Looking Up In January

Tonight is the peak of the first meteor shower of 2015, the Quadrantid's, but as it is drizzling and an almost full moon fills the night sky, i won't be going to sit in a field this time but the January night sky is a wonder at the moment and worthy of grabbing the telescope or binoculars for a tour of our Solar System. 
In the Southwestern sky we can see the Planet Mars and turn your gaze downwards towards the horizon and slightly to the West and huddled together is Venus and Mercury and as the month progresses, Venus will edge towards Mars.
In the Eastern sky hangs Jupiter and turn your gaze towards the Southeast and you can see Saturn to complete the tour of the 5 planets visible this month. 
Orion is one of the most recognisable constellations in the Winter sky and a great launching point for other sites as just above Orion's head to the left is the constellation of Gemini while Orion is pointing its bow at the base of the V shaped Taurus.
Carry on from the bow past Taurus and that's the Pleiades or Seven Sisters sat there.
Orion's top left shoulder is the star Betelgeuse (don't say it 3 times just in case) which is 500 times larger than our Sun while his right foot is Rigel which is 62,000 times brighter than our own star. Follow a line from Rigel across to Orion's left foot and continue West and you can't help but notice Sirius, the dog star, the brightest star in the whole sky.
Even if the Quadrantid's Meteor Shower doesn't live up to the 40 per hour meteor rate promised, there are still some magnificent views and all you need is a pair of working eyes, a compass to find out which way you are facing and be able to find Orion and you can name what has been above our heads for the past 4.6 billion years.