This Months Sky 2026

This Months Sky 2026

The times stated should always be in ‘Universal Time’ (UT) which basically ignores the British Summer Time rule. and should therefore be one hour behind BST.
Sources: Unless specified otherwise the following detail is taken from either the BBC Sky At Night magazine for that month or from the BAA (British Astronomy Association) Observing Calendar, the exact timings may have been left out to encourage members to seek out the data for themselves. Note also that this all applies to the sky in the Northern Hemisphere only.
Author: Brian Shepherd

May 2026

1st Tonights full moon is one of two that will appear this month!
4th Our Moon will be both at aphelion and apogee this evening.
5th This morning will see the peak of the meteor shower ‘Eta Aquariid’; although it is not easy to see owing to its low radiant point in the night sky, it does have an average ZHR of 44 meteors per hour.
6th The ‘η-Aquariid’ meteor shower may be visible from around 02:30 UT and as seen low on the eastern horizon. You may like to try and spot ‘comet 10P/Tempel’ as it passes through the constellation of Aquila.
7th Our Moon’s terminator will cast long shadows on its surface providing interesting contrasts over the surface features such as craters.
8th Another meteor shower to look out for just before dawn is ‘η-Lyrid’. If you can get to a decent dark sky location you might also want to try your hand at spotting and even photographing the Milky Way.
9th Our Moon is at the Last Quarter this evening.
12th For the next few weeks the globular cluster Messier 5, will be well placed in the south eastern region of the night sky; it is also close to apogee.
14th This evening, Mercury will be at superior solar conjunction.
15th Our Moon will be at perihelion this evening. The dwarf planet Ceres will be at solar conjunction this evening BUT be aware of observing near the Sun. The same applies to the planet Venus which is at perihelion.
16th Tonight our Moon will be new this evening prior to tomorrow night when it will also be at perigee.
18th Mercury is at perigee this evening.
19th There will be a conjunction of our Moon and Venus this evening as they share the same right ascension. Jupiter will also be close by.
20th There will be a conjunction of our Moon and mag-1.8 Jupiter this evening.
21st There will be q close approach of our Moon the Messier cluster object M44, The Beehive Cluster.
22nd Uranus will be at solar conjunction BUT its close proximity to the Sun makes impossible to observe owing to the Suns’s glare.
23rd Our Moon will be in its first quarter this evening. There may also be the X and V lunar clair-obscur effects to be seen.
24th It is the time of year to start watching out for Noctilucent Cloud (NLC’s) season.
27th Our Moons natural rocking motion means that tonight the northern polar region of the Moon will be more visible.
28th The minor planet ’29 Amphitrite’, mag+9.7, reaches opposition tonight and tomorrow evening as seen in the constellation of Scorpius.
29th Asteroid 29 Amphitrite at opposition. The planets Venus and Jupiter are seen getting closer to each other this evening.
31st The second full Moon of the month will be seen tonight, ofter called a Blue Moon as it is the second full moon of the month; it will be seen very low in the sky.

April 2026

2nd The evening Moon will pass immediately south of the bright star Spica mag. +1 and will be within 2˚ of it.
3rd Having just passed the full moon status the Moon is now in its ‘waning gibbous’ phase.
4th The Messier object M94, is well placed for viewing this evening, it is a spiral galaxy in the mid-northern constellation Canes Venatici.
6th The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation this evening.
7th The Moon will be at apogee this evening
10th The Moon will pass the last quarter phase, rising in the middle of the night and appearing prominent in the pre-dawn sky. the bright star Arcturus will be high in the sky tnonight just after midnight.
14th Our Moon is at perihelion this evening. The Whirlpool Galaxy M51 (NGC 5194; mag 8.4) in Canes Venatici will be well placed in the evening sky tonight and in the coming weeks reaching its highest point in the sky at around midnight this evening.
17th Tonight our Moon will be ‘New’ and whilst we cannot see it, there is a good chance of better seeing of other celestial objects because of a lack of the Moons glare.
18th A very slim waxing lunar crescent, 2%-lit, should be seen around twilight at around 7.7˚ west of Venus mag.-3.8.
19th Around dusk a 7%-lit crescent Moon appears immediately east of the Pleiades with a very bright Venus below it. Asteroid 13 Egeria reaches opposition this evening.
20th After midnight, the moon Callisto’s shadow transits Jupiter. Ganymede reappears from occultation around 22:00 UT and and goes into an eclipse around 23:46 UT.
21st Look out for the open cluster M35 mag. +5.1 in the constellation of Gemini this evening as it lies 3˚ south of the Moon 25%-lit.
22nd The Lyrid meteor shower is at is peak this evening at an approximate rate of 18 meteors per hour; the shower’s radiant point is in the constellation of Hercules just above the horizon. Our Moon and Jupiter may be seen 2.7˚ apart around midnight.
23rd For all of the night, ‘136108 Haumea’ will be at opposition in the constellation of Bootes. The Pinwheel Galaxy M101 (NGC 5457; mag 7.9) in Ursa Major will be well placed in the evening sky tonight and the in coming weeks reach its highest point in the sky at around midnight tonight. Magnitude -3.8 Venus can be viewed this evening and you may be able to spot mag.+5.8 Uranus lying 46 arcminutes to the south of it.
24th Our Moon is at its first quarter this evening. The Moon and the Messier object M44 will make a close approach this evening, passing within 1°14′ of each other. The Moon will be 7 days old.
25th For the Lunar observers there may be a chance to see the clair-obscur effect known as ‘Plato’s Hook’ which is on the rim of the crater Plato.
27th Another clair-obscur effect may be seen this evening, this time it is the Jewelled Handle which resides in the Jura mountain range.
28th Tonight Jupiter will occult one of its Moons Ganymede around 22:50 UT.

