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Wednesday, 28 January 2026 | Default Location
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Tonight at a Glance

Waxing Gibbous 79%
Dark window: 17:50 – 06:09 (12 h 19 m)

Bright moon tonight — best deep-sky viewing after moonset (05:24)

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.6 · 55° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Io Occultation begins
Io Occultation ends

Comets

PANSTARRS mag 7.3 · 7° alt · Pegasus Details
bright 2.40 AU Perihelion: Apr 19 (in 23d)

For Beginners (naked eye)

Hyades
Open Cluster
mag 0.5

At 21:00 look high in the southwest

Taurus
M42
Great Orion Nebula Nebula
mag 4.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Orion
NGC 2232
Open Cluster
mag 3.9

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Mon

Binocular Targets

U Ori
Variable Star
mag 5.4

At 21:00 look high in the south

Ori
M35
Shoe-Buckle Cluster Open Cluster
mag 5.3

At 21:00 look high in the south

Gemini
M31
Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy
mag 3.4

At 21:00 look halfway up 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 southeast

Gem
M38
Starfish Cluster Open Cluster
mag 7.4

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Auriga
M43
De Mairan's Nebula Nebula
mag 9.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Orion
M81
Bode's Galaxy Galaxy
mag 6.9

At 21:00 look high in the northeast

Ursa Major
3 Gem
Variable Star
mag 5.8

At 21:00 look high in the south

Gem

Big Scopes (8–12 inch)

Z Cam
Variable Star
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look high in the northeast

Cam
NGC 2141
Open Cluster
mag 9.4

At 21:00 look high in the south

Ori
M97
Owl Nebula Planetary Nebula
mag 9.9

At 21:00 look halfway up in the northeast

Ursa Major
NGC 1964
Galaxy
mag 10.8

At 21:00 look low in the south

Lep
RX And
Variable Star
mag 10.2

At 21:00 look halfway up in the west

And

The Week Ahead

Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue
🌔 79% 🌔 87% 🌔 94% 🌕 98% 🌕 100% 🌕 99% 🌖 96%

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

M78: Reflecting Blue in a Sea of Red

In the vast Orion Molecular Cloud complex, several bright blue nebulas are particularly apparent. Pictured here in the center are two of the most prominent reflection nebulas - dust clouds lit by the reflecting light of bright embedded stars. The more famous nebula is M78, in the image center, cataloged over 200 years ago. To its upper left is the lesser known NGC 2071. Astronomers continue to study these reflection nebulas to better understand how interior stars form. The overall red glow is from diffuse hydrogen gas that covers much of the Orion complex that spans much of the constellation of Orion. Nearby in the greater complex, which lies about 1,500 light years away, are the Orion Nebula, the Horsehead Nebula, and Barnard's Loop -- partially seen here as the white band on the upper left. Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator

Image credit: Daniel McCauley — APOD is a service of NASA and Michigan Tech. U.

View on NASA APOD

Space News

NASA Releases Artemis II Moon Mission Launch Countdown

NASA releases Artemis II launch countdown for the crewed mission around the Moon with astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, targeting no earlier than April 1.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

NASA to Unveil Complete Roman Telescope, Host Media Briefing

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope completes construction and prelaunch testing, with a media preview scheduled for April 21 at Goddard Space Flight Center.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

NASA’s IXPE Gets Fresh Look at Supernova

NASA's IXPE mission captures new observations of supernova RCW 86, providing complementary X-ray polarimetry data to advance understanding of supernova physics.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

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