January 3rd: The first supermoon of 2026 will rise around 6pm with Jupiter nearby. Watch them appear on the northeast horizon and follow them across the sky throughout the evening. 

 

January 4th: Best viewed with binoculars or a small telescope, the Moon will be near M44, the Beehive Cluster. Follow the line between the Moon and Jupiter to find the star cluster just to the west of the bright Moon. 

 

January 10th: Jupiter season is in full swing as Jupiter reaches opposition. The planet will be highest around midnight, but visible throughout the evening. The planet also reached perigee, its closest approach to the Sun, the previous day, making it a prime time for viewing. 

 

January 23rd: The waxing crescent Moon will appear near Saturn in the early evening's western sky. With binoculars or a small telescope, follow the line from Saturn toward the Moon to find Neptune just to the north of the ringed planet.

 

January 27th: The Moon passes near M45, the Pleiades star cluster. Due to the Moon's brightness, the cluster is best viewed with binoculars just to the west of the Moon. 

 

January 30th: The waxing gibbous Moon and Jupiter meet up for the second time this month, following each other through the sky throughout the evening.

 

January 14th, 2005: Anniversary of the first spacecraft and only spacecraft to land in the outer Solar System and land on a moon other than Earth's moon. The Huygens spacecraft touched down safely on Saturn's moon Titan on this date. 

 

January 15th, 2006: 20th anniversary of the first sample return mission from Comet Wild 2. Touchdown of the Stardust return capsule occured in the Utah desert on this date.

 

January 24th, 1986: Anniversary of the first and only flyby of the planet Uranus by Voyager 2 in 1986. 

 

January 31st, 1961: 65th anniversary of the first chimpanzee, named Ham, launched into space on the M-R 2 mission. 

 

NET January: Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket will launch a test flight of the Blue Moon Pathfinder lunar lander from Cape Canaveral. 

 

NET January: The Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) first uncrewed orbital test flight of the Gaganyaan capsule.

 

NET January: SpaceX's Starship will execute its 12th flight test launching from the Texas gulf coast.

 

January 3rd - Full Supermoon (Wolf Moon)

January 10th - 3rd Quarter

January 18th - New

January 25th - 1st Quarter

Mercury - Lost to the Sun's glare throughout the month.

 

Venus - Like Mercury, too close to the Sun to be seen easily throughout the month.

 

Mars - Joining Mercury and Venus close to the Sun, not easily visible this month.

 

Jupiter - A great month for visibility, with Jupiter appearing bright in the constellation Gemini throughout the evening.

 

Saturn - Setting around 11pm at the beginning of the month, 9pm at the end of the month, best visible after sunset.