Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight

If you're based in the Southern Hemisphere and want to know what you can see in the night sky tonight, this page is for you.

Our monthly-updated night-sky guide will show you what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere over the coming weeks.

We'll include monthly highlights, stars, constellations, planets and deep-sky objects.

Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)

Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś) is well placed in the early evening sky. It spends the month near maximum brightness, rising out of the solar glare in early January.

By its perihelion on the 20th, it sets 70 minutes or so after sunset.

Spending most of January in Sagittarius, C/2024 E1 heads south, closing the month in Grus, setting nearly two hours after twilight ends.

On 31 January, it will be 2° from the naked-eye double star Delta (δ) Gruis, reaching its most southernly declination.

Stars and constellations

Eta Carinae Nebula Vikas Chander, captured remotely via Deep Sky Chile, Rio Hurtado, Chile, 28 January-1 March 2025 Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera, Sigma 105mm f/1.4 lens, Software Bisque Paramount MX+ mount — Eta Carinae Nebula by Vikas Chander, captured remotely via Deep Sky Chile, Rio Hurtado, Chile, 28 January-1 March 2025

January finds Orion, home of the famous Orion Nebula, reaching its maximum altitude in the north.

Orion is much loved by Northern Hemisphere observers, but people from down under know the true Milky Way gem: the constellation of Carina.

Its highlight is the Eta Carinae complex, currently rising in the southeast.

Nestled midway between the Southern Cross and False Cross, this group of star clusters, bright and dark nebulae make up a stunning star-forming region.

The planets

The Pleiades Harshwardhan Pathak, captured remotely via Telescope Live, Heaven’s Mirror Observatory, Australia and IC Astronomy Observatory, Spain, 10 September–18 November 2023 Equipment: QHY600M Pro camera, Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 refractor, Software Bisque Paramount MX+ mount — The Pleiades by Harshwardhan Pathak, captured remotely via Telescope Live, Heaven’s Mirror Observatory, Australia and IC Astronomy Observatory, Spain, 10 September–18 November 2023

As twilight closes, Saturn is low in the west. It travels with Neptune, 3° away, making a good binocular target.

The end of twilight finds Uranus in the north, spending the month about 5° above the Pleiades, another binocular opportunity.

Jupiter is at opposition, reaching maximum brightness and visible all night. Its brilliant beacon sits above the twin stars of Gemini.

Turning to the morning, Mercury is visible briefly in the first week of January, low in the eastern dawn before dropping into Sun’s glow.

Deep-sky objects

The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, M38 Naiteek Vikamsey, Naneghat, Maharashtra, India, 21 April 2023 Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera, Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P-DS reflector, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount — The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, M38 Naiteek Vikamsey, Naneghat, Maharashtra, India, 21 April 2023

This month, we take a trip to the constellation Auriga, low in the northern evening sky.

Omega (ω) Aurigae (RA 04h 59.2m, dec. +37° 53’) to the naked eye might look like a faint star, but a small telescope shows an impressive double, with components of mag. +5.0 (yellow) and +8.2 (orange), separated by 5 arcseconds.

The impressive open cluster M38 (RA 05h 28.6m, dec. +35° 50’) is bright (mag. +7.4), consisting of a few dozen stars ranging from ninth to 12th magnitude.

Scattered irregularly across a 20-arcminute field, many form curved lines separated by starless lanes. The brightest members show a mixture of white and yellow stars.

Lying only 0.5° south of M38 is the fainter, more compact open cluster NGC 1907, being 6 arcminutes in diameter, with stars of 10th magnitude and fainter. The two show a nice contrast through a widefield eyepiece.

For more advice, read our guides to Southern Hemipshere stargazing and the best night-sky targets to see in Australia.es across).

Southern Hemisphere Star Charts

Access this month's and all previous star charts for the Southern Hemisphere by clicking on the links below.

Best things to see in the Southern Hemisphere sky, January 2026

Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)

Stars and constellations

The planets

Deep-sky objects

Southern Hemisphere Star Charts