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 Cuenca. 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 Cuenca, Jan 21 – Jan 22, 2026
Mercury rise and set in Cuenca
Very close to Sun, hard or impossible to see.
Mercury is just 2 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 Cuenca
Fairly close to the Sun. Visible only after sunset.
Venus is just 4 degrees from the Sun in the sky, so it is difficult to see. Venus is visible by day, but may be hard to find.
Wed, Jan 21 ↓6:27 pm
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Mars rise and set in Cuenca
Very close to Sun, hard or impossible to see.
Mars is just 3 degrees from the Sun in the sky, so it is difficult or impossible to see it.
Thu, Jan 22 ↑8:21 am
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Jupiter rise and set in Cuenca
Up most of the night.
Jupiter is roughly in the opposite direction of the Sun, so it is visible during most of the night.
Thu, Jan 22 ↓7:47 am
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Saturn rise and set in Cuenca
View after sunset.
Saturn can best be seen in the hours just after sunset. Visibility improves as the sunlight fades.
Wed, Jan 21 ↓10:51 pm
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Uranus rise and set in Cuenca
View after sunset. Bring binoculars.
Uranus can be seen for more than 9 hours after sunset and during the late evening/early night. You may need binoculars.
Thu, Jan 22 ↓3:56 am
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Neptune rise and set in Cuenca
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.
Wed, Jan 21 ↓11:03 pm
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Planets Visible in Cuenca
| Planetrise/Planetset, Wed, Jan 21, 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Thu 8:38 am | Thu 6:11 pm | Thu 1:24 pm | Extremely difficult to see |
| Venus | Wed 8:44 am | Wed 6:27 pm | Wed 1:35 pm | Slightly difficult to see |
| Mars | Thu 8:21 am | Thu 5:54 pm | Thu 1:07 pm | Extremely difficult to see |
| Jupiter | Wed 5:00 pm | Thu 7:47 am | Thu 12:23 am | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Wed 11:07 am | Wed 10:51 pm | Wed 4:59 pm | Average visibility |
| Uranus | Wed 1:33 pm | Thu 3:56 am | Wed 8:45 pm | Average visibility |
| Neptune | Wed 11:08 am | Wed 11:03 pm | Wed 5:06 pm | Very difficult to see |













