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Sunday, 1 February 2026 | Default Location
Showing the sky from Greenwich, London. Log in to use your own location.
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Tonight at a Glance

Full Moon 100%
Dark window: 17:56 – 06:03 (12 h 6 m)

Bright moon tonight — deep-sky viewing will be limited

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.6 · 57° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Europa Occultation begins
Europa Occultation ends

Comets

PANSTARRS mag 7.5 · 5° alt · Pegasus Details
bright 2.41 AU Perihelion: Apr 19 (in 23d)

For Beginners (naked eye)

NGC 2232
Open Cluster
mag 3.9

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Mon
M42
Great Orion Nebula Nebula
mag 4.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Orion
Hyades
Open Cluster
mag 0.5

At 21:00 look high in the southwest

Taurus

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
Eskimo Nebula
NGC 2392 Planetary Nebula
mag 9.2

At 21:00 look high in the southeast

Gemini
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

Galle: Happy Face Crater on Mars

Mars has put on a happy face. The Martian crater Galle is famous because it has internal markings that make it look like a face that is both smiling and winking. These markings were originally discovered in the 1970s in pictures taken by the Viking Orbiter. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft that orbited Mars from 1996 to 2006 captured the featured picture. Happy Face Crater and its iconic features were formed by chance billions of years ago when a city-sized asteroid slammed into the Martian surface. All rocky planets and moons in our Solar System show impact craters, with the highest number of craters found on Earth's Moon and the planet Mercury. Earth and Venus would show the most, though, were it not for weather and erosion. Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after 1995)

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 countdown for the crewed lunar mission targeting April 1 launch 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 completes construction and prelaunch testing, with full telescope unveiling scheduled for April 21 at Goddard Space Flight Center.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

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

Hubble Space Telescope detects first-ever spin reversal of a small comet, providing new insights into how volatile activity affects the physical evolution of solar system bodies.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

NASA’s IXPE Gets Fresh Look at Supernova

NASA's IXPE mission captures new observations of supernova RCW 86, combining X-ray polarimetry data with legacy observations to provide a comprehensive picture of the explosion.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

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