January 26, 2026: Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars are visible from the southwest to the east-northeast after sundown each evening. Through a binocular, watch Venus pass Neptune.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:08 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:59 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Times of celestial events are described compared to sunrise and sunset. Find those times in local sources.
Spot four bright planets each night after sundown, but first let’s start in this morning’s sky.
Morning Mars
Mars is the eastern world in a nightly planet display and the only planet in the sky at this hour. An hour before sunrise, it lingers low in the west-northwest. This may be the last morning to see the Red Planet at this time interval before sunrise. Mars appears lower each morning. Use a binocular to see it below Pollux, a Gemini Twin.
Morning Lunar Crescent
Fifteen minutes later, the crescent moon, 10% illuminated, is less than 10° above the southeast horizon. It is nearly 20° to Antares’ lower left, Scorpius’ brightest star.
The lunar orb reaches the New moon phase in three mornings at 6:36 a.m. Central Time.
After its appearance in the southeastern sky last month, Mercury is heading toward a solar conjunction next month. This morning it rises during bright twilight, 19 minutes before daybreak.
Spot Four Bright Planets Nightly
After sundown, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars seemingly hang on the solar system’s plane. To the unaided eye, the planets resemble stars.
Begin after sunset in the southwest. Brilliant Venus is unmistakable. It is the brightest starlike body in the sky, competing with bright lights on airplanes. It can be found in the southwestern sky as early as 30 minutes after sundown.
Saturn is 7.1° below Venus. Look for the pair an hour after sundown.
Return to this region of the sky in about 30 to 45 minutes to see Neptune in the same binocular field with Venus. The most-distant planet in the modern solar system model appears as a faint bluish star near the stars 20 Piscium (20 Psc on the chart) and 24 Piscium (24 Psc). This is a challenging view because the planet is very dim, and its identification might take multiple attempts across several nights. Look for the planet through February 2nd. After that date, the bright evening moonlight washes out dimmer celestial bodies.
Jupiter
Tonight, bright Jupiter, noticeably dimmer than Venus is high in the east-southeastern sky. Its retrograde ends soon near Aldebaran, Taurus’ brightest star. Tonight, the planet appears 5.1° to the star’s upper left.
The Hyades star cluster and Aldebaran make a sideways “V” shape outlining the Bull’s head. Through a binocular the shape fills the entire field. Then look at the Pleiades star cluster.
Mars and Gemini
Mars, nearly 30° up in the east, is 2.8° to Pollux’s right. The Red Planet retrogrades until February 23rd. In five nights, it passes Castor, with a gap of 5.9°. Watch it appear farther westward each night compared to the Twins.
The four bright evening planets span 125° along the ecliptic. This gap decreases as Mars retrogrades and Saturn plods slowly eastward.
Look for these four planets after nightfall through about mid-February until Saturn slowly slides into evening twilight.
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