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January has kept sky watchers busy with a steady stream of celestial events. We’re less than 10 days into the year, and we’ve already done it He had a supermoonclimax Meteor Shower Quadrantids and Seeing the Northern Lights. It seems the universe has not ended yet, as the evening of January 9 will be the best night to view the largest planet, Jupiter, in the entire year of 2026. This means it’s time to bring out telescopes and warm jackets if you want to catch a glimpse.
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This is all due to a phenomenon called opposition, which occurs when the Earth’s orbit takes us directly between the Sun and the planet in opposition. This is when the Earth is closer to the planet, making it more visible. This can only happen with planets farther from the sun than Earth, which means everything from Mars outward.
During Jupiter’s opposition, Earth will move between it and the Sun, reducing the distance between the two planets.
Friday night into Saturday morning will see the Earth move between the Sun and Jupiter, which will bring Jupiter closer to Earth than it will get in 2026. According to Star WalkJupiter will reach opposition at about 3:34 a.m. ET, after which the planets will begin drifting apart again.
During its opposition, Jupiter will be the brightest object in the sky other than the Moon and the Sun, and it will remain that way for the next two weeks. (Venus is technically brighter than Jupiter during this time, but it will be hidden behind the Sun during mid-January.)
Jupiter squares off about once every 13 months, so your next chance to see the gas giant won’t be until early 2027.
How to view Jupiter during opposition
Jupiter will rise from the eastern horizon at sunset local time. It will pass across the southern sky before setting in the west just at sunrise. This should give skygazers plenty of time to find and view Jupiter before sunset. This process will repeat for weeks, so if you have to miss tonight due to weather or other reasons, you can check it tomorrow or next week as well.
Jupiter will be visible to the naked eye, and will look like a star if viewed without any magnification. Thanks to its increased brightness, it will be easier to see in cities and suburbs as well, although you’ll get a better view if you head outside the city and away from light pollution.
Things get more interesting with zoom. A pair of high-powered binoculars will give you a very good glimpse of the gas giant, and you’ll likely be able to catch it A glimpse of Jupiter’s moons If your binoculars are powerful enough. Using a telescope, even a low-powered one, makes seeing the planet and its moons much easier.
There are many free resources if you need help finding Jupiter, including Sky map for Stellarium and Sky display tool for time and date. The weather should also be relatively decent, with many parts of the United States experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures.