Today's Sky
This montage of images taken by the Voyager spacecraft of the planets and four of Jupiter's moons is set against a false-color Rosette Nebula with Earth's moon in the foreground. Image courtesy of NASA
2012 Night Sky Events
To keep up to date on the phases of the Moon and the positions of the planets, as well as everything else in the night sky, download the free planetarium software Cartes du Ciel at this link.
The sun is currently in Capricorn.
Moon Phases (click here for the US Naval Observatory Moon phase calendar)
New Moon - January 23
First Quarter - January 31
Full Moon - February 7
Last Quarter - February 14
Planets (Positions current as of February 3, 2012)
Mercury - Too close to the Sun to be seen.
Venus - Visible in the west for about 2 hours after sunset.
Earth - Look Down!
Mars - Rises about 9PM in the east in Leo.
Jupiter - In the sout after sunset in the constellation Aries
Saturn - Rising at about midnight in Virgo.
Uranus - Uranus is visible only with binoculars or a telescope. It's currently slightly east of Venus. (refer to star charts or planetarium software for location).
Neptune - Neptune is visible only with the aid of a telescope (refer to star charts or planetarium software for location).
Pluto and Charon - Pluto is visible only with a telescope (refer to star charts or planetarium software).
University of Minnesota Campuses