What to observe in the sky in January 2026 with a smart telescope.
22 Dec. 2025
January 2025 astronomical calendar
It is recommended to observe nebulae and galaxies when the Moon is not visible. Its brightness diminishes the darkness of the sky and reduces the quality of observations of faint and diffuse objects.
Refer to the following calendar for the best days this month.
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January 3: Full Moon
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January 3-4: Quadrantid meteor shower peak
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January 8: Comet 24P/Schaumasse is expected to reach magnitude 8 at perihelion
Watch it between Bootes and Virgo - January 10: Last Quarter Moon
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January 12: Best period to observe the Rosette Nebula
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January 15: Lunar occultation of Antares
Visible from Australia during the second half of the night. -
January 18: New Moon
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January 26: First Quarter Moon
Celestial Scene of the Month
Northern sky
The Pleiades
In the constellation Taurus, the Pleiades, a.k.a The Seven Sisters (or Subaru in Japan, the Subaru car logo is a stylised Pleiades cluster) are one of the sky’s most instantly recognizable sights: a tight, sparkling cluster of hot, young blue stars With a dozen of minutes integration, delicate reflection nebulosity begins to bloom around the brightest members, like pale smoke illuminated by starlight.
Extended acquisition time, over several nights with the Multi-Night mode, reveals intricate structures that extends beyond the field of view.
The Pleiades are dominated by starlight and broadband reflection nebulosity, so observing without a dual-band filter preserves the natural blue tones and helps the faint haze build up more efficiently.
Southern sky
Rosette Nebula
In the constellation Monoceros, the Rosette Nebula is one of the sky’s most spectaculat emission nebulae: a vast, flower-like shell of glowing hydrogen surrounding the young open cluster NGC 2244.
At first, you’ll notice a bright central cluster and a soft red haze. With more integration time, curving “petals” begin to take shape, the rim becomes textured, and subtle dark dust lanes and cavities appear where stellar winds and radiation have sculpted the gas.
While it could be observe without any filter, a dual-band filter is recommended to boost contrast in the hydrogen emission and bring out the Rosette’s filaments and rim. For the most complete result, you can also record a shorter sequence without the filter to preserve natural star colors in the central cluster, then combine both images.
"Plan my Night" of the month
Suggested observation program you can automate with "Plan My Night."
Give each object as much observation time as you can to get the best results.
Northern sky
Southern sky
Around the full moon
During the few nights surrounding the full moon, it's best to focus on star clusters, which are less affected by the Moon’s light pollution.
Northern sky
Shoe-Buckle Cluster
Messier 35. Open Cluster in Gemini
Mag.: 5, angular size : 28'
Just off to the side lurks NGC 2158, a much more compact, fainter cluster
Southern sky
Messier 46 & Messier 47
Open star clusters in Puppis both visible in the same field of view (require mosaic mode with Vespera II).
Mag.: 6.1 / 4.4, angular size: 30'
A smaller cluster, NGC 2423, also visible close to NGC 2423
Challenging Target of the Month
Northern & Southern sky
Boogeyman Nebula
Constellation :Orion
South-west of M78, against the faint background glow of Barnard’s Loop, lies a far more subtle sight: LDN 1622, nicknamed the Boogeyman Nebula. This is not a glowing cloud, but a dense mass of interstellar dust seen in silhouette, its swept-back outline cutting into a faint red hydrogen glow that only really builds with very long integration (use Multi-Night capture).
In the same field, a small patch of reflection nebulosity (vdB 62) adds a pale highlight just beside the dark figure.
This is a candidate for a two-pass approach:
With a dual-band filter: the faint hydrogen backdrop gains contrast, making the silhouette more striking. Without a filter: you preserve the natural starfield and the subtle reflection component (vdB 62).
Combining both results often produces the most balanced and “complete” rendering of the region.
Since LDN 1622 is not in the Singularity catalog, you will have to create a manual target. Use the following coordinates :
Right ascension (RA): 05h 56m
Declination (Dec): +1° 48'
Dark nebulae are slow-burn targets. Expect to invest many hours to reveal the structure and background glow. They also require dark skys.
Magnitude and angular size reminder
