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Friday, 9 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 58%
Dark window: 17:26 – 06:33 (13 h 6 m)

Bright moon tonight — best deep-sky viewing before moonrise (23:57)

Aurora Forecast — Very unlikely

Kp 3.3 / need 7 Bz -5.4 nT

Geomagnetic activity far below the Kp 7 needed at your latitude.

View full forecast

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.7 · 44° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Io Occultation ends
Europa Shadow transit begins
Europa Transit begins
Europa Shadow transit ends
+3 more — Details

Comets

PANSTARRS mag 6.8 · 19° 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

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
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
M77
Cetus A or Squid Galaxy Galaxy
mag 8.9

At 21:00 look halfway up in the southwest

Cetus

The Week Ahead

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu
🌖 58% 🌗 48% 🌗 39% 🌗 30% 🌘 22% 🌘 14% 🌘 8%

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Ice Halos by Moonlight and Sunlight

Both Moon and Sun create beautiful ice halos in planet Earth's sky. In fact, the two brightest celestial beacons are each surrounded by a complex of ice halos in these photos of the sky above Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in France. The panels were recorded one night (left) and the following day at the end of December 2025. Similar ice halos appear in moonlight and sunlight because they are all formed through the geometry of flat, hexagonal ice crystals. The ice crystals reflect and refract light as they flutter in the cold atmosphere above the mountain resort. In the pictures both Moon and Sun are surrounded by a more commonly seen 22 degree circular halo. Bright and sometimes colorful patches at the intersections of the 22 degree circular halos with the indicated parselenic and parhelic arcs are also known as Moon dogs and Sun dogs. (Editor's note: Annotations updated by Marcella Pace)

Image credit: ice halos — 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 awards Intuitive Machines $180.4 million to deliver seven science payloads to the lunar surface as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative supporting the Artemis program.

NASA — 27 Mar 2026

NASA Names Scientists to Support Lunar South Pole Science

NASA selects 10 participating scientists to develop a science plan for Artemis astronauts to execute on the lunar surface, including instrument deployment and sample collection.

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, for the crewed mission that will take four astronauts 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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