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- Written by: Preston Dyches
What’s up for January?
Cue the planet parade, Saturn and Venus cross paths, Mars expresses its opposition, and the outlook for the Quadrantid meteors.
In January, you’ll have the opportunity to take in four bright planets in a single, sweeping view.
All month after dark, you’ll find Venus and Saturn in the southwest for the first couple of hours, while Jupiter shines brightly high overhead, and Mars rises in the east. Uranus and Neptune are there too, technically, but they don't appear as "bright planets." These multi-planet viewing opportunities aren’t super rare, but they don’t happen every year, so it’s worth checking it out.
Now, these events are sometimes called “alignments” of the planets, and while it’s true that they will appear more or less along a line across the sky, that’s what planets always do. That line is called the ecliptic, and it represents the plane of the solar system in which the planets orbit around the Sun. This is, incidentally, why we sometimes observe planets appearing to approach closely to each other on the sky, as we view them along a line while they careen around the cosmic racetrack.
This is exactly what we'll be seeing from Venus and Saturn as they head for a super close approach in mid-January. After the beginning of the month, they quickly get closer and closer each evening, appearing at their most cozy on the 17th and 18th before going their separate ways. Remember, they’re really hundreds of millions of miles apart in space, so when you observe them, you’re staring clear across the solar system!
Mars reaches “opposition” this month, which is when the planet lies directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun, forming a straight line. This is around the time when the planet is at its closest to Earth, making it appear at its biggest and brightest. For Mars, oppositions happen about every two years. This one won’t be the most spectacular ever, but it’s still closer than average, and provides a great opportunity to observe the nearby planet where NASA has five missions currently operating.
And on the 13th, the full Moon cozies up to Mars, appearing super close to the Red Planet that evening. Across the U.S. and Eastern Canada, the Moon will appear to pass in front of Mars over a couple of hours, as the pair rise into the eastern sky. Mars also will be the lone planet in the sky on January mornings. You’ll find it hanging out in the west in morning twilight.
The Quadrantid meteors peak in the early morning hours on Jan. 3. Interference from moonlight won’t be a problem, as the Moon is a mere crescent and sets early in the night. The way to see the most meteors is to observe after midnight from clear, dark skies away from bright city lights, and let your eyes adapt to the dark. The meteor rate will be highest as dawn approaches, and you’ll see more meteors from rural locations than in the suburbs. Now, this is a shower best seen from the Northern Hemisphere, and observers in the Northwest and Pacific region will likely have the best viewing this year.
Stay up to date on all of NASA's missions exploring the solar system and beyond at science.nasa.gov.
Preston Dyches is with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The Clearlake Oaks Post Office is located at 13280 E. Highway 20.
“A runaway vehicle crashed through the building yesterday, forcing retail operations to be temporarily suspended,” a Friday statement from the US Postal Services’ San Francisco office said.
Sgt. Joel Skeen of the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the crash occurred when a young woman accidentally stepped on her vehicle’s gas pedal rather than the brake pedal.
He said it caused a wall collapse and resulted in minor injuries to a little girl and an older man inside the building.
“Nobody was in need of medical transport so pretty minor overall, other than the building damage,” Skeen said, adding that no drugs or alcohol were suspected as factors in the crash.
Postal Service spokesperson Kristina Uppal said the vehicle hit the front entry portion of the building where the postal lobby is located, causing damage to a window, walls and postal equipment, and making it unsafe on Friday to open for retail services.
“Efforts are underway to make the building accessible and safe. We appreciate our customers' patience as we recover from this accident,” said Uppal.
Uppal said PO Box mail and packages were available for pick up at the rear entrance of the building during normal business hours on Friday, while retail operations were available at the Clearlake Post Office, 14500 Olympic Drive.
“This is again just a temporary closure of retail services only for the safety of our customers and staff,” Uppal said Friday.
Later on Friday, the Postal Service reported that the Clearlake Oaks Post Office would resume retail services and lobby access on Saturday on its regular schedule.
The Clearlake Oaks Post Office is open for retail operations and PO Box pickup from Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to noon.
