From a dark sky location in southern Texas, near Hebbronville, I took this picture of the constellation Cetus, in order to illustrate the fact that Mira, the great long-period variable star, is near maximum.  The predicted actual peak brightness is not expected to occur until sometime in February or March 2026, but as can be seen from the picture, it is easily visible to the unaided eye now. Unannotated image.