These are the special events in the sky during 2026.
Sun:
Looking at the Sun either with the unaided eye or through binoculars or a telescope is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! PERMANENT EYE DAMAGE CAN AND PROBABLY WILL OCCUR. Click here to find out how to observe the Sun safely.
Moon Phases:
The Moon is ideal for viewing in the week centred on the First Quarter phase, both regarding the sights presented and the most convenient time for observing (evenings). In addition, it is quite high in the sky at sunset. First Quarter in 2026 will occur on the following dates:
2026: January 26; February 24; March 26; April 24; May 23; June 22; July 21; August 20; September 19; October 19; November 17; December 17.
Eclipses in 2026:
Lunar:
TOTAL, MARCH 3: The next lunar eclipse visible from Australia will occur on this evening, at an ideal time for people in eastern Australia. The following timings are for the Sunshine Coast: Moonrise will occur at 6:14 pm. The penumbral phase of the eclipse will start at 6:44 pm. The umbral phase will begin at 7:50 pm. Totality will begin at 9:04 pm and maximum eclipse will occur at 9:33 pm. Totality will end at 10:03 pm. The partial umbral phase will end at 11:17 pm, after which no eclipse will be noticeable. The faint penumbral phase will end at 12:23 am, when the Full Moon will appear brighter than normal.
TOTAL, AUGUST 28: A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when one part of the Moon is in the Earth's umbra, while the rest of the Moon is in the penumbra. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth. This eclipse will be visible over the whole of North and South America. It will not be visible from Australia.
Solar:
ANNULAR
, FEBRUARY 17: No part of this eclipse of the Sun will be visible from any country on Earth, except at the Casey Station in Antarctica. Casey is one of three permanent bases and research outposts maintained by the Australian Antarctic Division.
TOTAL, AUGUST 13 (AEST):
This total eclipse will not be visible from any part of Australia. The track of the eclipse will pass over the Arctic, Greenland,
Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean, northern Spain and the extreme north-eastern part of Portugal. The point of greatest duration and greatest eclipse will be just 45 kilometres off the western coast of Iceland at 65°10.3' North and 25°12.3' West,
where the totality will last 2m 18.21s. The United Kingdom and most of Europe
will see a partial eclipse
The next total solar
eclipse visible from parts of Australia will occur at 12:56 pm on July 22, 2028, the eclipse
track running from Wyndham in Western Australia through Alice Springs to Birdsville and then Sydney,
before crossing the Tasman Sea to Dunedin in New Zealand's South Island.
The Planets in 2026:
Mercury:
January 6:
Aphelion
January 21:
Superior conjunction
February 19:
Perihelion
February 20:
Greatest elongation from Sun in evening sky (18
February 26:
Eastern stationary point
March 7:
Inferior conjunction
March 21:
Western stationary point
April
4:
Greatest elongation from Sun in
morning sky
(27
April 4:
Aphelion
May 15:
Superior conjunction
May 18:
Perihelion
June 16: Greatest
elongation from Sun in evening sky (24
The best times for observing Mercury in the evening sky are:
mid-February, May-June, mid-September-October.
The best times for observing Mercury in the morning sky are: January,
Late July - early August, mid-November.
Venus:
January 7:
Superior conjunction
January 23:
Aphelion
May 16:
Perihelion
August 15: Greatest elongation from Sun in evening sky (45
September 4:
Aphelion
October 3:
Eastern stationary point
October 24:
Inferior conjunction
November 14:
Western stationary point
December 26:
Perihelion
January 4, 2027: Greatest elongation from Sun in
morning sky (46
On
January 7, Venus will pass on the far side of the Sun (superior conjunction),
and for the next six weeks will be lost in the solar glare. During March it will
reappear in the western sky as an "Evening Star" and will become a dominant feature of the twilight
sky during winter. Travelling faster than the Earth, it will swing around
towards us during the next six months and will grow in size, changing in
appearance from a tiny "full moon" to a larger "half moon" (see below).
Continuing to overtake us, during September its appearance will change from a "half
moon" to a thinning crescent in
this period. Its angular diameter will rapidly increase as it approaches the Earth.
Venus will pass between the Earth and the Sun on October 24 (inferior
conjunction), and will then return to the pre-dawn eastern sky.
Venus will reappear in the eastern pre-dawn sky during December, and from then on will dominate the eastern pre-dawn sky as a 'Morning Star'. It will firstly appear as a large, narrow crescent, but as the months go by Venus, moving faster than the Earth, will leave us behind and will diminish in size. By January 2027 it will appear as a little "half-Moon" again, shrinking in size, until it reaches the next superior conjunction on August 12, 2027.
March 2026 August 2026 September 2026 November 2026 January 2027
Mars:
On February 20, 2027, Mars will reach its next opposition when it will be at its closest approach to Earth (opposition) and therefore will be at its largest and brightest. For most of 2026, Mars will be very small and faint.
Mars begins the year in the constellation Sagittarius, travelling westwards along its
retrograde loop. It passes into Capricornus, the Sea-Goat on January 23. It
crosses into Aquarius, the Water-bearer on February 27 and heads eastwards, crossing into
Pisces, the Fishes on April 3.
