Happy new year! The first month of 2020 begins with the brief but often spectacular Quadrantid meteor shower, which can on a good year produce about 100 meteors an hour near its peak. A partial lunar eclipse takes place for observers in Europe and Africa. Mars cruises through the constellation Scorpius in the pre-dawn sky, while Jupiter emerges from the Sun’s glare. And Venus and Neptune are just a hair’s width apart at the end of the month, offering observers with a small telescope a chance to see these two worlds in a single field of view. Here’s what’s up in the night sky this month. Here's what’s happening in the night sky this month…