January for lovers of astronomy is highlighted by the Quadrantid meteor shower, as Greg Redfern highlights in January’s edition of “Eyes to the Skies.”<\/p>\n
\u201cEyes to the Skies\u201d is a recurring feature and publishes on the first of every month. You can find it on WTOP\u2019s The Space Place<\/a>. Email Greg your space questions and he might answer them in the next edition.<\/strong><\/p>\n Happy New Year\u2019s everyone and welcome to WTOP\u2019s monthly space feature, \u201cEyes to the Skies.\u201d Each month features the best the sky has to offer stargazers regarding the moon, planets and stars. Space-related events that might interest you taking place in the D.C. region will be included as well.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get to the sky for January 2026!<\/p>\n Must-see sky sights for January<\/strong><\/p>\n Star of the month<\/strong><\/p>\n In January, be on the lookout for the bright reddish colored star Betelgeuse<\/a>. You should be able to see it right after it gets dark in the southeast. Betelgeuse is easy to spot in the very bright and distinctive constellation Orion the Hunter<\/a>, which can be used to find and recognize the winter constellations.<\/p>\n Orion is one of the most recognizable and well-known constellations<\/a> of the 88 that comprise the sky. Orion, or parts of the constellation, are visible anywhere on our planet. It can be seen upside down below the equator<\/a>, if you go far enough south.<\/p>\n And if you own binoculars and\/or a telescope \u2014 maybe Santa was good to you \u2014 be sure to check out the Orion Nebula<\/a> for an amazing view of a stellar nursery. Orion makes for a very nice smartphone pic \u2014 you may even image the nebula.<\/p>\n Highlights of the month<\/strong><\/p>\n As January begins, the bright constellations and stars of winter<\/a> make their appearances as soon as it gets dark. As the night progresses, the \u201cbest and brightest\u201d are high in the south at 11 p.m. Bright Jupiter adds to their splendor. By month\u2019s end you can still see them easily, high in the sky.<\/p>\n Jan. 3<\/strong> \u2014 For 2026, Earth is closest to the Sun today \u2014 perihelion<\/a> \u2014 at 12:16 p.m. Distance will be 91,403,637 miles (147,099,894 km).<\/p>\n Jan. 3<\/strong> \u2014 The full wolf supermoon<\/a> occurs at 5:03 a.m. and can be seen in the west before dawn. Jupiter will be nearby. You can also use this website to determine moonrise\/moonset for your location. This is the fourth in a row full supermoon<\/a> and the first full moon for 2026.<\/p>\n Jan. 3<\/strong> \u2014 As it gets dark the almost-full moon (99% illuminated) and bright Jupiter rise in the east. If you have a clear horizon, the celestial duo will be quite striking as they rise.<\/p>\n Jan. 4<\/strong> \u2014 The Quadrantids meteor shower<\/a> has very poor viewing conditions this year as the moon is almost full. The shower produces bright meteors that should still be visible. The best time to view is after midnight to dawn. Bundle up, get a warm drink and some friends to enjoy this sky sight.<\/p>\n Jan. 7<\/strong> \u2014 Remember our star of the month in October, Algol<\/a>? It is worth looking at it going to minimum brightness for two hours centered at 12:13 a.m. and then getting brighter. See the other dates this month below. Try taking a smartphone\/camera picture.<\/p>\n Jan. 9<\/strong> \u2014 Algol again at 9:02 p.m.<\/p>\n Jan. 10<\/strong> \u2014 Jupiter at opposition<\/a> in the constellation of Gemini the Twins<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jan. 14<\/strong> \u2014 A must-see in the predawn sky in the east is the waning crescent moon with probable earthshine<\/a> joining up with the star Antares at just three degrees apart. If your sky is dark enough with a clear horizon, you may spot the Milky Way stretching across the horizon. Try taking a smartphone\/camera picture. Binoculars will enhance the view greatly.<\/p>\n Jan. 31<\/strong> \u2014 In the predawn sky in the west, Jupiter, the almost-full moon and the star Pollux make a cool lineup. Try taking a smartphone\/camera picture.<\/p>\n The moon<\/strong><\/p>\n Jan. 4<\/strong> \u2014 Full wolf supermoon \u2014 fourth in a row full supermoon<\/p>\n Jan. 10<\/strong> \u2014 Last quarter<\/p>\n Jan. 18<\/strong> \u2014 New moon<\/p>\n Jan. 25<\/strong> \u2014 First quarter<\/p>\n Planets<\/strong><\/p>\n Mercury is in the glare of the sun as is Venus and Mars.<\/p>\n Jupiter is visible all night and quite bright.<\/p>\n Saturn is high in the southwest after dark. It will be a great view in a telescope as the rings cast a thin line across the planet.<\/p>\n Uranus<\/a> is in the eastern sky after dark. You need a telescope to best observe the planet, although it is visible in binoculars.<\/p>\n Neptune<\/a>\u00a0is in the east as it gets dark. You need a telescope to observe the planet.<\/p>\n Pluto<\/a>\u00a0is way out there in the solar system and requires taking images through a telescope spaced days apart to hunt it down.<\/p>\n DC-area events<\/strong><\/p>\n Bonus section<\/strong><\/p>\n Use this useful tool<\/a> to create a custom star chart for your location to help you find your way around the stars.<\/p>\n You can also send in any space-related questions to my email address. Suggestions about this feature are also welcome.<\/p>\n Follow\u00a0my daily blog<\/a>\u00a0to keep up with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration. You can email me at\u00a0skyguyinva@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"January for lovers of astronomy is highlighted by the Quadrantid meteor shower, as Greg Redfern highlights in January’s…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":485004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[4514,114008,219338,159,783,65262,67,132,68,219339,219340],"class_list":{"0":"post-485003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-astronomy","9":"tag-greg-redfern","10":"tag-quadrantids","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-space","13":"tag-supermoon","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-winter-constellations","18":"tag-wolf-supermoon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115820558199000846","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n