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Saturday, 3 January 2026 | Default Location
Showing the sky from Greenwich, London. Log in to use your own location.
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Tonight at a Glance

Waning Gibbous 100%
Dark window: 17:22 – 06:37 (13 h 15 m)

Bright moon tonight — deep-sky viewing will be limited

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.7 · 39° alt · Gemini Details
Next GRS transit:

No significant Jupiter events during tonight's dark window.

Comets

PANSTARRS mag 6.8 · 23° alt · Pegasus Details
bright 2.21 AU Perihelion: Apr 19 (in 20d)

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

Algol
HIP 14576; Beta Per; 26 Per Variable Star
mag 2.1

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Per
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 high in the east

Gem
M38
Starfish Cluster Open Cluster
mag 7.4

At 21:00 look high in the southeast

Auriga
Blue Snowball
NGC 7662 Planetary Nebula
mag 9.0

At 21:00 look high in the west

And
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 high in the west

Perseus

The Week Ahead

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Full Moonlight

The Full Moon is the brightest lunar phase, and tonight you can stand in the light of the first Full Moon of 2026. In fact, the Moon's full phase occurs on January 3 at 10:03 UTC, while only about 7 hours later planet Earth reaches its 2026 perihelion, the closest point in its elliptical orbit around the Sun, at 17:16 UTC. January's Full Moon was also not far from its own perigee, or closest approach to planet Earth. For this lunation the Moon's perigee was on January 1 at 21:44 UTC. You can also spot planet Jupiter, near its brightest for 2026 and close on the sky to the Full Moon tonight. But while you're out skygazing don't forget to look for rare, bright fireballs from the Quadrantid meteor shower.

Image credit: Jeff Dai — APOD is a service of NASA and Michigan Tech. U.

View on NASA APOD

Space News

Sendoff for Artemis II Crew

NASA officially presented the Artemis II crew of four astronauts (Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Canadian Hansen) who will fly around the Moon on humanity's first crewed lunar mission since Apollo.

NASA — 30 Mar 2026

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

NASA awarded Intuitive Machines $180.4 million to deliver science payloads to the lunar surface as part of the Artemis program's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.

NASA — 27 Mar 2026

NASA Releases Artemis II Moon Mission Launch Countdown

NASA released the official launch countdown for Artemis II, targeting no earlier than April 1, 2026, to send the four-person crew on their 10-day journey around the Moon.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

NASA Names Scientists to Support Lunar South Pole Science

NASA selected 10 scientists to develop the lunar science plan for Artemis astronauts, including deployment of instruments and collection of Moon rocks at the lunar south pole.

NASA — 27 Mar 2026

Never Miss a Meteor Shower

A complete calendar of annual meteor showers with peak dates, hourly rates, moon interference, and radiant positions. Plan ahead and know exactly when to look up.

Never Miss a Meteor Shower Open Meteor Showers

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