Upcoming celestial events
The big sights and the overlooked ones — with when to look, and how the Moon affects each. Open your location page to see which are visible from where you are.
Milky Way core season
The bright galactic core of the Milky Way — the part that makes those glowing astrophotos — is above the horizon at night from roughly March to October. Summer is prime time. You need a genuinely dark sky and a moonless night.
Total solar eclipse
The headline event of 2026 and the first total solar eclipse over continental Europe since 1999. The narrow path of totality crosses eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain (plus a sliver of Portugal); a partial eclipse is visible across much of Europe, northern Asia, North Africa and parts of North America. Totality lasts up to 2m 18s.
Perseid meteor shower
The most popular shower of the year, and 2026 is an excellent year: the peak on 12–13 August falls on a new Moon, so no moonlight to wash it out. Up to ~90 meteors an hour from a dark site, radiating from the constellation Perseus.
Partial lunar eclipse
A partial lunar eclipse on 28 August, with part of the full Moon dimming and reddening as it enters Earth's shadow. Visible from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia depending on your local moonrise/moonset.
Neptune at opposition
The most distant planet reaches opposition on 26 September — its brightest for the year, though still faint. A rewarding challenge target: Neptune shows as a tiny blue-grey disc through a telescope. One for the keen.
Saturn at opposition
Saturn reaches opposition on 4 October — directly opposite the Sun, so it rises at sunset, sets at sunrise and is at its biggest and brightest of the year. The best night to catch the rings through even a small telescope.
Orionid meteor shower
Fast, faint meteors — debris from Halley's Comet — peaking around 21 October at ~20 per hour. A quieter, connoisseur's shower; moonlight hampers the 2026 peak, so aim for the darkest hours.
Leonid meteor shower
The Leonids peak around 17 November at ~15 fast meteors an hour. Famous for rare, spectacular storms every ~33 years; 2026 is a normal year, but still a pleasant pre-dawn watch.
Geminid meteor shower
Widely considered the best shower of the year: slow, bright, often colourful meteors at up to ~150 per hour under dark skies. In 2026 the Moon is only a young crescent at the 13–14 December peak, so conditions are excellent.
December supermoon
The final and closest supermoon of 2026 on 23 December — a full Moon near its closest approach to Earth, appearing slightly larger and noticeably brighter. Lovely to the eye, especially rising near the horizon.