2026, January 18: New Lunation Begins as Jupiter Dominates the Night Sky

January 18, 2026: A new lunar cycle begins as Jupiter shines nearly all night and Saturn lingers in the southwest. Track the returning crescent moon and the changing evening sky.

The moon, January 15, 2021
Photo Caption – 2021, January 15: The thin waxing moon with earthshine, reflected sunlight from Earth’s features gently illuminates the lunar night.

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:14 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:49 p.m. CST.  Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.

New Lunation Begins

Crescent Moon, January 20, 2026
Image Caption – 2026, January 20: At 45 minutes after sunset, the thin crescent moon is low in the west-southwest.

The moon begins a new lunation — cycle of phases — at the New Moon phase at 1:52 p.m. Central Time, initiating lunation 1275, the number of lunar cycles since the count began over a century ago.

The thin waxing crescent moon first appears in the west-southwest in two nights. At 45 minutes after sunset, the evening crescent, 4% illuminated, is over 10° above the horizon. Each evening, the crescent is thicker and appears higher in the southwestern sky.

Saturn

Saturn, January 18, 2026
Chart Caption – 2026, January 18: An hour after sunset, Saturn is in the southwest.

Tonight, two bright planets are easily visible. Starting the night farther westward each evening, Saturn is less than halfway up in the southwest at one hour after sunset. It is brighter than the stars in its region and about the same brightness as Fomalhaut, the 13th brightest star visible from the mid-northern latitudes.

From Earth, Saturn’s rings are viewed nearly edge-on and appear as a line extending across the planet. Tonight, Saturn sets in the western sky about five hours after sunset. During the next month, the planet disappears into evening twilight as it reaches solar conjunction on March 25.

Jupiter

Jupiter, January 18, 2025
Chart Caption – 2026, January 18: At 90 minutes after sunset, Jupiter is in the eastern sky with Gemini. During the next several evenings, watch Jupiter open a gap with the star Wasat.

In contrast, bright Jupiter is visible nearly all night. With brilliant Venus hidden in bright sunlight, the Jovian Giant is the brightest starlike object in the sky. To the unaided eye, Jupiter resembles a star, while its cloud bands and largest moons are visible through a telescope.

At the end of evening twilight, about 90 minutes after sunset, Jupiter is nearly 25° above the east horizon. It retrogrades — appears to move westward compared to the distant sidereal background — in front of Gemini, 7.9° to the right of Pollux, one of the Twins.

Use a binocular to see Jupiter 0.5° from Wasat (Delta Geminorum). To track the planet’s retrograde, compare its position against the starfield on successive clear nights.

As the night progresses, Jupiter appears higher in the eastern sky, reaching its highest point in the south nearly an hour before midnight. During the new calendar day, it appears lower in the west-northwest, setting in that direction more than 30 minutes before sunup.

While waiting for a thin crescent moon to reappear in the evening western sky, look for Jupiter and Saturn during nighttime hours.

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