What’s Up in the Night Sky – January 2026
from In-The-Sky.org
Moon Phases
Full – January 3 – Full Wolf Moon
Last Quarter – January 10
New Moon – January 18
First Quarter – January 25
Close Encounters
January 1: The Moon and Beta Tauri are in close conjunction in the evening.
January 3: The full Moon and Jupiter are in conjunction, with the Moon passing north of Jupiter by about 4° as the Sun sets.
January 4: The Comet 24P/Schaumasse passes closest to Earth in the predawn sky. In Virgo, it passes only 0.59 AU from Earth at a magnitude near 9.5.
January 6: Venus is at superior solar conjunction, ending its recent morning apparition and beginning its next evening apparition.
January 6: A waning gibbous Moon will be near Regulus at sunset.
January 9: Mars is at solar conjunction as it passes behind the Sun. The next time we observe Mars will be in the morning sky. Mars will next reach opposition on February 19, 2027.
January 10: Jupiter reaches opposition in the early morning hours of the 10th.
January 14: The waning crescent Moon passes near Antares in the predawn sky.
January 21: Mercury is at superior solar conjunction, ending its recent morning apparition and beginning its next evening apparition.
January 23: The 5-day old Moon joins Saturn and Neptune in the early evening sky in the constellation Pisces.
January 27: The 9-day old Moon passes about a degree from M45 (Pleiades).
January 28: The nearly full Moon makes another close pass of beta Tauri in the evening.
January 30: The Moon and Jupiter are in conjunction with a separation of less than 4 degrees.
Major Meteor Showers – from https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/
The Quadrantid meteor shower is active between December 28th and January 12th, with the peak activity expected on January 3rd. This is also the night of the full Moon so all but the brightest will be drowned out. Expect a best hourly rate of less than 10.
The next major meteor showers are the Lyrids and the eta Aquariids which begin activities in mid-April.
Planet Watch for January 15, 2026
Mercury is lost in the Sun’s glare as it passes behind the Sun from our vantage point. It reaches its highest altitude in the evening sky on February 20, 2026.
Venus is lost in the Sun’s glare as it passes behind the Sun from our vantage point. It reaches its highest altitude in the evening sky on June 5, 2026.
Mars is lost in the Sun’s glare as it approaches solar conjunction. Mars’ next opposition is February 19, 2027.
Jupiter reached opposition on January 10, 2026 and is visible all night long. At magnitude -2.7 it outshines nearby Castor and Pollux in Gemini.
Saturn is visible once the sky darkens and sets around 10pm local time. The ringed planet continues to shine near magnitude 1.0 in Aquarius.
Uranus is an early evening object in the eastern sky. It crosses the zenith around 9pm and becomes unobservable after 2am as it begins to set in the west. Uranus shines at magnitude 5.7 in Taurus.
Neptune is visible in the southwest sky once skies are dark. Neptune sets around 10:15pm, following Saturn over the horizon. It shines at 7.9 in the constellation Pisces.