Mars crosses into Aries, the Ram on May 18, into Taurus on June 20, into Gemini,
the Twins on August 12, into Cancer, the Crab on September 24, and into Leo, the
Lion on October 31. It begins its retrograde loop on January 10, 2027, and
reaches opposition with the Sun on February 20.
Jupiter:
January 10, 2026: Opposition (Jupiter rises in the east at sunset)J
Saturn:
March 25: Conjunction
Uranus:
February 4: Eastern stationary point
Neptune:
March 22: Conjunction
Pluto:
January 23: ConjunctionPluto begins 2026 in Capricornus, near the boundary with Sagittarius. It will not move out of Capricornus until March 15, 2039.
Meteor Showers:
January
4: Quadrantids
February 8: Alpha-Centaurids
April
22: Lyrids
The 3.9 metre Anglo-Australian Telescope near Coonabarabran, NSW
The main Constellations visible at about 8.00 pm each month, from the horizon to the zenith:
January:
East:
Hydra, Canis Minor, Canis Major, Puppis
South: Crux, Musca,
Carina, Vela, Pavo
West: Aquarius, Capricornus, Pisces, Grus,
Piscis Austrinus, Phoenix, Cetus, Eridanus
North: Aries, Perseus, Taurus, Auriga,
Gemini, Orion
February:
East:
Leo, Crater, Corvus, Hydra, Canis Major, Puppis
March:
East:
Virgo, Libra, Lupus, Centaurus, Corvus, Crater, Hydra, Crux, Musca, Vela
South: Triangulum Australe, Toucan,
Carina, Puppis
West: Phoenix, Cetus, Eridanus, Taurus,
Orion, Canis Major
North: Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Canis Minor
April:
East:
Bootes, Libra, Scorpius, Virgo, Centaurus, Lupus, Ara, Crux, Musca, Corvus
South: Triangulum Australe, Pavo, Carina,
Vela
West: Eridanus, Orion, Gemini, Canis
Minor, Canis Major, Puppis
North: Cancer, Ursa Major, Leo, Crater, Hydra
May:
East:
Corona Borealis, Serpens, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Libra, Scorpius, Ara,
Lupus, Centaurus
South: Indus, Pavo, Triangulum Australe, Crux,
Musca, Carina
West: Canis Major, Canis Minor, Cancer,
Puppis, Hydra
North: Ursa Major, Leo, Coma Berenices,Bootes,
Virgo, Crater, Corvus
June:
East:
Ophiuchus, Capricornus, Sagittarius, Scorpius
South: Pavo, Triangulum Australe, Ara,
Lupus, Crux, Musca
West: Hydra, Leo, Carina, Vela, Puppis,
Crater, Corvus
North: Coma Berenices, Bootes, Corona Borealis,
Hercules, Virgo, Serpens, Libra
July:
East:
Aquarius, Delphinus, Grus, Capricornus, Aquila, Sagittarius, Scorpius
South: Carina, Musca, Crux, Ara, Triangulum Australe,
Centaurus
West: Hydra, Crater, Corvus, Virgo, Vela,
Libra
North: Bootes, Corona Borealis, Hercules,
Lyra, Ophiuchus, Serpens
August:
East:
Aquarius, Phoenix, Piscis Austrinus, Grus, Sagittarius
South: Eridanus, Musca, Crux, Triangulum
Australe
West: Corvus, Virgo, Bootes, Libra,
Centaurus, Ara, Lupus, Scorpius
North: Corona Borealis, Hercules, Lyra, Cygnus,
Delphinus, Aquila
September:
East:
Pisces, Cetus, Eridanus, Phoenix, Piscis Austrinus, Grus, Aquarius,
Capricornus
South: Crux, Musca, Triangulum Australe, Pavo
West: Centaurus, Libra, Serpens,
Ophiuchus, Scorpius, Lupus, Ara
North: Lyra, Cygnus, Pegasus, Delphinus,
Aquila
October:
East:
Eridanus, Cetus, Aries, Piscis Austrinus
South: Hydrus, Centaurus, Musca,
Triangulum Australe, Ara, Pavo, Grus
West: Lupus, Scorpius, Ophiuchus,
Sagittarius, Aquila, Capricornus
North: Cygnus, Delphinus, Pegasus,
Andromeda, Aquarius
November:
East:
Taurus, Eridanus, Cetus, Phoenix
South: Carina, Musca, Triangulum Australe, Pavo
West: Scorpius, Sagittarius,
Aquila, Delphinus, Capricornus, Grus, Piscis Austrinus
North: Pegasus, Andromeda, Aries, Pisces,
Cetus, Aquarius
December:
East:
Taurus, Orion, Canis Major, Puppis, Carina, Eridanus
South: Carina, Musca, Pavo
West: Capricornus, Aquarius,
Grus, Piscis Austrinus, Phoenix
North: Pegasus, Andromeda, Aries, Perseus,
Cetus
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