Night Sky Preservation

The goal of the KIRB Night Sky initiative is to provide education, guidance, and programming regarding the importance of dark Night Skies to Real County and the Frio and Nueces Canyons.

Real County is well known for its beauty and natural resources, including the Frio River, Nueces River, rolling hills and stunning vistas—day and night. KIRB works to educate landowners and visitors about the benefits of dark skies for wildlife, humans, and for the promotion of astrotourism. Programs are designed to inform homeowners, businesses, and tourists about ways you can help protect the scenic nightime beauty we sometimes take for granted.

What’s going on in our night sky JANUARY 2026?

🌠Meteor Showers:

The Quadrantid meteor shower, one of the strongest annual displays, remains active from December 28 to January 12. Its peak occurs overnight between January 2–3, with a zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) up to 80 meteors per hour. Unfortunately, a bright Wolf Moon and supermoon around January 3 significantly will reduce visibility—expect fewer than 10 meteors per hour, mostly the brightest fireballs.

🌍 Solar & Seasonal Events:

Earth reaches perihelion—its closest point to the Sun—on January 3, roughly two weeks after the December solstice.

🌕 Moon & Celestial Neighbors:

Near constellations: On January 1, the waxing Moon passes close to Aldebaran in Taurus at dusk. Moon–Jupiter encounters: A lunar conjunction with Jupiter occurs on January 3–4 in Gemini. Another close Moon–Jupiter–Pollux grouping forms on January 30–31. Moon–Neptune–Saturn close approach: On January 23, the Moon, Neptune, and Saturn align in the evening sky.

🌑 Moon Phases:

January’s full moon peaks on January 3 at 10:02 UTC. Known as the Wolf Moon, it’s also a supermoon, appearing up to ~30% brighter and ~14% larger due to its proximity to Earth. The new moon occurs on January 18 at 19:52 UTC, marking the darkest skies ideal for faint object viewing all night. From January 10th’s last quarter moon until the new moon, Jan 8th, is the darkest sky for early evening viewing. From the new moon until January 26th’s first quarter moon is the darkest sky for early morning viewing.

☀️ Sunrise & Sunset Times : (vary slightly by your actual longitude and latitude)

On January 1, 2026 first light is ~7:06 am, sunrise ~7:31 am, sunset ~6:11 pm, last light ~6:37 pm. On January 31, 2026 first light is ~7:03 am, sunrise ~7:28 am, sunset ~6:16 pm, last light ~6:41 pm.

🪐 Planet Visibility:

Jupiter reaches opposition on January 9–10, rising at sunset and visible all night. It shines brightly in Gemini near Castor and Pollux, making it the top planetary show of January. Saturn is visible in the southwestern sky after sunset until around 10 pm; magnitude +1.2. Uranus (mag ~+5.6) in Taurus is visible in the early evening and can be spotted with binoculars, located near the Pleiades. Neptune (mag ~+7.9) lies close to Saturn in Pisces and is visible through a telescope. Mercury, Venus, and Mars, all remain near the Sun during January and are not visible in the evening sky. Mercury and Venus are in superior conjunction; Mars is also hidden near the Sun.

You can see a lot with your naked eyes or a set of binoculars this January

🌌 Naked‑eye Highlights

The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is a faint, fuzzy smudge of light in the constellation Andromeda, visible as early as 7–8 pm and highest ~53° above the horizon. Shining at magnitude ~3.4, it’s the most distant object visible without optics and spans roughly three Moon‑widths. Orion Nebula (M42) is located in Orion’s “sword” below the three‑star belt, this glow (magnitude ~4.0) makes the middle “star” appear fuzzy—easy to spot from dark skies. Pleiades (M45) is a bright cluster in Taurus, often called the “Seven Sisters,” it’s visible as a small grouping of stars west of Aldebaran and Orion, standing out cleanly in winter skies. The Beehive Cluster (M44) is located in the constellation Cancer. Its hazy patch of magnitude ~3.7 stars is recognizable to the naked eye under dark conditions, appearing just before and around midnight in late January.

🔭 Binocular Highlights

View the Andromeda Galaxy with binoculars. The core becomes brighter and more defined, and nearby companions M32 and M110 may also become faintly visible. The Orion Nebula when viewed with binoculars expands beyond that single fuzzy star, revealing structure across the “sword,” especially when viewed near midnight from dark skies.

For more celestial objects to see, check out the back of this current month’s sky map.

Friends of the night sky business recognition program

WHAT IS IT?

It is a program sponsored by Keep It Real Beautiful and Friends of the Night Sky, endorsed by the Hill Country Alliance, and supported by the Frio Canyon Chamber of Commerce. Its purpose is to recognize businesses and organizations that have Night Sky Friendly outdoor lighting and to encourage others to follow suit.

WHY IS IT?

The goal is to protect and preserve the treasured natural resource that is the Hill Country’s starry nighttime skies. The program encourages the practice of responsible outdoor lighting. Such lighting will prevent light from escaping above the horizon into the nighttime sky, causing sky glow and glare, forms of light pollution.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR MY BUSINESS?

The starry nighttime sky is a natural wonder to be enjoyed by all who live in or visit Real County and all our river canyons.
There are almost 4 million people who live in light polluted urban and suburban areas, within short driving distances, where it is almost impossible to view pristine nighttime skies. For many of these people, an overnight trip to our area to see the stars would be a treat. “Heads in beds” means more business for our motels, B&Bs, restaurants, service stations, and other commercial entities as well as for our state park. Protecting our night sky from light pollution ensures this valuable resource will endure.
You can advertise as “Night Sky Friendly,” attracting even long distance and international travelers who are seeking the natural beauty of dark night skies.

HOW CAN MY BUSINESS PARTICIPATE?

All outdoor lighting on your premises is shielded and aimed downward so that no light trespasses beyond the business property boundary or above the horizontal plane into the sky. Lighting is directed only when and where it is needed for the task at hand. Motion detector lighting and extinguished lighting after hours is preferred.
Lighting is not so bright as to cause glare or to reduce visibility in unlit areas.
The color of outdoor lighting is amber or warm white versus bright white or blue. Lighting with a color temperature of less than or equal to 3000 Kelvin is ideal.
Any business or organization in the area can request that the Friends of the Night Sky team conduct an evaluation of its outdoor lighting to determine if it qualifies for recognition and/or to recommend lighting solutions for problematic fixtures.

HOW WILL MY BUSINESS BE RECOGNIZED?

A business or organization that meets the criteria listed above receives recognition as a Night Sky Friendly Business with:

A Certificate of Merit presented by Keep It Real Beautiful (KIRB) and Friends of the Night Sky for display inside your business.
A window decal display to announce to customers your recognition as a Night Sky Friendly Business
The right to use the Night Sky Friendly Business logo in your advertising, including on your website
A listing as a night sky friendly business with a link to your business’s website on the websites of the Frio Canyon Chamber of Commerce, Keep it Real Beautiful, and the Hill Country Alliance
Special recognition at any Night Sky events held by the Keep It Real Beautiful/Friends of the Night Sky
Publicity in local media outlets