301.

The Earth at perihelion The Earth reaches its closest point to the Sun. Sat, 03 Jan 2026 at 12:15 EDT (156 days ago) in Pisces

302.

Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter The Moon and Jupiter share the same right ascension, at a separation of 3°41'. Sat, 03 Jan 2026 at 16:59 EDT (156 days ago) in Gemini

303.

Quadrantid meteor shower 2026 The Quadrantid meteor shower reaches its peak. Sat, 03 Jan 2026 (156 days ago) in Bootes

304.

Close approach of the Moon and Jupiter The Moon and Jupiter pass close to each other. Sat, 03 Jan 2026 at 18:13 EDT (156 days ago) in Gemini

305.

Close approach of the Moon and M44 The Moon and M44 pass close to each other. Sun, 04 Jan 2026 at 21:44 EDT (155 days ago) in Cancer

306.

Mercury at aphelion Mercury passes the furthest point along its orbit from the Sun. Tue, 06 Jan 2026 at 06:01 EDT (153 days ago) in Sagittarius

307.

Venus at superior solar conjunction Venus passes around the far side of the Sun. Tue, 06 Jan 2026 at 12:10 EDT (153 days ago) in Sagittarius

308.

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 (153 days ago) in Leo

309.

Comet 24P/Schaumasse passes perihelion Comet 24P/Schaumasse makes its closest approach to the Sun. Thu, 08 Jan 2026 (151 days ago) in Virgo

310.

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 (150 days ago) in Gemini

311.

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 (150 days ago) in Sagittarius

312.

Jupiter at opposition Jupiter is optimally positioned for observation, appearing at its closest, brightest and largest. Sat, 10 Jan 2026 at 03:34 EDT (149 days ago) in Gemini

313.

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 (149 days ago) in Virgo

314.

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 (146 days ago) in Libra

315.

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 (145 days ago) in Scorpius

316.

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 (144 days ago) in Puppis

317.

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 (144 days ago) in Camelopardalis

318.

The Moon at perihelion The Moon passes its closest point to the Sun, a monthly occurrence around the time of new moon. Sat, 17 Jan 2026 at 18:07 EDT (142 days ago) in Sagittarius

319.

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 (142 days ago) in Puppis

320.

New Moon The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days. Sun, 18 Jan 2026 at 14:53 EDT (141 days ago) in Sagittarius