What can you see in the night sky this month? From visible planets to bright stars, astronomer Bob Berman highlights what a regular stargazer can see (without any equipment) throughout the month of January 2026. Let’s look up!
Astronomy Highlights for January 2026
January 1: The new year starts off with some celestial fireworks! Saturn can be seen in Pisces at nightfall, halfway up the southern sky. When viewed with a telescope, its rings are barely visible, because they are just weeks from angling nearly edgewise toward Earth and the Sun.
January 3: It’s the year’s closest approach to our great star, also known as the perihelion. This is the point in Earth’s orbit when it’s closest to the Sun, though it’s still about 91.4 million miles away!
January 10: Tonight, Jupiter is in opposition. Look up to see the King of Planets at its closest appearance of the year.
January 27: The Moon hovers to the left of the famous “Seven Sisters” Pleiades star cluster, a stunning scene when viewed through binoculars.
January 30: You won’t want to miss tonight’s stunning conjunction! All night, you can view Jupiter hovering right below a nearly Full Moon.
Check out Bob’s highlights of the February Night Sky to see what’s coming up! Visit our Visible Planets tool to see Planet Rise and Set times for your location.
January’s Quadrantids Meteor Shower
The Quadrantids are the first major meteor shower of the year, peaking the night of January 4, into the morning of the 5th. Unfortunately, in 2026, the Moon will be nearly Full, making all but the brightest meteors difficult to see. Your best bet is to view after the Moon sets on the 4th of January, just before dawn. See your Moon rise and set times and the 2026 Meteor Shower Calendar for the next sighting of shooting stars!
Credit: Petr Horálek/NASA
January’s Full Moon
Full Wolf Moon
The first full Moon of the year reaches peak illumination on January 3, at 5:03 A.M. EST. It’s also a Supermoon! Look for the Moon to rise from the northeastern horizon around sunset that evening. It’s known in some cultures as the Wolf Moon. There are alternative names as well. Learn more about the Full Wolf Moon.
January Constellation: Orion
All of Orion’s stars are easy to spot in the winter sky. Let’s do some old-fashioned stargazing and take a look at the Orion constellation!
January’s Brightest Star: Sirius
The brightest “star” of the night sky is Sirius, the Dog Star. Ready to star hop? Just look up towards Orion, the Hunter, and his bright belt. Then, follow it downward. Orion’s Belt always points to Sirius. Read more about Sirius.
See our January Star Chart for the brightest stars in this month’s sky!
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