January 7, 2026: Daily sky almanac covering the sun, moon, planets, and seasonal stars, with precise directions, conjunctions, and observing guidance.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:18 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:36 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Today’s Almanac for Sun, Moon, and Planets
Sun: At Chicago’s latitude the sun is in the sky for 9 hours, 18 minutes. Sunrise continues to occur at the latest time, 7:18 a.m. Central Time. Farther southward in Miami, daylight lasts 10 hours, 37 minutes, while it spans only 5 hours, 56 minutes in Anchorage.
Moon: The lunar orb rises later each night and it is best viewed before sunrise. An hour before daybreak, the 80% illuminated moon is less than halfway up in the west-southwest, over 10 to Regulus’ upper left, Leo’s brightest star, and over 17° to Denebola’s lower right, the tail. Use a binocular to trace the shape of the westward-facing Lion.
Inferior Planets
Mercury: The innermost planet nears superior conjunction on the sun’s far side on the 21st. Today, it rises only 25 minutes before the sun.
Venus: Earth’s Twin planet passed superior conjunction yesterday to begin an apparition as the Evening Star. It first appears in the evening western in over a month.
Bright Superior Planets
Mars: The Red Planet’s conjunction with the sun occurs on the 9th. It is the third bright planet hidden by bright sunlight.
Jupiter: With Venus in bright sunlight, the Jovian Giant’s brightness rules the night as it approaches opposition on the 10th. It is over three times brighter than Sirius, the night’s brightest star. It rises in the east-northeast shortly after sunset, appears high in the southern sky near midnight, and is low in the west-northwest during morning twilight. It retrogrades in front of Gemini, near the Twins, Pollux and Castor. It passed Castor in a wide conjunction a few nights ago.
Saturn: The Ringed Wonder is above the south-southwest horizon after sunset. Considerably dimmer than Jupiter, Saturn is about the same brightness as Fomalhaut, the 13th brightest star at the mid-northern latitudes, about 30° below it. Through a telescope, the planet’s rings appear as nearly a line as they are seen nearly edge on from Earth.
Faint Outer Planets
Uranus: The Tilted World is in the same binocular field with Taurus’ Pleaides star cluster. Through a binocular locate the stellar bundle and then 13 and 14 Tauri (Tau). Appearing as an aquamarine star, the planet is near those field stars. The planet is best spotted beginning at 90 minutes after sunset until the moon rises nearly 90 minutes later. This window opens wider as the moon moves farther eastward and rises later from night to night.
Neptune: The window to see the most-distant planet in the solar system through is closing, especially since Saturn is a guide to its location. Neptune’s visibility is affected by moonlight, outdoor lighting and its altitude (height above the horizon). Each night it is a little farther westward as the sky darkens and it is too low to see around moonrise tonight and occurs slightly earlier each evening. Look for Neptune during this lunation and before it starts the night too far west and at a low altitude. Place the Ringed Wonder to the lower right portion of the field an locate the stars 20, 24, 27, and 29 Piscium (Psc). Appearing as a very faint bluish star, Neptune is 1.6° to the right of star 29. Use averted (peripheral) vision by looking at the center of the field.
Bright Stars
Before sunrise, Scorpius crawls across the horizon in the south-southeast. Its claws, Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali, now part of Libra reach westward. Its head, Dschubba, is nearly 20° up in the southeast. Reddish Antares, marked as the heart in celestial artwork, is to the lower left and about 10° above the horizon. If the air is cold, it is likely twinkling wildly.
After sunset, Orion is easily located in the east-southeast with reddish Betelgeuse and blue-white Rigel. Its belt stars are easily recognized.
Look for the planets, moon, and stars in the night sky.
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