January 4, 2026: Bright Jupiter and the Wolf Moon dominate January nights as Jupiter nears opposition. See when and where to look, with precise angular separations and observing tips.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:18 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:33 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Bright Jupiter and the Wolf moon dominate the nighttime sky, while Saturn is visible for a few hours after sundown.
Before Sunrise
Before sunrise, the bright moon, 98% illuminated, is over 20° above the western horizon. The Wolf moon—the first Full moon of the season—peaked slightly more than a day ago. After sunset yesterday, the lunar orb passed between Jupiter and Pollux, one of the Gemini Twins. This morning, bright Jupiter is 8.0° to the moon’s lower right and 7.0° to Pollux’s lower left. Castor, Pollux, and the moon form a nearly straight line that spans nearly 11° from the moon to Castor.
With Venus passing on the far side of the sun at superior conjunction, Jupiter outshines all the stars in tonight’s sky. To the unaided eye, the planet resembles an unusually bright star, while a telescope reveals details of another world.
Jupiter continues to retrograde in front of Gemini. It passes Castor in a wide conjunction (9.8°) tomorrow. As opposition approaches—when Earth lies between Jupiter and the sun on January 10th—the planet’s apparent westward motion against the starfield is near its maximum. Over only a few nights, this motion is easily noticed.
After Sunset
After sunset, Saturn is nearly halfway from the south-southwest horizon to overhead. Now starting the night farther westward, the Ringed Wonder is gradually becoming more difficult to observe as it sinks into brighter twilight during the coming weeks. Tonight, Saturn sets about six hours after sundown.
Saturn’s rings are displayed nearly edge-on, like the rim of a dinner plate. Through a telescope, they appear as a thin line across the planet’s disk. Not as bright as Jupiter, Saturn is comparable in brightness to Fomalhaut—the 13th brightest star visible from the mid-northern latitudes—about 30° to Saturn’s lower right and 15° above the horizon.
With opposition nearing, Jupiter rises earlier each evening, appearing about 20 minutes after nightfall tonight. Correspondingly, it is lower in the west-northwest each morning.
Three hours after sunset—still early with the season’s short nights—Jupiter is nearly 30° above the east horizon and to Pollux’s lower right. At this hour, the moon, 96% illuminated, is nearly 15° above the east-northeast horizon and almost 18° to Jupiter’s lower left. Procyon, the Little Dog Star, is over 20° from the moon.
During the night, Earth’s rotation carries the sky westward. Jupiter is high in the southern sky around midnight and low in the west-northwest by tomorrow morning.
Look for bright Jupiter and the moon throughout the night. Saturn is best observed shortly after sunset.
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