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Sky Digest

Sunday, 4 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 97%
Dark window: 17:22 – 06:37 (13 h 14 m)

Bright moon tonight — deep-sky viewing will be limited

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.7 · 40° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Europa Occultation ends
Io Shadow transit begins
Io Transit begins
Io Shadow transit ends

Comets

PANSTARRS mag 6.8 · 22° 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

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 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 halfway up 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

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
🌕 97% 🌖 92% 🌖 85% 🌖 77% 🌖 68% 🌖 58% 🌗 48%

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

The Einstein Cross Gravitational Lens

Most galaxies have a single nucleus -- does this galaxy have four? The strange answer leads astronomers to conclude that the nucleus of the surrounding galaxy is not even visible in this image. The central cloverleaf is rather light emitted from a background quasar. The gravitational field of the visible foreground galaxy breaks light from this distant quasar into four distinct images. The quasar must be properly aligned behind the center of a massive galaxy for a mirage like this to be evident. The general effect is known as gravitational lensing, and this specific case is known as the Einstein Cross. Stranger still, the images of the Einstein Cross vary in relative brightness, enhanced occasionally by the additional gravitational microlensing effect of specific stars in the foreground galaxy. Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator

APOD is a service of NASA and Michigan Tech. U.

View on NASA APOD

Space News

Sendoff for Artemis II Crew

NASA's Artemis II crew of four astronauts (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen) is officially proceeding toward launch, marking 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 awarded Intuitive Machines $180.4 million to deliver seven science payloads to the lunar surface as part of the CLPS initiative supporting the Artemis program.

NASA — 27 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 instrument deployment and sample collection at the lunar south pole.

NASA — 27 Mar 2026

NASA Releases Artemis II Moon Mission Launch Countdown

NASA released the Artemis II launch countdown, targeting no earlier than April 1, 2026, for the crewed mission to send four astronauts around the Moon and back to Earth.

NASA — 26 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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