Look to the southwest horizon at sunset on January 22 and you’ll see a slender crescent moon nestling against the gaseous giant Saturn beneath the stars of Pisces.
monthThe disk, illuminated by 22% of the total, will appear about 30 degrees above the horizon. This is approximately the width of three fists with your arms outstretched. Saturn It appears as a stable, bright star-like object less than 7 degrees to the upper left of the Moon.
A small telescope provides an even better view of the moon, revealing the dark basalt plains of Mare Crisium (Sea of Peril) and Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fertility). These lunar features were formed billions of years ago when molten lava filled ancient impact basins and solidified in the extreme space environment.
Point the same telescope at Saturn to capture the faint outline of the famous ring system that splits the planet. gas giantcloudy disc. As seen from Earth, the ring is currently tilted almost edge-on. Saturn’s largest satellite titan, Dione, rare and Thetis It will also be visible as a bright patch of light spread out on one side of the gas giant’s disk.
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Neptune It was also lurking nearby on the night of January 22nd. About 17 times further from the Sun than Earth, this distant ice giant sits less than 2 degrees above Saturn, but resolving the tiny blue dot in its disk requires a telescope with an aperture of at least 8 inches (200 millimeters). For scales, the tip of your little finger held at arm’s length will occupy approximately 1 degree of the sky.
The moon and Saturn will set in about four and a half hours. solar By the following night, the ascending lunar crescent will appear above Saturn in the evening sky, significantly thickening ahead of the first quarter on January 25, leaving its right half exposed to direct sunlight and its left half in shadow.
Do you want to take beautiful pictures of the waxing moon? Then why not read our article? Moon photography guideor peruse our selection best camera and astrophotography lens If you’re looking to upgrade your gear for the 2026 skywatching season, check out our roundup Best telescopes to see Saturn and Jupiter It also comes in handy when the gas giant puts on a spectacular show that dominates the night sky in January.
Editor’s note: If you want to take a photo of the moon with Saturn and share your astrophotography with Space.com readers, send your photo, comment, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.