2026, January 19: Sun, Moon, and Planet Almanac: Today’s Sky Guide

January 19, 2026: Track the sun, moon, and planets, with Jupiter and Saturn in view and the thin crescent moon returning to the evening sky.

Jupiter, Gemini, January 6, 2014
Image Caption – 2014, January 6: Jupiter is in the eastern sky with Gemini’s Castor and Pollux.

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:14 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:50 p.m. CST.  Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.

Almanac for Sun, Moon, and Planets

Sun: At Chicago’s latitude, the sun is in the sky for 9 hours, 36 minutes. In comparison, Miami’s daylight spans 10 hours, 46 minutes. Here, the sun shines longer than the length of darkness between the end of evening twilight and the beginning of morning twilight. From Anchorage, daylight lasts only 6 hours, 43 minutes.

Moon: A new lunation (1275) began yesterday. The moon sets about an hour after sunset. Look for a thin waxing crescent low in the west-southwest tomorrow evening.

Inner Planets

Mercury: The innermost planet nears superior conjunction on the sun’s far side in two days. Later next month, Mercury appears in the western sky during evening twilight, reaching its greatest elongation on February 18.

Venus: After passing superior conjunction earlier in the month, the planet begins its Evening Star apparition. It first appears next month. Today, Venus remains in bright sunlight.

Bright Outer Planets

Mars: The third bright planet passed solar conjunction on the 9th and remains in bright sunlight. With a poor view of the plane of the solar system during the morning hours, the Red Planet does not become visible until late spring.

Jupiter with Gemini, January 19, 2026
Chart Caption – 2026, January 19: At 90 minutes after sunset, bright Jupiter is in the eastern sky.

Jupiter: The brightest starlike body in the night sky is in the sky nearly all night. Find Jupiter in the eastern sky at the end of evening twilight, about 90 minutes after sunset. The planet retrogrades in front of Gemini, 8.0° from Pollux, one of the Twins. Through a binocular, find Wasat (Delta Geminorum) about 0.5° from Jupiter. On each clear night, watch Jupiter open a wider gap with this star. During the night, the planet is high in the south before midnight and low in the west-northwest during morning twilight.

Saturn, January 19, 2026
Chart Caption – 2026, January 19: An hour after sunset, Saturn is less than halfway from the southwest horizon to overhead.

Saturn: The Ringed Wonder nears the end of its evening appearance. An hour after sunset, it is less than halfway up in the southwest. Saturn appears farther westward each evening. During mid-February, it sets during evening twilight, reaching solar conjunction on March 25. Through a telescope, the rings are nearly edge-on, appearing as a thin line through the planet.

Dim Outer Planets

Binocular View: Uranus and Pleiades
Chart Caption – 2026, January: Uranus, appearing as an aquamarine star, appears in the same binocular field with the Pleiades star cluster, near the stars 13 and 14 Tauri (Tau).

Uranus: The Tilted World is easily visible in the same binocular field as Taurus’ Pleiades star cluster. Uranus retrogrades near the stars 13 and 14 Tauri. Find Taurus and the Pleiades high in the east-southeast at the end of evening twilight.

Saturn, Neptune - Binocular view
Chart Caption – 2026, mid-January: Through a binocular, locate Neptune with peripheral vision. Find Saturn and the distant stars 20, 24, 27, and 29 Piscium (Psc).

Neptune: The most distant planet’s apparition is quickly closing. As the waxing moon brightens the sky, the faint planet fades into moonlight’s veil. Additionally, Neptune appears lower in the sky during prime viewing times, where the atmosphere dims and blurs celestial bodies. Neptune appears in the same binocular field as Saturn.

Look for Jupiter and Saturn in the night sky. The moon returns to the evening sky tomorrow.

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