TRAC Action Plan: January 2026

January 2026 Calendar

• Sat, 03 Jan Earth at Perihelion (closest to the Sun)
• Sat, 03 Jan Full Moon ("Supermoon")
• Sat, 03 Jan Quadrantids Meteor Shower peaks
• Fri, 09 Jan Jupiter closest to Earth (633m km)
• Sat, 10 Jan Jupiter at Opposition
• Sat, 10 Jan Last Quarter Moon
• Thu, 15 Jan Jupiter's Moons in a line (18:00)
• Sun, 18 Jan New Moon
• Fri, 23 Jan Crescent Moon close to Saturn
• Sun, 25 Jan Lunar V & X can be seen on the Moon (17:00)
• Mon, 26 Jan First Quarter Moon
• Tue, 27 Jan Moon occults the Pleiades (21:00)
• Thu, 29 Jan Jupiter's Moons in a line (21:00)
• Fri, 30 Jan Moon close to Jupiter
• Sat, 31 Jan Moon close to Jupiter

Stargazing

Winter Constellations

Constellations to look out for this month include:

• Cancer
• Canis Major
• Canis Minor
• Taurus
• Orion
• Lepus
• Auriga
• Gemini

We'll pay attention to the colours of the stars in constellations such as Orion and look out for Sirius, the Dog Star, which is the brightest star in the sky. Its light appears to flicker red, white, and blue.

Astrophotography

Nebula Targets in Orion

We'll take a closer look at objects found in the constellation of Orion. This will be our main astrophotography project for January and February. Using the Seestar S50, we'll set out to capture the beauty of the various nebulae, galaxies, and stars located in Orion.

BBC Sky at Night Magazine has compiled a list of the best sights in Orion, which we'll use to guide us.

More information: 10 wonderful targets to see in the Orion constellation

Planets

Skip to: Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Uranus | Neptune

Mercury

• Mercury reaches superior conjunction on 21 Jan 2026.
• It will not be visible this month.

Venus

• Venus is in superior conjunction on 06 Jan 2026.
• It will be visible again as an evening planet in April 2026.

Mars

• Mars is not visible this month.

Jupiter

• Jupiter (mag. -2.5) will dominate the evening sky all month.
• See it in Gemini near to the bright stars Castor and Pollux.
• It reaches opposition on 10 Jan 2026.
• TRAC's main goal with Jupiter is to see the GRS.
• We will also take photos with the Seestar S50.

Jupiter Event Timings:

• Jupiter's GRS Transit Times
• Jupiter's Moon Event Times

Special Galilean Moon Events:

• Callisto occulted by Jupiter's shadow: 01 Jan 2026 @ 20:00
• Io close to its shadow as it transits: 07 Jan 2026 @ 20:20-22:45
• Europa touches its shadow as it transits: 11 Jan 2026 @ 17:50-20:45

Saturn

• Saturn (mag. +1.2) is high all evening in Aquarius.
• Saturn now sets by about 22:00.

Special Saturn Moon Events:

• Titan Occultation Ends: 01 Jan 2026 @ 21:06
• Titan Transit: 09 Jan 2026 @ 16:52-22:22
• Titan Occultation Ends: 17 Jan 2026 @ 20:23
• Titan Transit: 25 Jan 2026 @ 17:35-21:36

Uranus

• Uranus (mag. +5.7) reached opposition on 21 Nov 2025 in Taurus.
• The planet is still excellently placed for us, rising high by 18:00.
• It currently lies south of the Pleiades, making it easy to locate with binoculars.

Neptune

• Neptune (mag. +7.9) is still close to Saturn.
• It will be best viewed at the start of the month.
• The Sky Live will show you exactly where Neptune is right now.

Lunar Observations

January 2026 Lunar Calendar

• Full Moon Sat 03
• Last Quarter Sat 10
• New Moon Sun 18
• First Quarter Mon 26

January 2026 Full Moon

• On 03 Jan 2026, this month's Full Moon will rise at 14:30.
• It will be located in Gemini and will be close to the planet Jupiter.
• It's another Perigee Full Moon ("Supermoon").

It might be possible to watch the moonrise from the street or the park.

Lunar Occultations

• On 27 Jan 2026, the Moon will occult the northern section of the Pleiades open cluster at 21:30.
• Photographing this is very challenging due to the Moon's brightness.

Clair-obscur Effects

• The Lunar V and Lunar X can be seen on the Moon at 17:00 on 25 Jan 2026.
• More information: 7 clair-obscur effects to observe on the Moon

Meteor Showers

The Quadrantids

• Active Dates: 26 Dec 2025 - 16 Jan 2026
• Peak Night: 03 Jan 2026
• Peak Rate: <10 meteors per hour
• Radiant: Boötes
• The peak period only lasts about six hours.
• Known for their bright fireball meteors.

The Quadrantids in 2026:
The Full Moon will spoil the view of the meteor shower this year.

Summary

Top Priorities for January 2026

In descending order of importance:

1. Jupiter at Opposition
2. Orion Astrophotography
3. Jupiter Moon Events

See You Out There

Earth will reach perihelion (when it's closest to the Sun) on 03 Jan 2026.

Let's aim to get some detailed photos of Jupiter and the Orion targets.

We'll also review how we got on in 2025 and set our club's mission for 2026. Have a think about what aspects of astronomy you'd like to focus on in the year ahead.

James M
TRAC Team Leader
01 Jan 2026 – Rainham, Kent