The Night Sky - January 2026
Winter is a good time to observe the night sky. We do get more hours of darkness than in the summer, the air is drier and generally quieter, more bright stars and there are no insects to annoy you. The downside is, it can be very cold and you need to dress appropriately and take breaks. Watch for frostbite. If it’s too cold, don’t go out!
This month 4 planets are visible for some of the night. Mercury will be low in the SW in the evening twilight, so it will set early. If you can use binoculars, try to decide what phase it is in. Venus will follow Mercury, a little higher in the sky and setting to the SSW a bit later. It also has phases and appears brighter to us as a crescent than when full. Mars is still between us and the Sun, so not visible this month. Jupiter will rise in the E during evening and set in the NW near dawn. If you are using binoculars you should be able to see the Galilean Moons. Watching them change positions from day to day can be interesting. A small telescope might even show the shadow of a Moon cross Jupiter. Saturn is high in the S at dusk so it will set around 10, in the W.
On the 1st, the Moon is at Perigee (closest to the Earth) and will be Full on the 3rd (Chief Moon) and Earth will be closest to the Sun (Perihelion). On the 3-4, the Quadrantid Meteor shower will be at its best. This is usually a strong shower and best in the early hours. Jan 6 has Regulus (brightest star in Leo) just S of the Moon. Venus will also be as far from the Sun as it gets. Jan 10 is Last Quarter Moon and Jupiter will be at Opposition. That means the Earth will be passing between Jupiter and the Sun. The week of Jan 11 has the bright red star, Arcturus, visible in the morning twilight. There are some other, fainter objects that may be visible with binoculars or a small telescope as the Moon will be less bright. (M41, M42, M78, M79) (M1, M34 and M76 on the 12th) The Moon will be at apogee (furthest from us) on the 13th. On the 14th, Antares, another bright red star will be just above the Moon. New Moon is on the 18th with Mercury as far from the Sun as it gets on the 21st. Saturn (and Neptune) will be 4 degrees S of the Moon on the 23rd and M3 and M5 might be viewable. The 25th is First Quarter Moon and it will be at perigee on the 29th. Jupiter will be 4 degrees S of the Moon on the 31st.
Charles Messier 1730-1817) is best known for creating a list of objects that looked a bit like a comet but were not. People who found new comets were paid for this discovery so finding new ones was quite lucrative. Charles was observing in downtown Paris with a 100mm refracting telescope. So every clear night some comet hunting would take place but he, and a few friends and competitors kept finding objects that looked enough like a comet that time would be wasted discovering it was not. Messier made a list of these things that he could see from his location. Originally he had 45 objects. This list has now swelled to 110 objects. They consist of galaxies, planetary nebulae, other nebulae, globular clusters and open clusters. These M objects are a good test for an avid observer. It is possible to view all 110 in one night — not easy, but possible. No one has managed it yet while in Canada. The RASC (Royal Astronomical Society of Canada) has a certificate for finding M objects. It can represent a lifetime of observing. M1, the Crab Nebula in Taurus, is a planetary nebula, named because they looked a bit circular. Now we know they are the remains of supernova. For this object, the supernova was observed on Earth in 1054. M3 is a globular cluster in Canes Venatici. Observations have shown that globular clusters are only found near the centre of a galaxy. M34 is an Open Cluster in Perseus.The stars in that cluster were created from the same nebula. M41 is also an Open Cluster found in Canis Major. M42 is the Orion Nebula, a Diffuse Nebula, an area of star birth, found in the sword of Orion. M76 is the Little Dumbbell Nebula (planetary nebula in Perseus). M78 is a diffuse nebula in Orion and M79 is a globular cluster in Lepus.
Remember to log what you observed.
Clear Skies
