Home > Conjunction, Ephemeris Program > Ephemeris: 01/09/2026 – Mars is behind the Sun today

Ephemeris: 01/09/2026 – Mars is behind the Sun today

January 9, 2026

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Friday, January 9th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 2 minutes, setting at 5:21, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:18. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 12:51 tomorrow morning.

Mars is in conjunction with the Sun today. That means that it is behind the Sun, and it will enter our morning sky so that the Earth can be in an approximately 13 month pursuit of Mars for the next opposition. This is the center of a two-week period where communication with our satellites and Rovers on Mars is disrupted by the Sun which is a great generator of radio noise. Our radio telescopes on the Earth can hear transmissions from these assets on Mars a lot better than they can hear transmissions from the Earth. Just before conjunction we apparently have lost the Maven satellite that investigated the atmosphere of Mars, and helped relay communications from the rovers Perseverance and Curiosity.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

A photograph of the Sun, Venus and Mars taken through the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory’s (SOHO) C2 coronagraph last night at 7:12 PM EST.
This this is a photograph of the Sun, Venus and Mars taken through the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory‘s (SOHO) C2 coronagraph last night at 7:12 PM or 0:12 today Universal Time. Venus is heading to the left, while Mars is heading to the right. They are both beyond the Sun. Venus will be entering our evening sky, and should be visible in about a month. Mars will be moving into the morning sky and it will take several months before it will be visible then. Check Wednesday’s post for Venus’ own conjunction with the Sun.Credit: NOAA/ESA.

Distances to the solar system objects above

The Sun: 91.3 million miles, 147.1 million kilometers
Venus: 159.0 million miles, 255.0 million kilometers
Mars 223.3 million miles, 360.0 million kilometers

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