January 9, 2026: Mars reaches conjunction on the sun’s far side while Jupiter nears opposition and shines all night as the brightest starlike object in the sky.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:18 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:38 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Two planets are at their extreme locations in the solar system. Mars is at conjunction on the sun’s far side, while Jupiter is closest to Earth and near opposition.
Mars at Conjunction with Sun
Today, Mars is at conjunction with the sun. It appears to cross an imaginary line that begins at Earth and extends through the sun.
Because of the central star’s brightness, we cannot see the planet when Mars is in the same direction. Mars rises with the sun, appears in the south at noon, and sets in the western sky with the sun.
Jupiter Nears Opposition
In comparison, Jupiter is near opposition, meaning it appears in the sky opposite the sun — rising in the east-northeast at sunset, appearing high in the south near midnight, and setting in the west-northwest at sunrise. This occurs tomorrow.
Brilliant Venus was at superior conjunction a few days ago. With its position in bright sunlight, like Mars, Jupiter is the brightest starlike body in the night sky and it is visible all night. To our eyes, the Jovian Giant appears as a bright star, but through a telescope, cloud features and its four largest moons are easily seen.
Jupiter Closest this Morning
Jupiter is closest to Earth at 2 a.m. Central Time this morning, when it is over halfway from the horizon to overhead in the west-southwest. In his book Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon, and Planets, Jean Meeus predicts the time and distance as 4.232 astronomical units, or nearly 394 million miles, where 1 AU approximately equals 93 million miles.
While Mars appears near the sun, along with Venus, Mercury reaches superior conjunction later this month. Meanwhile, bright Jupiter is nearing opposition and shines in the sky all night.
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