| Night Time: | 15 hours, 40 minutes |
|---|---|
| Sunset: | Jan 16 at 5:26 pm |
| End of Twilight*: | Jan 16 at 6:47 pm |
| Start of Twilight*: | Jan 17 at 7:45 am |
| Sunrise: | Jan 17 at 9:06 am |
One Month After the December Solstice: What’s Changing?
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you might be looking forward to more daylight. We take a look at how things are changing north and south of the equator.
Our Interactive Night Sky Map simulates the sky above Pacific Heights. The Moon and planets have been enlarged slightly for clarity. On mobile devices, tap to steer the map by pointing your device at the sky. Need some help?
Tonight's Sky in Pacific Heights, Jan 16 – Jan 17, 2026
Mercury rise and set in Pacific Heights
Very close to Sun, hard or impossible to see.
Mercury is just 4 degrees from the Sun in the sky, so it is difficult or impossible to see it.
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Venus rise and set in Pacific Heights
Fairly close to the Sun. Visible only after sunset.
Venus is just 3 degrees from the Sun in the sky, so it is difficult to see. Venus is visible by day, but may be hard to find.
Fri, Jan 16 ↓5:32 pm
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Jupiter rise and set in Pacific Heights
Up most of the night.
Jupiter is roughly in the opposite direction of the Sun, so it is visible during most of the night.
Sat, Jan 17 ↓8:54 am
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Saturn rise and set in Pacific Heights
View after sunset.
Saturn can best be seen in the hours just after sunset. Visibility improves as the sunlight fades.
Fri, Jan 16 ↓11:01 pm
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Uranus rise and set in Pacific Heights
View after sunset. Bring binoculars.
Uranus can be seen for more than 11 hours after sunset and during the late evening/early night. You may need binoculars.
Sat, Jan 17 ↓4:53 am
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Neptune rise and set in Pacific Heights
View after sunset. Use binoculars.
Neptune can best be seen in the hours just after sunset. Visibility improves as the sunlight fades. Very faint, use binoculars.
Fri, Jan 16 ↓11:18 pm
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Planets Visible in Pacific Heights
| Planetrise/Planetset, Sat, Jan 17, 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Sat 9:15 am | Sat 5:01 pm | Sat 1:08 pm | Extremely difficult to see |
| Venus | Fri 9:23 am | Fri 5:32 pm | Fri 1:27 pm | Slightly difficult to see |
| Mars | Sat 9:10 am | Sat 5:08 pm | Sat 1:09 pm | Not visible |
| Jupiter | Fri 4:32 pm | Sat 8:54 am | Sat 12:43 am | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Fri 11:28 am | Fri 11:01 pm | Fri 5:14 pm | Average visibility |
| Uranus | Fri 1:11 pm | Sat 4:53 am | Fri 9:02 pm | Average visibility |
| Neptune | Fri 11:26 am | Fri 11:18 pm | Fri 5:22 pm | Very difficult to see |
