Celebration of Space - January 9, 2026
The International Space Station passes over the evening Rhode Island sky. Credit: Frosty Drew Astronomy Team member, Scott MacNeill.
This coming Saturday, January 10, 2026, Earth will arrive at the point in our orbit where we will pass in between Jupiter and the Sun. This is called opposition, and allows for the best views of Jupiter for the year. During the days around opposition Jupiter will be at its closest point to Earth, and will be in full direct sunlight. The closest point that Jupiter will be from Earth during this time will be 393.389 million miles distant, compared to a distance of 585.715 million miles during superior conjunction on July 29, 2026, which is when Jupiter is on the opposite side of the Sun than Earth, and consequently at its furthest from us. The weeks surrounding opposition are the best times to catch a view of Jupiter. To the naked eye Jupiter will be at its brightest, and in a telescope Jupiter’s features will be easiest to observe. So make a point to get out to an observatory and catch a view of Jupiter, or just step outside a few hours after sunset and look for the super bright star-like object in the constellation Gemini.
Starting this weekend, the International Space Station (ISS) has returned to the evening sky over the United States, offering up family friendly passes of Earth’s only continually inhabited space-based residence. We call these passes “family friendly” because they occur during the evening hours when most families are all home, and still awake. Catching a view of the ISS passing over is quite simple, all you need to do is step outside at the right time and look in the right direction of the sky. Obviously the clearer the sky the better the view, and overcast sky conditions will certainly block your view of the pass. Here are some notable pass times for the coming week:
Sat, Jan 10 at 6:00 pm, starting in the S, rising to 19º, into orbital sunset
Sun, Jan 11 at 6:48 pm, starting in the SW, rising to 37º, into orbital sunset
Mon, Jan 12 at 6:00 pm, starting in the SW, rising to 57º, heading east and into orbital sunset.
Tue, Jan 13 at 5:13 pm, starting in the SSW, rising to 32º, heading towards the ENE
Wed, Jan 14 at 6:01 pm, starting in the WSW, rising 51º, heading towards the NNE and into orbital sunset
Thu, Jan 15 at 5:13 pm, starting in the SW, rising to 84º, heading towards the NE ← Awesome pass!
Orbital sunset occurs when the station orbits into Earth’s shadow, which happens once every 90 minutes for the ISS. Residence on the station will experience sunset during this time, and observers on the ground will see the ISS quickly fade from view. The light we see during a visible pass of a satellite is just sunlight reflecting off of the satellite. Once the satellite orbits into Earth’s shadow, we will lose sight of the object.
This coming Wednesday, January 14, 2026, the Frosty Drew Memorial Fund, which is the parent organization of the Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center, will host its annual meeting of the Board of Directors. This is a chance for Frosty Drew to plan out our year. Topics of the meeting will include new projects and expansions of our operations, events for 2026, and an update and outlook of our five year plan. The annual meeting also allows us to reflect on how far we have come as an organization and the impacts that we have had on the region.
