The January 2027 night sky: what to see this month
January's night-sky highlights — a dark New-Moon window on the 7th and the Quadrantids, and how to plan around them.
Here's what's worth looking up for in January 2027 — the Moon's dark window, the meteor showers and eclipses to plan around, and the constellations and Milky Way on show.
These are the month's globally-true highlights. For the exact times the sky goes dark, the Moon rises and sets, and each target is best placed from your own spot, let Stella compute it for your location.
The Moon: your dark-sky window
The Moon is the biggest lever on what's visible. Your darkest skies fall around the New Moon on Jan 7 — plan Milky Way and deep-sky nights for the week around it. The Full Moon on Jan 22 floods the sky, so switch then to the Moon itself, the planets, and double stars.
- New Moon — Jan 7
- First Quarter — Jan 15
- Full Moon — Jan 22
- Last Quarter — Jan 29
Meteor showers
One reliable shower peaks in January. Get to the darkest site you can, lie back to take in as much sky as possible, and give your eyes 20 minutes to adapt.
- Quadrantids — peaks around Jan 3 (up to ~110/hr). Sharp peak, fast meteors — best from the northern hemisphere.
What else is up
Orion blazes in the south on winter evenings — his three-star belt points down to Sirius, the sky's brightest star.
The Milky Way's bright core is below the horizon at night this month — it's a season for star clusters, the Moon, planets, and the brighter constellations.
Which planets are well placed, and exactly when each target rises and sets, depends on your date and location — Stella computes that for your sky so you're not trusting a one-size-fits-all chart.
Stop guessing what tonight holds — Stella reads your sky and tells you when to go.
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