What the Planets are doing this month
January 202-
Mercury.
Venus.
Mars.
Jupiter.
Saturn.
Moon Phase for January 2027
8th
16th
22nd 
29th
February 202-
Mercury.
Venus.
Mars.
Jupiter.
Saturn.
Moon Phase for February 2027
7th 14th 21st 28th
March 202-
Mercury.
Venus.
Mars.
Jupiter.
Saturn.
Moon Phase for March 2027
8th
16th
22nd 30th
April - May 2026
Mercury,
Mars,
Saturn. Mid April finds Mercury rising 90 minutes before the Sun.
On its journey back toward conjunction with the Sun on May 15th it will
form a close conjunction with Saturn and Mars on April 21st. On this day
it will be less than one degree from Saturn and less than two degrees
from Mars. On this morning the three planets will rise together around
90 minutes before the Sun in the early morning twilight. As the months
progress Saturn will rise higher in the early morning sky and by the end
of May will rise over four hours before the Sun. Mars will also rise
higher into the dawn sky and by the end of May will rise over two hours
prior to the Sun. By this time Mercury will have entered the evening sky
and will be setting one hour later than the Sun.
Venus
and
Jupiter. The brightest of the planets, Venus can also be found in
the western evening sky setting 90 minutes later than the Sun at the end
of April but by the end of May will set two and a half hours later than
the Sun. The giant planet Jupiter starts April low in the western
evening sky after sunset, still idling around in the constellation of
the twins. At the end of April will set around 10:00pm but by the end of
May will be setting two hours earlier, just after 8:00pm. On the 20th of
April And the 22nd of May a crescent waxing Moon joins Venus and Jupiter
in the western evening sky.
2nd 10th 17th 24th
Moon Phase for May 2026
1st
10th 17th 23rd 31st
June 2026
Mercury. In the constellation of the twins, Mercury will be
setting a little later than the Sun for the first half of the month
reaching its greatest elongation east of the Sun on June 16th when it
will set one and a half later than the Sun. On the 3rd it will pass just
over one degree to the north of the bright open cluster M35 2,600 light
years away. By the end of the month Mercury will set just over one hour
later than the Sun. The two day old waxing crescent Moon visits Mercury
on the 17th of June.
Venus.
Well established as the "Evening Star", Venus sets two and a half hours
later than the Sun at the onset of June. It begins the month in Gemini,
crossing into Cancer on the 12th where on the 20th it has a close
encounter with M44, the Beehive star cluster. It crosses into Leo on the
29th when it will be setting three hours later than the Sun. Venus
passes just over one degree to the north of Jupiter on the 10th and is
joined by the three day old waxing crescent Moon on the 18th of the
month. The Beehive cluster is a swarm of about 75 stars visible as a
misty patch to the naked eye and best observed in binoculars. It is
around 520 light years away.
Mars. The Red planet rises two and a half hours before the Sun at
the beginning of June. The end of the month finds it rising three
hours before the Sun, four degrees to the south of M45, the Seven
Sisters star cluster. It begins the month in Aries crossing into Taurus
on the 20th. The waning crescent Moon resides six degrees to the north
of Mars on the 13th of the month.
Jupiter. Low in the north-western evening sky
after sunset, Jupiter will set three hours later than the Sun at the
beginning of the month. It also begins the month in Gemini, trickling
over into Cancer on the 24th when it will set 90 minutes later than the
Sun. The two day old waxing crescent moon sits just under four degrees
to the north-west of Jupiter on the 17th. This is the last chance to
observe the giant planet as it heads for conjunction with the Sun at the
end of next month.
Saturn. The magnificent ringed planet rises around 2:00am when
June begins but by the end of the month will rise 90 minutes earlier. On
the 10th the magnitude 10 asteroid Pallas is only one degree to the
north of Saturn an magnitude 8 Vesta will be four degrees to the south
of the planet. In Pisces, Saturn is joined by the waning crescent Moon
on the 10th and 11th of the month.
Moon Phase for June 2026
8th
15th 22nd 30th
July 2026
Mercury. The small inner planet sets over one hour later than the
Sun at the start of the month however its swift movement across the
constellation of the Twins brings it to superior conjunction with the
Sun on the 13th. On entering the morning sky Mercury may be hard to spot
until toward the end of the month when it will rise just over one hour
before the Sun.
Venus.
