Star Almanack
Alexander Ferrari Miller

ISO 2026-W04

Week begins: Monday, January 19, 2026

Notation:

Calendar

DateZodiac dayEvents
Mon, Jan 19, 2026♑ 30
β Men — Binoculars 5 — Antarctic Winter
β Cam — Binoculars 4 — Northern Winter
Tue, Jan 20, 2026♒ 1
♒ Sun enters Aquarius — 01:44:56 UTC
Finest NGC 25 / NGC 1788 · vdB 33 — Telescope — Tropical Winter
Cursa (β Eri) — Naked eye 3 — Tropical Winter
Wed, Jan 21, 2026♒ 2
C73 / NGC 1851 — Telescope 7 — Southern Winter
Rigel (β Ori) / Rigel (β Orionis) — Naked eye 0 — Tropical Winter
Thu, Jan 22, 2026♒ 3
C31 / IC 405 · Flaming Star Nebula — Telescope 6 — Northern Winter
Capella (α Aur) — Naked eye 0 — Northern Winter
Fri, Jan 23, 2026♒ 4
Sat, Jan 24, 2026♒ 5
M79 — Telescope 8 — Southern Winter
Bellatrix (γ Ori) — Naked eye 2 — Tropical Winter
Elnath (β Tau) — Naked eye 2 — Northern Winter
Sun, Jan 25, 2026♒ 6
Nihal (β Lep) — Naked eye 3 — Tropical Winter
M38 — Telescope 7 — Northern Winter
Finest NGC 24 / NGC 1931 — Telescope 14 — Northern Winter

Weekly Solar-System Ephemeris

Snapshot: Week begins January 19, 2026, 00:00 UTC.

(-90° to +90°; defaults +45°, 21:00 LAT)

Notation:
Body☉︎☽︎☿︎♀︎♂︎♃︎♄︎
Ecliptic♑︎ 28°54′
β −0°00′		♒︎ 0°53′
β −3°13′		♑︎ 27°11′
β −1°59′		♒︎ 1°51′
β −1°05′		♑︎ 26°35′
β −0°59′		♋︎ 18°57′
β +0°17′		♓︎ 27°27′
β −2°12′
ObservingNight☉︎☉︎☉︎☉︎Naked eye -2.7Naked eye 1.0
Rise07:2207:4907:3007:3907:2215:3710:00
Set16:3816:3416:1916:4716:2006:5921:41

Extended targets:

Body⚳︎♅︎♆︎♇︎
Ecliptic♈︎ 11°29′
β −7°46′		♉︎ 27°34′
β −0°12′		♓︎ 29°49′
β −1°19′		♒︎ 3°17′
β −3°47′
ObservingTelescope 9.0Binoculars 5.7Telescope 7.8☉︎
Rise10:5812:1110:0008:00
Set22:4303:0321:5516:44

β = ecliptic latitude (+ north, − south).
Rise and set are Local Apparent Time for the selected latitude.
Naked-eye observing uses the Sun’s altitude at the selected Monday observer time: Daylight (Sun ≥ −0.833°), Civil twilight (−0.833° to −6°), Nautical twilight (−6° to −12°), Astronomical twilight (−12° to −18°), and Night (below −18°).
Solar Glare identifies a body too close to the Sun when the sky-state rule does not already supersede its naked-eye classification.
The Sun’s observing status uses this same five-state sky classification.

Notation:

Planet Finder

Planet Finder — Greek / Symbols
Greek / Symbols
Planet Finder — English
English
Planet Finder — Mixed Learner
Mixed Learner

Sky Notes

Kilroy: Sky Notes · generated 2026-10-11 23:39:15 UTC

View:

ISO 2026-W04 runs from January 19 through January 25. Mercury and Mars are separated by about 0.6° in geocentric ecliptic longitude at the Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Venus and Pluto are separated by about 1.4° in geocentric ecliptic longitude at the Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot.

Naked eye: No principal lunar phase is listed this week. Check the Moon's position each night and favor darker hours for low-contrast targets. Use Cursa, Rigel, Capella, Bellatrix, Elnath, Nihal as the week’s fixed-sky framework.

