Here’s a brief look at what’s going on in the Mile High City this week.

December 29:

• DAS E-Board Meeting (virtual meeting): Online via Zoom (check membership email and slack for details): 7:00 PM

December 30:

•  Get to know the open clusters of Auriga: The winter constellation of the charioteer is packed with stunning open clusters that are great for binocular viewing. Auriga is close to Zenith around 9:00 PM making the clusters clear and bright. Here are our favorite targets:
  • NGC 1664 / Collinder 56 – Kite Cluster
    Brighter stars form a kite-like shape; visible in binoculars, best appreciated with a wide field of view.
  • NGC 1893 / IC 410 – Letter Y Cluster
    Cluster stars are visible in binoculars; the surrounding Tadpoles Nebula is faint and better seen with a telescope.
  • Messier 38 (M38 / NGC 1912) – Starfish Cluster
    Moderate size; stars form a starfish-like pattern; bright enough for binoculars to reveal its shape.
  • Messier 36 (M36 / NGC 1960) – Pinwheel Cluster
    Bright and compact; triangular grouping of stars stands out easily in binoculars.
  • Messier 37 (M37 / NGC 2099) – January Salt and Pepper Cluster
    Largest and richest cluster in Auriga; densely packed stars give a speckled “salt and pepper” appearance, excellent in binoculars.
  • NGC 2281 – Broken Heart Cluster
    Loose, bright stars form a heart-like pattern; very easy binocular target.

December 31 (New Year’s Eve):

• Check out the waxing gibbous Wolf Moon within a degree of Pleiades, the beautiful open star cluster, Messier 45, in the constellation Taurus in the southeastern sky: 5:45 PM

January 1 (New Year’s Day):

• Moon reaches Perigee, it’s closest point to the earth at 360,348 km): 2:43 PM

January 2:

• The Quadrantid Meteor Shower peaks: Look for this shower to radiate from the constellation Boötes, near the handle of the Big Dipper. It can typically produce 60 – 120 meteors per hour in the pre-dawn skies from 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM

January 3:

• Catch the Full Wolf Moon next to the gas giant, Jupiter, rising in the constellation Gemini in the eastern sky: 6:30 PM
• Full Wolf Moon: 3:02 AM
• The Earth reaches Perihelion, It’s closest to the sun it’s orbit at 0.98330 AU: 10:00 AM

January 4:

• Look for the waning gibbous Wolf Moon right next to the Beehive Cluster, the open cluster known as M44 in the constellation Cancer low in the eastern sky: 7:30 PM

This Week’s Meteoric Activity:

You can keep track of the activity of meteor showers as well as those beyond the limits of visual observing by visiting the NASA Meteor Shower Portal.

• Quadrantids (QUA): Pre-dawn hours in northern Boötes — 60–120 per hour at peak on Jan 2/3
• Anthelion (ANT): 1:00 AM in central Gemini — 2 per hour
• Comae Berenicids (COM): 5:00 AM in northeastern Leo — 2 per hour
• α Hydrids (AHY): 2:00 AM near the Monoceros–Hydra border — Less than 1 per hour
• σ Hydrids (HYD): 3:00 AM in western Hydra — Less than 1 per hour
• January Leonids (JLE): 3:00 AM in northwestern Leo — Less than 1 per hour
• η Hydrids (EHY): 4:00 AM in western Sextans — Less than 1 per hour
• December χ Virginids (XVI): Last hour before dawn in southern Virgo — Less than 1 per hour
• December σ Virginids (DSV): Last hour before dawn in northern Virgo — Less than 1 per hour

Check Out These Helpful Guides from DAS:

• Where to Explore the 2026 Denver Night Skies 
• When to Explore the 2026 Denver Night Skies
• What to Explore in the 2026 Denver Night Skies

Sky Map

• A pdf map of the night sky can be found at https://www.skymaps.com/skymaps

Clear skies and happy stargazing!