The night sky on your birthday: January 17
January 17 is day 17 of the year. Here is what the sky holds for everyone born on it — and a way to get the real sky above the exact place and hour you were born.
The Sun's constellation on January 17
On your birthday the Sun stands in front of Sagittarius, even though horoscopes call January 17 Capricorn: the zodiac signs were fixed about 2,000 years ago and the sky has drifted since (precession of the equinoxes). Because the Sun is in Sagittarius, that constellation is hidden in daylight on your birthday: you see it best around six months later.
Overhead at midnight on January 17
- Northern hemisphere (40°N — New York, Madrid, Beijing): Lynx, Gemini, Ursa Major and Cancer; brightest stars high up: Castor (82°), Pollux (78°) and Capella (62°).
- Southern hemisphere (40°S — Melbourne, Buenos Aires region, Wellington): Puppis, Pyxis, Carina and Vela; brightest stars high up: Adhara (75°), Canopus (71°) and Sirius (63°).
Meteor showers around January 17
No major annual meteor shower is active on this date — the sky is all stars and planets.
The Moon on your next birthday
On the evening of January 17, 2027 the Moon will be waxing gibbous (72% lit).
The exact sky of the night you were born
These are averages for a latitude. Your own sky depends on the city, the year and the hour: Firmament draws the real stars, constellations, Moon and planets above your birthplace at your birth time, as a print-ready A3 poster — $4.99, delivered instantly as a PDF.
Make the sky of the night you were born — $4.99
Set your year and city on the next page; the day and month are already filled in.