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Saturday, 31 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

Waxing Gibbous 98%
Dark window: 17:55 – 06:04 (12 h 9 m)

Bright moon tonight — deep-sky viewing will be limited

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.6 · 56° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Io Shadow transit begins
Io Transit begins
Io Shadow transit ends
Io Transit ends
+3 more — Details

Comets

PANSTARRS mag 7.3 · 6° 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)

T Tau
Variable Star
mag 9.3

At 21:00 look high in the southwest

Tau
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
Z Cam
Variable Star
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look high in the northeast

Cam

The Week Ahead

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Artemis I: Flight Day 13

On flight day 13 (November 28, 2022) of the Artemis 1 mission, the Orion spacecraft reached its maximum distance from Earth. At over 430,000 kilometers from Earth, its distant retrograde orbit also puts Orion nearly 70,000 kilometers from the Moon. In the same field of view in this video frame from flight day 13, planet and large natural satellite even appear about the same apparent size from the spacecraft's perspective. On flight day 26 (December 11, 2022), the uncrewed spacecraft splashed down on its home world concluding the historic Artemis I mission. The Artemis II mission, carrying 4 astronauts around the moon and back again, will launch no earlier than February 8.

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 released the Artemis II launch countdown, targeting April 1 for the crewed mission around the Moon with astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

NASA to Unveil Complete Roman Telescope, Host Media Briefing

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope completed construction and is wrapping up prelaunch testing, with a media viewing opportunity scheduled for April 21 at Goddard Space Flight Center.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

NASA’s Hubble Detects First-Ever Spin Reversal of Tiny Comet

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope detected the first-ever spin reversal of a small comet, demonstrating how volatile activity affects the physical evolution of small bodies in the solar system.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

NASA’s IXPE Gets Fresh Look at Supernova

NASA's IXPE mission obtained a new observation of supernova RCW 86, providing X-ray polarimetry data that complements observations from other telescopes for a fuller understanding of the supernova.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

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