Planets: Moon: In solar glare; magnitude -4.3; direct motion; 0.1% illuminated. Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Conjunction with Venus in ecliptic longitude Jan 19 02:02 UTC. Conjunction with Ceres in ecliptic longitude Jan 24 12:33 UTC. Conjunction with Saturn in ecliptic longitude Jan 23 09:32 UTC. Conjunction with Neptune in ecliptic longitude Jan 23 13:17 UTC. Conjunction with Pluto in ecliptic longitude Jan 19 04:35 UTC. Mercury: In solar glare; magnitude -1.2; direct motion; 99.7% illuminated. Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Solar conjunction in ecliptic longitude Jan 21 15:49 UTC. Conjunction with Pluto in ecliptic longitude Jan 22 17:14 UTC. Venus: In solar glare; magnitude -3.9; direct motion; 99.9% illuminated. Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Conjunction with Moon in ecliptic longitude Jan 19 02:02 UTC. Conjunction with Pluto in ecliptic longitude Jan 20 04:04 UTC. Mars: In solar glare; magnitude 1.1; direct motion; 100.0% illuminated. Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Ceres: Telescope; magnitude 9.0; direct motion; 97.3% illuminated. Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Conjunction with Moon in ecliptic longitude Jan 24 12:33 UTC. Jupiter: Naked eye; magnitude -2.7; retrograde motion; 100.0% illuminated. Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Saturn: Naked eye; magnitude 1.0; direct motion; 99.8% illuminated. Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Conjunction with Moon in ecliptic longitude Jan 23 09:32 UTC. Uranus: Binoculars; magnitude 5.7; retrograde motion; 100.0% illuminated. Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Neptune: Telescope; magnitude 7.8; direct motion; 100.0% illuminated. Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Conjunction with Moon in ecliptic longitude Jan 23 13:17 UTC. Pluto: In solar glare; magnitude 14.5; direct motion; 100.0% illuminated. Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Solar conjunction in ecliptic longitude Jan 23 10:28 UTC. Conjunction with Moon in ecliptic longitude Jan 19 04:35 UTC. Conjunction with Mercury in ecliptic longitude Jan 22 17:14 UTC. Conjunction with Venus in ecliptic longitude Jan 20 04:04 UTC.

Binoculars: Trace Mensa’s charted figure in the finder, then identify β Men at its charted position. Trace Camelopardalis’s charted figure in the finder, then identify β Cam at its charted position.

Small telescope: vdB 33: consult its dedicated finder and observing story for equipment guidance; NGC 1851: consult its dedicated finder and observing story for equipment guidance; Flaming Star Nebula: consult its dedicated finder and observing story for equipment guidance; M79: consult its dedicated finder and observing story for equipment guidance; M38: consult its dedicated finder and observing story for equipment guidance; NGC 1931: consult its dedicated finder and observing story for equipment guidance

Substantial telescope: No fixed-sky Calendar object is classified as requiring a substantial telescope this week.

Other objects listed this week: None

Mercury

Mercury: in solar glare at the Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Rises 07:30; sets 16:19 (45°N, local apparent solar time). Visual magnitude -1.2. The disk is 99.7% illuminated (nearly full). It is 2.6° from the Sun, on its west side. Motion is direct at 1.655° per day in ecliptic longitude at the snapshot. Position reference: Dabih, 9.8° away. Moon is 3.9° away at the snapshot. Venus is 4.7° away at the snapshot. Mars is 1.2° away at the snapshot. Solar conjunction in ecliptic longitude Jan 21 15:49 UTC. Conjunction with Pluto in ecliptic longitude Jan 22 17:14 UTC. Mercury: 9.8° from Dabih in the Pathfinder.

Venus

Venus: in solar glare at the Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Rises 07:39; sets 16:47 (45°N, local apparent solar time). Visual magnitude -3.9. The disk is 99.9% illuminated (nearly full). It is 3.1° from the Sun, on its east side. Motion is direct at 1.257° per day in ecliptic longitude at the snapshot. Position reference: Dabih, 6.2° away. Moon is 2.3° away at the snapshot. Mercury is 4.7° away at the snapshot. Pluto is 3.1° away at the snapshot. Conjunction with Moon in ecliptic longitude Jan 19 02:02 UTC. Conjunction with Pluto in ecliptic longitude Jan 20 04:04 UTC. Venus: 6.2° from Dabih in the Pathfinder.

Moon

Moon: in solar glare at the Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Rises 07:49; sets 16:34 (45°N, local apparent solar time). Visual magnitude -4.3. The disk is 0.1% illuminated (waxing crescent). It is 3.8° from the Sun, on its east side. Motion is direct at 12.531° per day in ecliptic longitude at the snapshot. Position reference: Dabih, 8.6° away. Mercury is 3.9° away at the snapshot. Venus is 2.3° away at the snapshot. Mars is 4.8° away at the snapshot. Pluto is 2.5° away at the snapshot. Conjunction with Venus in ecliptic longitude Jan 19 02:02 UTC. Conjunction with Ceres in ecliptic longitude Jan 24 12:33 UTC. Conjunction with Saturn in ecliptic longitude Jan 23 09:32 UTC. Conjunction with Neptune in ecliptic longitude Jan 23 13:17 UTC. Conjunction with Pluto in ecliptic longitude Jan 19 04:35 UTC. Moon: 8.6° from Dabih in the Pathfinder.

