January 1-4: The fifth century. The modern science of observational astronomy heads into its fifth century this year. That's because it was born when Galileo first turned a telescope toward the heavens 400 years ago. Plus, a winter meteor shower.

January 5-11: Bright neighbor. The brightest star in the night sky stages its best appearance of the year on winter nights. It's a star that's bright in its own right, but that's also a close neighbor. Join us for details on the star Sirius.

January 12-18: Meandering Moon. The Moon has some beautiful companions this week, including the planet Saturn and the heart of the lion. We'll have details. We'll also talk about a great circle of stars, and a "recaptured" satellite.

January 19-25: Dusty skies. The universe is filled with cosmic dust -- tiny particles that started in the hearts of stars. And some of those particles find their way to Earth -- and your bookcase.

January 26-31: Big booms. The most powerful explosions in the universe are visible across billions of light-years of space. Yet in a bit of cosmic irony, they may announce the births of the ultimate darkness: black holes.