881.

Close approach of the Moon and M44 The Moon and M44 pass close to each other. Sun, 04 Jan 2026 at 21:44 EDT (537 days away) in Cancer

882.

Mercury at aphelion Mercury passes the furthest point along its orbit from the Sun. Tue, 06 Jan 2026 at 06:01 EDT (539 days away) in Sagittarius

883.

Venus at superior solar conjunction Venus passes around the far side of the Sun. Tue, 06 Jan 2026 at 12:10 EDT (539 days away) in Sagittarius

884.

Lunar occultation of Regulus The Moon will pass in front of Regulus (Alpha Leonis), creating a lunar occultation visible from countries and territories including Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan amongst others. Tue, 06 Jan 2026 at 12:20 EDT (539 days away) in Leo

885.

Comet 24P/Schaumasse reaches peak brightness Comet 24P/Schaumasse is forecast to reach the brightest point in its 2026 apparition. Wed, 07 Jan 2026 (540 days away) in Virgo

886.

Comet 24P/Schaumasse passes perihelion Comet 24P/Schaumasse makes its closest approach to the Sun. Thu, 08 Jan 2026 (541 days away) in Virgo

887.

Jupiter at perigee Jupiter reaches its closest point to the Earth – marking the best time to observe it in 1970. Fri, 09 Jan 2026 at 03:05 EDT (542 days away) in Gemini

888.

Mars at solar conjunction Mars is unobservable as it passes around the far side of the Sun – marking the end of one apparition and the beginning of the next. Fri, 09 Jan 2026 at 06:07 EDT (542 days away) in Sagittarius

889.

Jupiter at opposition Jupiter lies in the opposite direction to the Sun in the sky, making it slightly closer, brighter and larger than at other times. It is also optimally positioned to be observable for much of the night. Sat, 10 Jan 2026 at 03:34 EDT (543 days away) in Gemini

890.

Moon at Last Quarter The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise. Sat, 10 Jan 2026 at 10:48 EDT (543 days away) in Virgo

891.

The Moon at apogee The Moon recedes to its orbit's furthest point from the Earth, making it appear fractionally smaller than at other times of the month. Tue, 13 Jan 2026 at 15:46 EDT (546 days away) in Libra

892.

Lunar occultation of Antares The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Australia. Wed, 14 Jan 2026 at 15:02 EDT (547 days away) in Scorpius

893.

The cluster Messier 47 is well placed The open star cluster M47 (NGC 2422; mag 4.4) in Puppis culminates at around midnight local time. Thu, 15 Jan 2026 (548 days away) in Puppis

894.

NGC 2403 is well placed NGC 2403 (mag 8.9), a spiral galaxy in Camelopardalis culminates at around midnight local time. Thu, 15 Jan 2026 (548 days away) in Camelopardalis

895.

The Moon at perihelion The Moon passes its orbit's closest point to the Sun, which happens each month around the time of new moon. Sat, 17 Jan 2026 at 18:07 EDT (550 days away) in Sagittarius

896.

The cluster NGC 2451 is well placed The open star cluster NGC 2451 (mag 2.8) in Puppis culminates at around midnight local time. Sat, 17 Jan 2026 (550 days away) in Puppis

897.

New Moon The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days. Sun, 18 Jan 2026 at 14:53 EDT (551 days away) in Sagittarius

898.

γ-Ursae Minorid meteor shower 2026 The γ-Ursae Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak. Mon, 19 Jan 2026 (552 days away) in Ursa Minor

899.

The cluster NGC 2516 is well placed The open star cluster NGC 2516 (mag 3.8) in Volans culminates at around midnight local time. Tue, 20 Jan 2026 (553 days away) in Carina

900.

Mercury at superior solar conjunction Mercury passes around the far side of the Sun. Wed, 21 Jan 2026 at 11:01 EDT (554 days away) in Capricornus