Mars

Mars: in solar glare at the Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Rises 07:22; sets 16:20 (45°N, local apparent solar time). Visual magnitude 1.1. The disk is 100.0% illuminated (nearly full). It is 2.5° from the Sun, on its west side. Motion is direct at 0.777° per day in ecliptic longitude at the snapshot. Position reference: Dabih, 9.6° away. Moon is 4.8° away at the snapshot. Mercury is 1.2° away at the snapshot. Mars: 9.6° from Dabih in the Pathfinder.

Jupiter

Jupiter: naked eye at the Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. At 45°N and 21:00 local apparent solar time, it is 53.9° above the horizon. Rises 15:37; sets 06:59 (45°N, local apparent solar time). Visual magnitude -2.7. The disk is 100.0% illuminated (nearly full). It is 170.0° from the Sun, on its east side. Motion is retrograde at 0.131° per day in ecliptic longitude at the snapshot. Position reference: Pollux, 7.9° away. Jupiter: 7.9° from Pollux in the Pathfinder.

Saturn

Saturn: naked eye at the Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. At 45°N and 21:00 local apparent solar time, it is 6.6° above the horizon. Rises 10:00; sets 21:41 (45°N, local apparent solar time). Visual magnitude 1.0. The disk is 99.8% illuminated (nearly full). It is 58.6° from the Sun, on its east side. Motion is direct at 0.084° per day in ecliptic longitude at the snapshot. Position reference: Fumalsamakah, 14.1° away. Neptune is 2.5° away at the snapshot. Conjunction with Moon in ecliptic longitude Jan 23 09:32 UTC. Saturn: 14.1° from Fumalsamakah in the Pathfinder.

Uranus

Uranus: binoculars at the Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. At 45°N and 21:00 local apparent solar time, it is 59.1° above the horizon. Rises 12:11; sets 03:03 (45°N, local apparent solar time). Visual magnitude 5.7. The disk is 100.0% illuminated (nearly full). It is 118.7° from the Sun, on its east side. Motion is retrograde at 0.014° per day in ecliptic longitude at the snapshot. Position reference: Aldebaran, 13.6° away. Uranus: 13.6° from Aldebaran in the Pathfinder.

Neptune

Neptune: telescope at the Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. At 45°N and 21:00 local apparent solar time, it is 9.1° above the horizon. Rises 10:00; sets 21:55 (45°N, local apparent solar time). Visual magnitude 7.8. The disk is 100.0% illuminated (nearly full). It is 60.9° from the Sun, on its east side. Motion is direct at 0.022° per day in ecliptic longitude at the snapshot. Position reference: Fumalsamakah, 15.0° away. Saturn is 2.5° away at the snapshot. Conjunction with Moon in ecliptic longitude Jan 23 13:17 UTC. Neptune: 15.0° from Fumalsamakah in the Pathfinder.

Ceres

Ceres: telescope at the Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. At 45°N and 21:00 local apparent solar time, it is 17.0° above the horizon. Rises 10:58; sets 22:43 (45°N, local apparent solar time). Visual magnitude 9.0. The disk is 97.3% illuminated (gibbous). It is 72.7° from the Sun, on its east side. Motion is direct at 0.275° per day in ecliptic longitude at the snapshot. Position reference: Diphda, 15.4° away. Conjunction with Moon in ecliptic longitude Jan 24 12:33 UTC. Ceres: 15.4° from Diphda in the Pathfinder.

Pluto

Pluto: in solar glare at the Monday 00:00 UTC snapshot. Rises 08:00; sets 16:44 (45°N, local apparent solar time). Visual magnitude 14.5. The disk is 100.0% illuminated (nearly full). It is 5.8° from the Sun, on its east side. Motion is direct at 0.032° per day in ecliptic longitude at the snapshot. Position reference: Dabih, 8.4° away. Moon is 2.5° away at the snapshot. Venus is 3.1° away at the snapshot. Solar conjunction in ecliptic longitude Jan 23 10:28 UTC. Conjunction with Moon in ecliptic longitude Jan 19 04:35 UTC. Conjunction with Mercury in ecliptic longitude Jan 22 17:14 UTC. Conjunction with Venus in ecliptic longitude Jan 20 04:04 UTC. Pluto: 8.4° from Dabih in the Pathfinder.