Saturn is the only bright evening planet. It transits around 9-10 pm 60 degrees high for great telescopic views of its narrow rings. There is no other bright star anywhere close to Saturn.

Mars and Jupiter are close together in Leo, slightly west of Regulus. They rise around midnight and get 70 degrees high by dawn. Jupiter is the brightest object before dawn and almost three magnitudes brighter than Mars. On the 16th, Mars passes Jupiter 1.2 degrees north. They stay within 5 degrees of each other all month. The triangle Jupiter-Mars-Regulus changes its shape almost daily, especially around the 26th when Mars passes Regulus 2 degrees to the north. Although Mars passes Jupiter every two years, this is the best conjunction between 1980 and 2075 because they are visible far from the sun and can be observed high in the sky this time. Both planets will stay in the same part of the sky for half a year and will be spectacular around March.

Venus rises before 6 am in early November and already at 4 am by the end of the month. By then it will be brilliant during early dawn around 6 am. In binoculars, its thin crescent is visible best when Venus is a large 60 arc-seconds diameter, but still visible later when Venus is a thicker crescent of 40 arc-seconds. Venus moves in a curve counterclockwise around Spica which is interesting to watch.

Mercury starts its morning visibility on the 11th. During the last two weeks of November it is easy to spot well below Venus.

Uranus comes in opposition on the 25th. It moves slowly, currently 6 degrees to the southeast of the Pleiades. At magnitude 5.6, it is easy to find in binoculars but difficult to see naked eye.

The brightest minor planet (4) Vesta is in norther Cetus. At magnitude 7, it is easy to see in binoculars, but difficult to find by star-hopping since there are no bright stars nearby.

The first view of the moon after New Moon on the 9th is the following day just before 6 pm low in the southwest, but it might be a challenge to see it naked eye. On the last morning of November, the moon joins Jupiter, Mars, and Regulus, a sight not to be missed.

Mercury is still visible at dawn until August 17. A poor evening visibility occurs October 1-20.

Venus is brilliant in the evening sky, but will be lower and lower at sunset. It reaches maximum magnitude of -4.8 in mid-September when it could be seen naked eye around 3 pm to the south 40 degrees high. Its last visibility at dusk is October 10. Starting October 28, it rapidly establishes a great morning visibility.

Mars is first magnitude, rising around 1 am and getting high by dawn. It moves from Taurus through Gemini to Cancer.

Jupiter is in the morning sky starting August 11. For the next 12 months, Earth is essentially in the plane of Jupiter’s equator, so that its satellites pass close to each other and often occult or eclipse each other.

Saturn is visible all night as it comes into opposition on October 4. Its rings are wider open than during the last years, 9 degrees, but are closing to 6 degrees by October due to Saturn’s retrograde motion.

Uranus is a morning object near the Pleiades.

Neptune is still close to Saturn. It is in opposition September 25th.

August 12 brings the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower.

Also on August 12, there will be a total solar eclipse that grazes the North Pole and then moves south over Greenland and Iceland to Spain

A partial lunar eclipse happens August 27th, visible conveniently almost all evening. From 9 to 9:30 pm, 96 percent of the lunar disk is red in the Earth’s umbra while a thin sliver at the upper left side of the disk glows in direct sunlight.

Jupiter leaves the evening sky after the first week for its conjunction with the sun on the 29th.

Venus is at its best visibility of 2026, setting around 10 pm. It passes Regulus on the 9th.

Saturn rises around midnight. Its rings are further open than during any other month in 2026 and 11 times further open than at the beginning of the year.

Mars rises between 2 and 3 am. It moves through the northern part of the Hyades.

Mercury starts its morning apparition on the 27th.

The Moon passes Mars on the 11th. After the New Moon on the 14th, it is a very thin crescent on the 15th, passes Regulus on the 16th, Venus on the 17th, and Antares on the 24th.

Venus and Jupiter form a bright planet pair in the early evening sky. They are closest on the 8th, 1.7 degrees apart. Both planets are to the left of Pollux (Gemini the Twins). Venus has its latest set time mid-month at 10:10 pm. By the end of the month, Jupiter will be far below Venus, setting during twilight.

Mercury joins both bright planets until the 25th. During the first three weeks, it will be easily visible, setting around 9 pm.

Saturn rises around 2 am. Its rings show as an oval again after they appeared as a straight line last year.

Mars rises around 3 am and remains very low during dawn.

Venus is getting better visible at the end of dusk in the west. By the end of the month it will be at its best of the February-October visibility.

Mercury appears 20 degrees below Venus after the 22nd. By the end of the month it is easily visible.

Jupiter appears high in the sky at dusk at first, setting before midnight. By the end of the month it is only 25 degrees high when it becomes visible just after sunset. At that date, Jupiter is still 8 degrees above Venus, while both will be close on June 8. Ganymede’s shadow starts a transit at 10 pm on the 15th, and Ganymede itself transits one week later at the same time, although Jupiter will be low in the sky by that time.

Saturn in Cetus rises at 4 am, later around 3 am. Its rings will display some width after showing up at a narrow line for the last two years.

Mars is slowly becoming visible again in the morning sky. During May, it is barely visible during dawn. Mars can be found below the lunar crescent on the 14th.

The Moon meets Antares on the 3rd and again on the 30th. The best approach will be on the 18th, when the Moon and Venus will shine brightly within 2 degrees of each other.

May will host a “Blue Moon”. A Blue Moon is when we have a second Full Moon in a single month (Full Moon is May 1 and May 31). An older, alternative definition refers to the third full moon in a season that has four full moons instead of the usual three.

Venus is getting better visible at the end of dusk low in the west. By the end of the month, it will have reached Aldebaran in Taurus.

Jupiter transits around sunset 81 degrees high. It moves slowly toward Pollux. Venus is still far away but fast approaching Jupiter.

Mercury is visible until mid-month low at dawn around 5:30 am.

Uranus remains 4 degrees south of the Pleiades, but gets visible only quite low in the sky. The last good possibility of viewing it is on the 23rd when it is visible in binoculars just 0.8 degrees south of Venus.

The moon will be in the evening sky again on the 18th, in the vicinity of Venus. Two days later it can be seen almost overhead (86 degrees high) at 3:30 pm.

On April 20th, there is a rare event that three planets are within a 3 degree circle: Mercury, Mars, and Venus. They are visible from more southern latitudes by naked eye. In Tucson, one will need binoculars to find them around 5:30 am about 5 degrees above the eastern horizon. They will be almost in a straight line.

Around April 22, the Lyrics Meteors are visible after 10 pm.

On March 7th, Venus and Saturn are visible in the west at dusk, separated by only 1 degree. Saturn is lost in twilight a day or two later while Venus is slowly climbing higher.

Uranus is only 4 degrees south of the Pleiades. After April it will take 84 years before it gets that close again.

Jupiter transits around 8 pm at 81 degrees altitude, perfect for evening observations with a telescope.

Mercury begins to be visible in the morning on March 20th, the spring equinox. It rises around 5 am and is best visible at 5:30 in the east.

Comet MAPS C/2026 A1 is the first comet discovered in 2026. It is a Kreuz group comet. This means it will get extremely close to the sun: 0.001 AU. Perihelion is April 4th, by which time it may have evaporated. It may become a spectacular comet in the evening sky in late March, or it may be barely findable with binoculars. It may be visible during daylight next to the sun around April Fools day. Around March 21, it will become brighter than magnitude 6, but setting at 8:20 pm and 6 minutes earlier each following day.