421.

The Moon at apogee The Moon recedes to its orbit's furthest point from the Earth, making it appear fractionally smaller than at other times of the month. Tue, 30 Dec 1980 at 18:10 EDT (15,871 days ago) in Virgo

422.

Mercury at superior solar conjunction Mercury passes around the far side of the Sun. Wed, 31 Dec 1980 at 05:18 EDT (15,870 days ago) in Sagittarius

423.

Close approach of Jupiter and Saturn Jupiter and Saturn pass within 1°02' of each other. Wed, 31 Dec 1980 at 10:27 EDT (15,870 days ago) in Virgo

424.

The Earth at perihelion The Earth reaches its closest point to the Sun. Thu, 01 Jan 1981 at 20:41 EDT (15,869 days ago) in Pisces

425.

Quadrantid meteor shower 1981 The Quadrantid meteor shower reaches its peak. Sat, 03 Jan 1981 (15,867 days ago) in Bootes

426.

Conjunction of the Moon and Venus The Moon and Venus share the same right ascension, at a separation of 3°16'. Sun, 04 Jan 1981 at 03:50 EDT (15,866 days ago) in Ophiuchus

427.

Conjunction of Venus and Neptune Venus and Neptune share the same right ascension, at a separation of 38'. Mon, 05 Jan 1981 at 16:29 EDT (15,865 days ago) in Ophiuchus

428.

The Moon at perihelion The Moon passes its orbit's closest point to the Sun, which happens each month around the time of new moon. Mon, 05 Jan 1981 at 18:06 EDT (15,865 days ago) in Sagittarius

429.

New Moon The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days. Tue, 06 Jan 1981 at 02:25 EDT (15,864 days ago) in Sagittarius

430.

Conjunction of the Moon and Mars The Moon and Mars share the same right ascension, at a separation of 1°34'. Wed, 07 Jan 1981 at 16:12 EDT (15,863 days ago) in Capricornus

431.

1 Ceres at opposition 1 Ceres lies in the opposite direction to the Sun in the sky, making it closer and brighter than at other times. It is also optimally positioned to be observable for much of the night. Fri, 09 Jan 1981 at 14:50 EDT (15,861 days ago) in Gemini

432.

Moon at First Quarter The Moon reaches first quarter phase – appearing high in the sky at sunset and setting in the west at around midnight. Tue, 13 Jan 1981 at 05:10 EDT (15,857 days ago) in Pisces

433.

Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn Jupiter and Saturn share the same right ascension, at a separation of 1°08'. Wed, 14 Jan 1981 at 02:46 EDT (15,856 days ago) in Virgo

434.

The Moon at perigee The Moon makes its monthly closest approach to the Earth, making it appear fractionally larger than at other times of the month. Wed, 14 Jan 1981 at 22:36 EDT (15,856 days ago) in Aries

435.

Close approach of the Moon and Collinder 50 The Moon and Collinder 50 pass close to each other. Fri, 16 Jan 1981 at 07:33 EDT (15,854 days ago) in Taurus

436.

Lunar occultation of Aldebaran The Moon will pass in front of Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), creating a lunar occultation visible from countries and territories including Russia, Greenland, Sweden and Canada amongst others. Fri, 16 Jan 1981 at 11:16 EDT (15,854 days ago) in Taurus

437.

Saturn enters retrograde motion Saturn reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Sun, 18 Jan 1981 at 11:29 EDT (15,852 days ago) in Virgo

438.

γ-Ursae Minorid meteor shower 1981 The γ-Ursae Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak. Sun, 18 Jan 1981 (15,852 days ago) in Ursa Minor

439.

Full Moon The Moon reaches full phase and is visible for much of the night. Tue, 20 Jan 1981 at 02:38 EDT (15,850 days ago) in Cancer

440.

Penumbral lunar eclipse There will be an eclipse of the Moon, visible from the Americas, north-eastern Russia, Alaska and Europe. Tue, 20 Jan 1981 at 02:50 EDT (15,850 days ago) in Cancer