What's in the Sky: January 2026

What's in the Sky​ is a monthly newsletter showcasing various objects and events visible in the sky for the upcoming month. It is written by FoGAP member Jim White for local newspapers.

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Note: Not all objects discussed may be visible during Observatory shows. Object visibility depends on location in the sky, rise and set times, and weather. Some objects may only be viewable during the early morning.

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Happy New Year!

Welcome to January. Our first month features Jupiter’s closest approach for the year, and plenty of bright stars to view. Nights will be cold and mostly cloudy, but step outside when skies clear for a stunning view, even if it is a short one!

Some things coming in 2026: We’ll have two total Lunar eclipses during the year. One will come on March 3, and a second will follow on August 27. We will just miss a solar eclipse that will occur on August 12, visible in Iceland, Greenland, and Spain. Northern Canada will see a partial eclipse. Solar activity in 2026 should still be high (the Sun has a roughly 11-year cycle of activity, and we are just past the peak), so there is a chance to see more northern lights. NOAA has a nice prediction website that gives short-term predictions, located at the link below.
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-viewline-tonight-and-tomorrow-night-experimental

The Solar system’s giant, Jupiter, makes its closest approach to us on January 10. Jupiter will be “only” about 393 million miles from us. At freeway speed, 70mph, it would take about 640 years to drive that far. The solar system is huge! Jupiter will be located in the constellation Gemini during December.

Take out a pair of binoculars and point them at Jupiter. You should be able to see the planet’s 4 largest moons, Europa, Calliston, Io and Ganymede, “lined up” in a strait line, along the planet’s equator. If you look on another night, you’ll see that the moons have changed position as they orbit Jupiter. Check out the website https://shallowsky.com/galilean/ to see which moon is which. You can enter a date and time, and see the four moons, along with Jupiter. Change the date and time, and you’ll see that they shift positions as they orbit the planet. When Galileo observed this in 1610, with the newly invented telescope, it was a historic discovery.

Saturn is still in the evening sky in January. The solar system’s other giant will be located in the southwestern sky, in the dim constellations Aquarius and Pisces, below the “square” of Pegasus. Saturn will outshine nearby stars and should be easy to pick out.

January’s full Moon will occur on the 3rd, when the Moon lies just to the left of Jupiter. The waning gibbous Moon will lie below the constellation Leo on the 6th, and will lie just to the right of the bright star Spica in the morning sky on the 10th. In the evening sky, the Moon will lie just to the right of Saturn on the 22nd.

Here is an exercise for you when you can step outside in January. January’s evening sky includes many of the brightest stars in our night sky. Along with bright Jupiter, they make for a dazzling display. Here are the 10 brightest; use the picture with this article and see how many you can locate.

1. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, in Canis major. Also known as the “dog star”
2. Capella, in the constellation Auriga. Capella is the 6th brightest star in the night sky.
3. Rigel, the 7th brightest star, one of the “feet” of Orion the Hunter. A blue supergiant star, it makes a nice contrast with reddish Betelgeuse, on Orion’s shoulder.
4. Procyon, the 8th brightest star, in the “Little Dog”, Canis minor. Procyon is a binary system, consisting of 2 stars
5. Betelgeuse, mentioned above. A red supergiant, if it was located where our Sun is, it would extend past Mars!
6. Aldebaran, the 14th brightest star, in the constellation Taurus. This red giant star makes up the blood-red “eye” of Taurus, the Bull.
7. Pollux, the 17th brightest star. Pollux is one of the “twin” stars in the constellation Gemini. Pollux, another red-giant, is the brightest star known to have a planetary system
8. Deneb, the brightest star in Cygnus, the Swan and 19th brightest star in the sky. Some see it as the head of the northern cross, others as the tail end of the swan. Look low in the northeast for Deneb.
9. Regulus, the 21st brightest star, the brightest star in Leo. Look for it low in the east.
10. Castor, the 23rd brightest star, the other “twin” in the constellation Gemini. Castor is white, and contracts nicely with Pollux.

See if you can locate them all. Stay warm and enjoy the January night skies!