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Thursday, 8 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 68%
Dark window: 17:26 – 06:33 (13 h 7 m)

Bright moon tonight — best deep-sky viewing before moonrise (22:43)

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.7 · 43° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Io Shadow transit begins
Io Transit begins
Io Shadow transit ends
Io Transit ends
+2 more — Details

Comets

PANSTARRS mag 6.8 · 20° alt · Pegasus Details
bright 2.24 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
M31
Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy
mag 3.4

At 21:00 look high in the west

Andromeda

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
M81
Bode's Galaxy Galaxy
mag 6.9

At 21:00 look high in the northeast

Ursa Major

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
M43
De Mairan's Nebula Nebula
mag 9.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the southeast

Orion
M101
Pinwheel Galaxy Galaxy
mag 7.9

At 21:00 look low in the north

Ursa Major
32 Eri
Double Star
mag 4.8

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Eri

Big Scopes (8–12 inch)

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
M97
Owl Nebula Planetary Nebula
mag 9.9

At 21:00 look halfway up in the northeast

Ursa Major
M76
Little Dumbbell Nebula Planetary Nebula
mag 10.1

At 21:00 look high in the west

Perseus

The Week Ahead

Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed
🌖 68% 🌖 58% 🌗 48% 🌗 39% 🌗 30% 🌘 22% 🌘 14%

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis

Similar in size to large, bright spiral galaxies in our neighborhood, IC 342 is a mere 10 million light-years distant toward the long-necked, northern constellation Camelopardalis. A sprawling island universe, IC 342 would otherwise be a prominent galaxy in our night sky, but it is hidden from clear view and only glimpsed through the veil of stars, gas and dust clouds along the plane of our own Milky Way galaxy. Even though IC 342's light is dimmed and reddened by intervening cosmic clouds, this sharp telescopic image traces the galaxy's own obscuring dust, young star clusters, and glowing star forming regions along spiral arms that wind far from the galaxy's core. IC 342 has undergone a recent burst of star formation activity and is close enough to have influenced the evolution of the local group of galaxies and the Milky Way.

Image credit: Gaetan Maxant — APOD is a service of NASA and Michigan Tech. U.

View on NASA APOD

Space News

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 CLPS initiative supporting the Artemis program, advancing lunar exploration capabilities.

NASA — 27 Mar 2026

NASA Names Scientists to Support Lunar South Pole Science

NASA selected 10 scientists to develop a lunar surface 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 launch countdown for Artemis II, targeting no earlier than April 1, 2026, to send four astronauts on a 10-day crewed mission around the Moon.

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 crewed lunar mission, highlighting international collaboration.

ESA — 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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