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Wednesday, 31 December 2025 | Default Location
Showing the sky from Greenwich, London. Log in to use your own location.
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Tonight at a Glance

Waxing Gibbous 90%
Dark window: 17:20 – 06:39 (13 h 18 m)

Bright moon tonight — best deep-sky viewing after moonset (06:25)

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.7 · 37° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Io Occultation begins
Io Occultation ends
Europa Occultation begins
Europa Occultation ends
Saturn mag 1.0 · 16° alt · Aquarius Details
Rings: Barely open (1.1° north face)

Comets

PANSTARRS mag 6.8 · 25° alt · Pegasus Details
bright 2.21 AU Perihelion: Apr 19 (in 19d)

For Beginners (naked eye)

Hyades
Open Cluster
mag 0.5

At 21:00 look high in the south

Taurus
M42
Great Orion Nebula Nebula
mag 4.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the southeast

Orion
M45
Pleiades, Seven Sisters or Subaru Open Cluster
mag 1.6

At 21:00 look high in the south

Taurus

Binocular Targets

Mira
68 Cet Variable Star
mag 3.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the southwest

Cet
M34
Spiral Cluster Open Cluster
mag 5.5

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Perseus
M31
Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy
mag 3.4

At 21:00 look high in the west

Andromeda

Small Scopes (3–6 inch)

Castor
HIP 36850; Alpha Gem; 66 Gem Double Star
mag 2.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the east

Gem
NGC 1027
Open Cluster
mag 6.7

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Cas
NGC 246
Planetary Nebula
mag 8.0

At 21:00 look low in the southwest

Cet
M81
Bode's Galaxy Galaxy
mag 6.9

At 21:00 look high in the northeast

Ursa Major
32 Eri
Double Star
mag 4.8

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Eri

Big Scopes (8–12 inch)

T Tau
Double Star
mag 9.3

At 21:00 look high in the south

Tau
NGC 1496
Open Cluster
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Per
NGC 1514
Planetary Nebula
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look high in the south

Tau
C5
IC 342 Galaxy
mag 9.2

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Camelopardalis
M76
Little Dumbbell Nebula Planetary Nebula
mag 10.1

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Perseus

The Week Ahead

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

HH-222: The Waterfall Nebula

What created the Waterfall Nebula? The origin is still being researched. The structure, officially designated Herbig-Haro 222, appears in the region of NGC 1999 in the Great Orion Molecular Cloud complex. The elongated gaseous stream stretches about ten light years but appears similar to a long waterfall on Earth. Recent observations indicate that HH-222 is likely a gigantic gaseous bow shock, similar to a wave of water caused by a fast-moving ship. The origin of this shock wave is thought to be a jet outflow from the multiple star system V380 Orionis off the lower left of the frame. Therefore, gas does not flow along the waterfall, but rather the entire structure moves toward the upper right. The Waterfall Nebula lies about 1,500 light years away toward the constellation of Orion. The featured image was captured earlier this month from El Sauce Observatory in Chile. Jigsaw Nebula: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day

Image credit: Mike Selby — APOD is a service of NASA and Michigan Tech. U.

View on NASA APOD

Space News

Sendoff for Artemis II Crew

NASA introduces the Artemis II crew of four astronauts (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen) who will fly around the Moon on humanity's first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years.

NASA — 30 Mar 2026

NASA Selects Intuitive Machines to Deliver Artemis Science, Tech to Moon

NASA awards Intuitive Machines $180.4 million to deliver science payloads to the lunar surface through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, supporting Artemis exploration objectives.

NASA — 27 Mar 2026

NASA Releases Artemis II Moon Mission Launch Countdown

NASA releases the launch countdown for Artemis II, targeting no earlier than April 1, 2026, to send four astronauts on a 10-day mission around the Moon and back to Earth.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

How Europe will power the journey to the Moon and back

Europe's Service Module will provide critical propulsion, power, and life support systems for the Artemis II mission, highlighting international partnership in lunar exploration.

ESA — 27 Mar 2026

Plan your session before dark

Use Tonight to find targets, then add them to a Plan so you have a checklist ready when you're outside.

Open Tonight

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