Many retail services including temporary forwards, stamps and more are also available anytime, online at https://www.usps.com/.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
On Friday, U.S. Representative Mike Thompson (CA-04) was sworn in as a member of the United States House of Representatives by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
The swearing-in ceremony for Thompson and hundreds of other recently elected House members took place after Johnson was reelected as speaker.
“It’s the honor of my life to serve the people of the community where I was born, grew up, raised my own family and live today,” said Thompson. “Over the next two years, my priority will remain the same: To deliver for the constituents of the Fourth District. That includes working to lower costs, improve community safety, fight climate change, and protect your fundamental rights and freedoms.”
Thompson was reelected on Nov. 5 to serve California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all of Lake and Napa counties, and parts of Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.
An Army veteran who reached the rank of staff sergeant in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and received the Purple Heart while serving in Vietnam, he became the first Vietnam veteran elected to the California Senate in 1990.
Thompson then ran successfully in 1998 for Congress, where he has served ever since.
On Friday, he was once again added to the rolls of the House upon executing the oath of office.
Thompson, a Democrat, is a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, co-chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus and a member of the fiscally-responsible Blue Dog Coalition.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
Also known as pertussis, whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial disease that can be spread though coughing and can cause severe illness, especially in infants.
The California Department of Public Health, or CDPH, is urging all Californians — especially those who are pregnant and those who provide care to infants — to be up to date on their Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine to help prevent whooping cough.
Individuals vaccinated against whooping cough are protected against severe illness and complications due to whooping cough.
These complications can be most severe in infants, causing apnea (dangerous pauses in breathing) and can be fatal.
More than 2,000 cases of whooping cough were reported statewide between January and October 2024. 62 of those cases were infants less than four months of age who were hospitalized, including one infant who tragically died. During the same time range in 2023, there were less than 400 whooping cough cases reported in the state.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, many practices that had lowered instances of whooping cough are no longer in place, and we’re seeing the disease return to pre-pandemic levels,” said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH director and State Public Health officer. “Infants are particularly vulnerable and that’s why CDPH especially encourages people who are pregnant to receive the Tdap vaccine in their third trimester which will pass along protective antibodies to the baby.”
Health officials’ recommendations
With whooping cough cases rising, ensure you are up to date on your whooping cough vaccine. Vaccination is recommended for all:
• Pregnant people between 27 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, even if they have received Tdap in the past.
• Adults, every 10 years.
• Adolescents aged 11 or 12 years (Tdap vaccine is also required for 7th grade advancement in California).
• Infants and young children receive their own whooping cough (DTaP) vaccines starting at 2 months through 4-6 years of age. Babies and children who haven't had all recommended doses are more likely to have serious complications.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about which vaccines are right for you and your family.
People with whooping cough have severe coughing attacks that can last for months. Infants too young for vaccination are at greatest risk for hospitalization and death.
Early signs of whooping cough are similar to symptoms of the common cold such as a runny or stuffy nose and low-grade fever. Babies with whooping cough may have trouble breathing, turn blue or stop breathing.
To protect infants from whooping cough, CDPH strongly urges maternal immunization with Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine in the last trimester (between 27 and 36 weeks) of every pregnancy.
When given during pregnancy, Tdap is approximately 90% effective in preventing infant hospitalizations due to whooping cough. It is also beneficial for all family members and caregivers of newborns to receive either the Tdap (for adults and children older than seven) or DTaP (for those seven years of age or younger) vaccines to prevent spreading whooping cough to infants.
CDPH said these vaccines are safe and effective and can be received at the same time as flu, COVID or RSV vaccines.
Tdap vaccines are widely available at many doctor offices and pharmacies. Schedule a vaccine appointment by visiting https://myturn.ca.gov/ or contacting your local pharmacy or health care provider.
Most health insurance plans, including Medi-Cal, cover Tdap vaccines. Individuals experiencing difficulty finding a place to get immunized may contact their health care provider or local health department for help.
The Vaccines For Children, or VFC, program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children (18 and younger) who might not otherwise be vaccinated because of an inability to pay. Contact your doctor to learn if they are enrolled in VFC or visit MyTurn to find a location based on your eligibility.
Get more information about whooping cough or pertussis by visiting CDPH’s Pertussis (Whooping Cough) webpage or CDC’s Whooping Cough Vaccination webpage.