High in the north western sky just after sunset, Venus will set over
three hours later than the Sun for most of the month. Spending the
entire month in Leo it will be in conjunction with Regulus on the 10th
when the pair will be just over one degree apart. At magnitude -4.1
Venus by far outshines the much fainter magnitude 1.4 Regulus, Leo's
brightest star. This is a blue-white star lying at a distance of 85
light years and has a magnitude 7.6 companion visible in binoculars.
Regulus is one of the few first magnitude stars capable of being
occulted by the Moon. The two day old waxing crescent Moon sits just
below Venus on the 17th of the month.
Mars. The red planet begins the month in Taurus
sitting four degrees above the Pleiades (Seven Sisters) star cluster. On
its journey eastward against the background stars it has a close
encounter with Uranus on the 4th when only a couple of arcminutes
separate the pair. This will make them visible together in the same
image in the telescope eyepiece. Mars will be in conjunction with
Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus on the 14th when the similarity
in colour of the two objects will be quite obvious. At magnitude 0.9
Aldebaran will be slightly brighter than magnitude 1.3 Mars. On the 24th
Mars will pass one degree the south of magnitude 6.0 NGC 1746, once
thought to be an open cluster but recent observations suggest it is
probably just a random formation of unrelated stars. The waning crescent
Moon pays Mars a visit on the 11th and 12th of the month.
Jupiter. Low in the western sky after sunset at the
beginning of the month, Jupiter will get harder to spot as the month
progresses. It will set ninety minutes later than the Sun on the 1st but
will be progressively harder to spot in the western twilight as it heads
for conjunction with the Sun on the 29th of the month.
Saturn. With its rings beginning to open slightly from the earth's
perspective, Saturn rises at 12:30am at the start of July but by the end
of the month will rise a full two hours earlier. It remains in Pisces
where it will be joined by the last quarter Moon on the 8th of July.
Moon Phase for July 2026
8th
14th 21st 30th
August 2026
Mercury. As the horses have their birthday Mercury will probably
be only visible for the first couple of days of the month as it rises in
Gemini a little over one hour before the Sun at the start of
August. It will be quickly lost in the glare of the early morning
twilight as it makes its way back toward superior conjunction with the
Sun on the 28th. Give it a miss until next month.
Venus.
High in the north western sky after sunset, Venus reaches its greatest
elongation east of the Sun on August 14th when it will set three and a
half hours later than the Sun. It then begins its slow journey back to
inferior conjunction with the Sun on October 24th while in the meantime
it is interesting to watch Venus go through phases similar to those
exhibited by the Moon. Be very cautious not to accidentally aim the
telescope toward the Sun as the angular distance between Venus and the
Sun diminishes as serious eye damage will occur. Shining at magnitude
-4.4 Venus is the brightest object in the sky apart from the Sun and the
Moon. The three day old waxing crescent Moon resides one and a half
degrees to the south of Venus on the 16th of the month.
Mars. This little traveler begins the month in Taurus crossing
into Gemini on the 13th where it spends the rest of August. On the 3rd
it passes just over one degree to the north of magnitude 8.4 M1, the
celebrated Crab nebula discovered in 1731 by English astronomer John
Bevis and named in 1884 by Lord Rosse who thought its shape, seen
through his 72 inch telescope resembled a crab's pincer. In 1758 Charles
Messier added it to his list of faint fuzzies. Continuing on its merry
way Mars passes one degree to the north of magnitude 9.0 dwarf planet
Ceres discovered in 1801 by Guiseppe Piazzi and is the largest object in
the Astroid Belt. On the 9th and 10th the Moon pays Mars a visit.
Jupiter. Having just come from conjunction
with the Sun at the end of July, Jupiter gradually rises earlier than
the Sun as each day passes however by the end of the month it will only
rise a little over one hour before the Sun. At this stage it may be
visible but submerged in the morning twilight and a little hard to spot.
Next month will find it much easier to observe.
Saturn. Still lounging about in Pisces, Saturn rises around 10:25
as August begins but by the end of the month it will rise around 8:30pm,
a more respectable time for the casual observer. Saturn will encounter
the Moon twice this month once on the 4th and again on the 31st.
Moon Phase for August 2026
6th
13th 20th 28th
September 2026
Mercury. Having just moved into the western evening sky at
the end of last month, Mercury may be hard to spot for the first half of
September. It will set later than the Sun as each day passes until by
the end of the month it will set almost two hours later than the Sun and
much easier to observe. It begins the month hidden in the western
evening twilight in Leo but moves into Virgo on the 7th where it spends
the rest of the month. On the 26th it will pass less than one degree to
the north of Spica, Virgo’s brightest star and the fifteenth brightest
star in the sky. This is a magnitude 1.0 blue-white star about twelve
times the mass of the Sun lying at a distance of 250 light years from
the Earth. The one day old waxing crescent Moon sits three degrees to
the south of Mercury on the 12th but the pair may be a bit of a
challenge in the early evening twilight.