March 2026

1st The moon Ganymede will disappear into Jupiter’s shadow around 19:48 and reappear at 23:11 UT.
3rd Tonight our Moon will be full.
6th Our Moon will be at Aphelion this evening.
7th At around 18:40 UT Venus, sitting low in the sky, will be visible alongside the planets Saturn and Neptune all within a 1.5˚ circle.
8th The moon Ganymede can be seen entering occultation behind Jupiter at around 19:40, it re-emerges around 11:49 to be later eclipsed by Jupiter’s shadow at around 23:47.
9th The moon Callisto will be eclipsed by Jupiter’s shadow between 20:16 and 00:32 UT tonight.
10th Our Moon will be at Apogee this evening. The Moon will also be seen near the red super giant star Antares separated by3.8˚
11th The retrograde motion of Jupiter ends this evening. Our Moon will pass last quarter phase, rising in the middle of the night and appearing prominent in the pre-dawn sky.
16th Our Moon is at perihelion this evening.
17th The moon Callisto can be seen transiting Jupiter’s disc between 19:40 and 23:35 UT.
19th There will be a new moon this evening, look out for its very thin shape! It’s the moon Ganymede’s turn to transit Jupiter between 17:54 and 21:16 UT.
20th Today is the northern hemisphere’s vernal or ‘spring’ equinox. At around 18:36 there will be a conjunction of the Moon and Venus.
21st The asteroid ’20 Massalia’ will be at opposition today shining at mag +9.0 near ‘The Bowl’ asterism of the constellation Virgo.
22nd The planet Neptune will pass close to the Sun in the sky as its orbit carries it around the far side of the solar system from the Earth. Our Moon will be at Apogee.
23rd Our Moon and M45 will be passing within 1°07′ of each other. Our Moon will be 4 days old.
25th the planet Saturn wil be at solar conjunction with only 2˚ of separation TAKE CARE WHEN VIWING OBJECTS CLOSE TO HE SUN. Our Moon will be at first quarter this evening.
26th There will be a conjunction of our Moon and Jupiter this evening. The moon Callisto will be occulted by Jupiter at around 02:24 UT.
27th The clair-obscur effect the ‘Eyes of Clavius should be visible on the southern end of our Moon around 02:30 UT.
28th Our waxing gibbous Moon will occult part of the Beehive Cluster (M44) around 03:20 UT.
29th There will be a Lunar occultation of the star Regulus around 19:15 UT and once again take caution of viewing so close to the Sun.
31st The tenth magnitude comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) may be seen immediately south of the Hyades open cluster in the constellation of Taurus.

