of Venus and Saturn

Because of the different orbits of the planets in our solar system, two or more planets can sometimes appear as though they are meeting in space.

This happens when Earth and the planets all align in a more-or-less straight line, and the resulting 'meeting' is known as a conjunction.

Conjunctions between two or three planets are fairly common, moreso the relatively fast-moving ones. Multiple planets, even five or more planets may align on much rarer occasions.

January 30: Mercury at Greatest Elongation West

Since Pluto was reclassified as a 'dwarf planet', Mercury has been the smallest planet in our solar system.

It is also the closest to the sun and the fastest-moving, completing an orbit of the sun in just under 88 Earth days.

All of this means it can be hard to spot - but one of the best chances is during its 'greatest elongation'. This is when Mercury appears to us at its farthest difference from the Sun.

Mercury is at its greatest elongation 'west' when farthest from the sun in the morning sky - it may be visible shortly before sunrise with the naked eye.