Monday, January 05, 2026
January skies 2026
The inset is the telescopic view Jupiter at this time. Io is about the be occulted by Jupiter and will reappear around midnight.
| January | |
| 03 January 2026 | Full Moon |
| 04 January 2026 | Earth at Perihelion. |
| 04 January 2026 | Moon close to Jupiter in the morning |
| 07 January 2026 | Moon close to Regulus in the morning. |
| 10 January 2026 | Jupiter at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth |
| 11 January 2026 | Moon close to Spica |
| 15 January 2026 | Moon close to Antares in the morning (occultation 4:37 AEDST, 18:00–19:22 UT 14th) |
| 23 January 2026 | Saturn near crescent Moon in evening (4° apart) |
| 26 January 2026 | First Quarter |
| 28 January 2026 | Moon near Pleiades |
| 30 January 2026 | Moon at perigee. |
| 31 January 2026 | Moon close to Jupiter |
Moon:
| January 2 | Moon at perigee |
| January 3 | Full Moon |
| January 11 | Last Quarter Moon (ideal for star gazing) |
| January14 | Moon at apogee |
| January 19 | New Moon (also ideal for star gazing) |
| January 26 | First Quarter Moon |
| January 30 | Moon at perigee again |
Sky looking North on Wednesday January15 as seen from Adelaide at 22:17 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Orion is prominent in the mid sky. Below Orion is Bright Jupiter, forming a triangle with Procyon and Betelgeuse.
Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).
Stars:
January nights are dominated by the summer constellations of Taurus the Bull, Orion the Hunter and Canis major, Orion’s hunting dog.
Orion is probably the most iconic of these, with Orion’s belt and sword known as the “saucepan” to most Australians. Orion is almost due north an hour and a half after sunset when the sky is fully dark. Deeper into the night they are seen further northwards. They also travel further north later in the month.
To the Boorong people of north-western Victoria the belt and sword (and where is the belt and sword in relation to the ‘saucepan’ ) were Kulkunbulla, two dancing youths.
If you are out in the country under dark skies, the stars of the sword look misty. This is the great Orion nebula, an astrophotography favourite. While you will not see the same detail with your eye as long exposure photographs, even in binoculars you can see the general shape of the great nebula
Above the saucepan is the blue-white star Rigel, while below is the red super giant star Betelgeuse, which marks Orion’s shoulder.
To the north of Betelgeuse is another red star, Aldebaran, which is the the eye of Taurus the bull, with the V shaped group of stars, the Hyades, next to Aldebaran forming the bulls head. Below Orion is Bright Jupiter, forming a triangle with Procyon and Betelgeuse.
The Christmas holiday season will be a fantastic time to explore our skies.
Labels: Monthly sky, unaided eye
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