Venus. High
in the western evening sky after the Sun has set; on the 1st of November
Venus will set three and a half hours later than the Sun. On the 2nd it
has a close encounter with Spica (alpha Virginis) when the pair are
separated by less than one degree. At magnitude -4.46 Venus smothers the
fainter magnitude 1.0 Spica with its brilliant glow. On the 14th the
three day old waxing crescent Moon will be situated three degrees to the
west of the planet giving a great view in the western sky. By the end of
the month Venus will set two hours and forty minutes later than the Sun
and well on the way toward inferior conjunction with the Sun in
November.
Mars. Beginning the month in Gemini Mars will rise just after
3:20am but moves into Cancer on the 26th where it will rise around
2:30am. On the 10th Mars passes less than one degree to the north of
Delta Geminorum (Wasat). This is magnitude 3.5 triple star system which
on February 18th 1930 was in conjunction with Pluto when Pluto was
discovered by Clyde Tombaugh. On the 17th mars passes less than one
degree to the north of the rich open cluster NGC 2420 which is around
two billion years old and situated 10,000 thousand light years away. The
waning crescent Moon pays Mars a visit on the 7th of the month.
Jupiter. At the beginning of the month
Jupiter will rise a little over on hour before the Sun but by month's
end will rise two hours prior to the Sun. It spends most of the month in
Cancer only moving into Leo on the 28th. The waning crescent Moon sits
three degrees below Jupiter on the 9th of September.
-
Saturn. September is a great month to observe the magnificent
ringed planet as it will be visible most of the night. At the
beginning the month Saturn rises in Pisces just after 8:00pm but by
the end of the month will rise a full two hours earlier. On its
travels it crosses the border into Cetus-The Whale on the 15th of
September where it is met by the full Moon on the 27th and 28th.
Moon Phase for September 2026
4th
11th 19th 27th
October 2026
Mercury. On the 12th of October, having reached its greatest
elongation east of the Sun, Mercury will set two hours later than the
Sun and in a great position for observation. It spends the month in
Libra and on its way back toward inferior conjunction with the Sun it
will set forty minutes later than the Sun by the end of the month and a
bit of a challenge in the late afternoon twilight. The three day old
waxing crescent Moon sits just east of Mercury on the 13th of the month.
Venus.
The brightest of the planets has come to the end of its reign as the
"Evening Star" and will only be visible in the western evening Sky for
the first few days of the month. It is heading swiftly back toward
inferior conjunction with the Sun on the 24th of October. On returning
to the early morning sky by the end of the month it will rise only
twenty minutes before the Sun and hidden in the early morning twilight.
Mars and
Jupiter. At the beginning of the month both of these planets
share the same area of the sky although in neighboring constellations.
Mars, in Cancer-The Crab travels eastward against the background stars
and finds itself among the stars of the Beehive star cluster on the 11th
and 12th of the month. Continuing on its eastward journey it slips into
Leo on the last day of the month to join Jupiter in that constellation
when six degrees will separate the pair. On that morning Mars will rise
at 2:30am followed by Jupiter 16 minutes later. The waning crescent Moon
will be six degrees to the west of Mars on the 5th, midway between the
pair on the 6th and six degrees to the east of Jupiter on the 7th.
Saturn. Spending the month in the company of Cetus-The Whale,
Saturn rises at 6:10pm at the start of the month but by the end of the
month will cross the eastern horizon one hour earlier. It comes to
opposition on the 4th of October so, depending on your horizons should
be visible all night long. The magnificent rings are now inclined at an
angle of 7.5 degrees to our line of sight and with an average thickness
of less than a kilometer are not presenting at their best but still
impressive in the telescope. The waxing gibbous Moon sits seven degrees
to the north of Saturn on the 24th of the month.
Moon Phase for October 2026
3rd
11th 19th 26th
November 202-
Mercury
Venus.
Mars.
Jupiter.
Saturn.
Moon Phase for November 2026
2nd 9th
17th 25th
December 202-
Mercury
Venus
Mars.
Jupiter.
Saturn.
Moon Phase for Dec 2026
1st 9
th 17th 24th 31st