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Sky Digest

Monday, 19 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

New Moon 1%
Dark window: 17:37 – 06:22 (12 h 44 m)

Aurora Forecast — Very unlikely

Kp 3.3 / need 7 Bz 3.8 nT

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

View full forecast

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.7 · 50° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:

Comets

PANSTARRS mag 7.0 · 13° alt · Pegasus Details
bright 2.26 AU Perihelion: Apr 19 (in 21d)

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 south

Orion
M31
Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy
mag 3.4

At 21:00 look high in the west

Andromeda

Binocular Targets

U Ori
Variable Star
mag 5.4

At 21:00 look high in the southeast

Ori
M37
Salt and Pepper Cluster Open Cluster
mag 6.2

At 21:00 look high in the southeast

Auriga
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
NGC 1907
Open Cluster
mag 8.2

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Aur
M43
De Mairan's Nebula Nebula
mag 9.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Orion
C5
IC 342 Galaxy
mag 9.2

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Camelopardalis
RX Lep
Variable Star
mag 5.7

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Lep

Big Scopes (8–12 inch)

NGC 1605
Open Cluster
mag 10.7

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Per
NGC 7048
Planetary Nebula
mag 11.0

At 21:00 look low in the northwest

Cyg
NGC 1560
Galaxy
mag 11.5

At 21:00 look high in the north

Cam
NGC 1964
Galaxy
mag 10.8

At 21:00 look low in the south

Lep
NGC 1637
Galaxy
mag 10.9

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Eri

The Week Ahead

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

CTB 1: The Medulla Nebula

What powers this unusual nebula? CTB 1 is the expanding gas shell that was left when a massive star toward the constellation of Cassiopeia exploded about 10,000 years ago. The star likely detonated when it ran out of elements, near its core, that could create stabilizing pressure with nuclear fusion. The resulting supernova remnant, nicknamed the Medulla Nebula for its brain-like shape, still glows in visible light because of the heat generated by its collision with confining interstellar gas. Why the nebula also glows in X-ray light, though, remains a topic of research. One hypothesis holds that an energetic pulsar was created and powers the nebula with a fast outwardly moving wind. Following this lead, a pulsar was found in radio waves that appears to have been expelled by the supernova explosion at over 1000 kilometers per second. Although the Medulla Nebula appears as large as a full moon, it is so faint that it took 84-hours of exposure with a small telescope in Texas, USA, to create the featured image.

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 science payloads to the lunar surface as part of the CLPS initiative and Artemis program, advancing lunar exploration capabilities.

NASA — 27 Mar 2026

NASA Names Scientists to Support Lunar South Pole Science

NASA selects 10 participating scientists to develop a comprehensive science plan for Artemis astronauts on the lunar south pole, 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 first crewed mission around the Moon with four astronauts.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

How Europe will power the journey to the Moon and back

Europe's Service Module provides critical propulsion, power, and life support systems for Artemis II, highlighting international collaboration on the lunar mission.

ESA — 27 Mar 2026

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