"What's Up" From NASA and JPL for the Month of January, 2026
As the New Year begins, the King of Planets, Jupiter is at its biggest and brightest all year; the Moon and Saturn pair up and the Beehive cluster swarms into view.
All Month - The Planets
Jupiter:
Jupiter will be the "star of the show" this month as the Earth and the King of the Planets are as close as they will be all year.
Look for Saturn (quite easy to spot, due to its relative brightness) early in the evening in the west. Neptune is also nearby and, by month's end, they will be close enough together to view with binoculars.
Moon & Saturn/Neptune Conjunction:
The Moon joins Saturn and Neptune in the western sky on the 23rd, making it easier to spot Neptune.
Mercury:
Mercury appears briefly, just before sunrize the first few days of the month, low in the southeast.
Uranus:
Uranus is faint, but visible with binoculars. Look for it near the Pleiades (Seven Sisters) star cluster.
Venus and Mars:
Both Venus and Mars are lost in the glare of the daytime Sun this month.
Skywatching Highlights from January's episode.
Jupiter At Oposition
On the night of January 10, Jupiter reaches opposition. This means that the Earth and Jupiter have reached the points in their orbits where a straight line connects the Sun, the Earth and Jupiter. In this arrangement, Jupiter is at its closest point to Earth and shines brilliantly in the night sky. Jupiter rises after sunset and is visible all night long. Look for it in the constellation Gemini.
The Moon / Saturn Conjunction
On the night of January 23, the Moon and Saturn will share the western sky together in what is termed a "conjunction". This means that the two will appear close together in the night sky, but are actually very far apart physically in our Solar System.
The Beehive Cluter
One of the most beutiful open star clusters - the Beehive Cluster - is visible all month long. Formally known as Messier 44, the Beehive is a loosly knit grouping of fairly young stars known as an "open cluster". It contains about a thousand stars that were all born out of the same cloud of dust and gas. Look for this beauty in the eastern sky (well after sunset when the sky is truly dark). It will be located below and slightly to the left of Jupiter. Four bright stars will be in the area: Sirius, further to the west and about the same elevation as Jupiter; Regulus, which will be quite a bit lower in the sky, below Jupiter; Procyon, which can be found below and to the right of Jupiter; and, the "Twins" Castor and Pollux, which will appear to the left of Jupiter. The Beehive can be found, nestled just about midway between Castor/Pollux and Regulus.
Watch "What's Up" for January, 2026 graciously provided by the fine folks at NASA and JPL.