February 2026

1st Tonight and into tomorrow night, owing to the Moons libration the crater Gauss may be seen north and east of the sea Mare Crisium. A close approach to our Moon by M44 the “Beehive Open Star Cluster” may be seen from around 18:00 UT.
2nd Mercury at mag.-1,1 and Venus mag.-3.8 will appear in the evening sky at 1.7˚ apart, but it will be quite low down. ALWAYS OBSERVE CAUTION WHEN OBSERVING OBJECTS CLOSE TO THE SUN! The moon Titan may be seen coming out from behind Saturns
3rd The star Regulus mage.+1.3, sits 8 arcminutes north of our Moons edge northern edge. The Moon is also at aphelion.
4th One of Jupiters Galilean moons, Collisto, is occulted by the planet at 02:28 UT. Meanwhile the moon Ganymede transits the planet between 15:28 and 18:54 UT with its shadow transiting between 17:55 and 21:23 UT. Uranus ends its retrograde motion.
8th The moon Ganymede is occulted by Jupiter at 05:00 UT.
9th Our moon passes its last quarter during the night.
10th Our Moon is at apogee. Saturn is now too tilted to allow us to see the moon Titan transiting the face of it.
11th At around 06:05 UT the 33%-lit waning crescent Moon occults the star Tau(r) Scorpii at mag. +2.8.
12th More transits of Jupiter as the moon Callisto’s shadow transits between 19:00 and 23:13 UT whilst Europa and its shadow does so between 16:03 and 18:57 UT.
15th Our Moon will be at perihelion this evening.
17th Our Moon will be ‘New’ this evening.
18th Our crescent Moon sits between Venus mag.-3.8 and Mercury -0.5 (with the latter it is at conjunction) this evening. Meanwhile later in the evening Saturn and Neptune appear to be 51 arcminutes apart.
19th The evening sees our crescent Moon at 5%-lit sitting 4˚ northwest of Saturn mag.+0.7. The planet Mercury is at greatest eastern elongation where it sits separated from the Sun by 18.1˚. The moon Ganymede transits Jupiter in the early morning finishing as Jupiter approaches setting. Messier 81 ‘Bode’s Galaxy’ mag.+6.9 will be well placed in the evening sky over the next few weeks as it sits near in the constellation Ursa Major.
20th In the early evening, the moon Callisto is occulted by Jupiters disc although the best time to view this is around 21:25 UT.
21st This evening Callisto will be eclipsed by Jupiters shadow around 02:12 UT but the eclipse reappearance will not be seen as Jupiter sets.
22nd The moon Ganymede can be seen coming out of eclipse from around 19:09 UT.
24th As our 44%-lit waxing crescent Moon sets it moves closer to the Pleiades constellation.
25th A late afternoon opportunity to see one of our Moons many visual clair-obscur effects, this time it is Plato’s Hook which is a shadow cast on the inside of the crater Plato. The Moon will also be at its First Quarter and at perigee.
26th The Galilean moon Ganymede transits Jupiter between 01:52 and 05:15 UT and another clair-obscur effect can be seen on our Moon around 22:30 UT called the Jewelled Handle; this a large bright C-shaped semi-circle formed when the Jura Mountains, which partially encircles the sea Mare Iridum, are illuminated by sunlight at a low angle.
27th Kappa(r) Geminorium is a double giant star of spectral class G8 in the constellation of Gemini and this evening it will be occulted by our Moon at around 21:40 UT.There will also be a conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter. Reaching its highest point in the sky, ‘Asteroid 7 Iris’ will be well placed, lying in the constellation Sextans, for much of the night. Our 78%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits 3.8˚ north-northwest of Jupiter mag-2.3 this evening.
28th There will be a close approach (viewing wise) of the Moon and M44 The Beehive Cluster from about 18:54 UT.

January 2026

2nd Asteroid 40 Harmonia will be at opposition tonight reaching its highest point in the night sky around midnight UT. The Galilean Moon Callisto reappears from behind Jupiter around 02:00 UT.
1st The Moon will reach the closest point, perigee, along its orbit to the Earth and will appear slightly larger than at other times.
3rd Tonights full Moon is declared as a Supermoon owing to it being just after perigee. Earth is also at perihelion today meaning it is at its closet point to our Sun. The bright Moon will spoil the viewing of the Quadrantid meteor shower, peak ZHR can be around 120 under good dark skies.
6th Just before 02:00 UT hours the moon Io will start to be seen crossing Jupiter along with its surface shadow.
7th Between 01:59 and 05:44 UT the moon Ganymede will transit Jupiter along with its shadow.
9th One of the last chances for a while to see the moon Titan transiting Saturn between 16:52 and 22:22 UT.
10th One of Jupiters Galilean moons Callisto will be transiting across its surface at around 06:55.
11th From just before 18:00 UT this evening the moon Europa can be seen touching its shadow as it crosses the surface of Saturn, ending in 20:45 UT.
12th Our Moon is showing features only seen from earth in greater detail during libration in the north-west limb.
13th It is the turn of the moon Io to touch its shadow as it passes over the surface of Jupiter between 03:39 and 06:03 UT.
14th At around 05:30 UT Ganymede and its shadow begins its transit across the surface of Jupiter.
15th The planet Saturn changes position in the sky moving out of the constellation Aquarius and back to Pisces.
17th The moon Titan comes back round Saturn at approx 20:23 UT.
18th It is a New Moon this evening.
23rd Saturn, at mag.+0.7, will be 2.2˚ south-west of Neptune (mag.+7.9) whilst our 24%-lit waxing Moon sits 5.9˚ north-east of Saturn.
25th The lunar clair-obscure effects of X and V should be visible on our Moons surface around 17:00 UT.
26th The moon Callisto will transit Jupiter between 21:07 and on the 27th at 01:10 whilst its shadow will be seen between 00:58 and 05:06 UT.
27th At about 21:20, our 68%-lit waxing gibbous Moon will be crossing the northern side of the Pleiades open cluster.
29th Mercury at mag.-1.2 and Venus at mag.-3.8 will be separated byy 41 arcminutes BUT they are also 5.7˚ from the Sun REMEMBER TO USE APPROPRIATE EQUIPMENT SUITABLE FOR SOLAR OBSERVATIONS !!!
31st Early morning should see our 95%-lit waxing gibbous Moon 3.1˚ north of Jupiter at mag.-2.5.