Today:
The eastern skies in early January never lack for bright stars, every year hosting Orion in the east, and the Twins of Gemini to the left in the northeast. Adding to these celestial beacons are the nearly-Full Moon, to the stars of Gemini and Orion, while Jupiter rises early in the evening, to the Twins lower right.
Saturday:
A Full “Wolf” Moon slide right between Jupiter to its right, and the lower of the Twins stars of Gemini, Pollux, to the Moon’s left. The pairing of Jupiter and the Full Moon also reflects their position relative to the Earth and the Sun. The Full Moon is always opposite from the Sun in our skies, which means Jupiter is currently opposite as well. To be very precise, Jupiter reaches its “opposition” next Friday night, giving us our best views of Jupiter for 2026.
Sunday:
With the Moon just one day past Full, can you make out the “Man in the Moon” – created by the darker regions of the Moon? Another common figure is a rabbit or hare, with two long ears at the top, a body curved down the left side, and feet near the bottom.