Cosmic Highlights of 2026: A Calendar of Celestial Events

Here we are, looking ahead to the celestial events of the upcoming year. As I always do, I load up my calendar with the happenings that are coming up. These include planet events, lunar and solar eclipses, meteor showers, expected comets, Moon phases, and Milky Way core visibility. Interspersed with these events, there are delightful surprises, like a juicy CME gracing our skies with aurora or a comet unexpectedly coming into view. 2026 will have a total solar eclipse and an annular solar eclipse, 3 supermoons, and we will begin 2026 with the first of three supermoons! The Milky Way core will become visible on January 24th, before dawn. With each passing day, it rises earlier and higher in the sky. On November 6th, it will dip below the horizon until January. Check the Milky Way Visibility Calendar for dates that the galactic core is visible.

Meteor showers occur every month, and dates of the bigger ones are listed. The more prolific meteor showers are particularly noted. Pay attention to the dates of the full and new Moon. These will impact the visibility of meteor showers and the Milky Way, so plan accordingly. New Moon and dates around it are ideal for photographing these.

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Mark your Calendar

January

3 – Full Moon. Wolf Moon. 1st Super Moon of the Year.

3 – Earth at Perihelion. Earth reaches the point closest to the Sun at 17:15 UTC.

3-4 – Quarantids Meteor shower. The first meteor shower of 2026. The radiant is the constellation Bootes. Viewed December 28-January 7, peaks on the 3rd. The shower runs annually from January 1-5. It peaks this year on the night of the 3rd and morning of the 4th. Unfortunately, the full moon will obscure all but the brightest meteors this year.

10 – Jupiter at opposition. This is when the giant planet is closest to Earth. Its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons.

18 – New Moon.

February

1 – Full Moon. Snow Moon.

7 – Alpha Centaurids Meteor shower. The radiant is the constellation Centaurus. (Southern Hemisphere)

17 – New Moon.

17 – Annular Solar Eclipse – Visible only in the very south of the southern hemisphere, the eclipse will be partial in regions of Southern Africa, southern South America, the south Pacific, the south Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and Antarctica. Lunar and solar eclipses go hand in hand. They always occur two weeks apart and always occur during full and new Moon events.

19 – Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the planet low in the western sky just after sunset.

March

3 – Full Moon Worm Moon

2-3 – Total Lunar Eclipse. Eclipses are fun to watch and photograph. Lunar eclipses are much easier to capture than the solar versions. At totality, the Moon shines an eerie red. Totality will last 65 minutes! Compare that to a total solar eclipse that ends in a few minutes! Visible from Asia, Australia, and North America, this is the last total lunar eclipse until the December 31, 2028–January 1, 2029 New Year’s Blood Moon Eclipse.

19 – New Moon.

20 – Vernal Equinox – Northern Hemisphere. Autumnal equinox – Southern Hemisphere. Look for the Zodiacal light in the west. This is best viewed from a dark area just after evening twilight ends.

April

2 – Full Moon. Pink Moon,

3 – Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.

17 – New Moon.

22-23 – Lyrid Meteor Shower. Meteor showers are always a blast. The meteors appear all over the sky, although they appear to have the radiant (an origination point) in the constellation bearing its name. The shower runs annually from April 16-25. It peaks this year on the night of the 22nd and morning of the 23rd. These meteors can sometimes produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds. The first quarter moon will set shortly after midnight, leaving dark skies for what should be a great show. The Lyrids have their radiant in Lyra.

May

1 – Full Moon. Flower Moon.

May 6, 7 – Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower. The Eta Aquarids is an above-average shower, capable of producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. Most of the activity is seen in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, the rate can reach about 30 meteors per hour. Created by dust particles left behind by comet Halley, which has been observed since ancient times. The shower runs annually from April 19 to May 28. It peaks this year on the night of May 6 and the morning of May 7.

16 – New Moon.

31 – Full Moon. Blue Moon. The second full Moon that occurred this month.

31 – Tau Herculids Meteor shower. The radiant is the constellation Bootes.

June

15 – New Moon

15 – Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the planet low in the western sky just after sunset.

15-16 – June Lyrids meteor shower. The radiant is in the constellation Lyra. It is active June 10-21.

21 – Summer Solstice – Northern Hemisphere. Winter Solstice – Southern Hemisphere

29 – Full Moon. Strawberry Moon.

July

14 – New Moon

28–29 – Delta Aquarids Meteor shower. The radiant is the Square of Pegasus. The shower runs annually from July 12 to August 23. It peaks this year on the night of July 28 and the morning of July 29. Unfortunately, the full moon will obscure most of the meteors this year, but bright meteors can still be seen.

29 – Full Moon. Buck Moon.

August

2 – Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.

12 – New Moon

12 – Total Solar Eclipse. The path of totality will begin in the Arctic Ocean off the Northern coast of Russia. It will move across Greenland, Iceland, and the Atlantic Ocean before ending in Spain. A partial eclipse will be visible in Alaska, Canada, western Africa, and the northern United States.

12-13 – Perseid Meteor Shower. This might be the most well-known meteor shower thanks to its prolific meteors (100 per hour), and it occurs in summer when you can lie on a beach lounger and gaze up at the show. This year, the Moon won’t be obscuring the meteor shower, so it’s a prime year to view the show. The radiant is in the constellation of Perseus. Although the peak of the meteor shower is on August 12 and 13th, like all meteor showers, the Perseids can be experienced before and after this date, so keep looking up!

By 11 p.m. in mid-August, Perseus is climbing up the northeastern sky — and the Perseids radiant point, just above the Perseus stick figure and below Cassiopeia, is already high enough for the shower to be a little more than half as active as it will be when the radiant is much higher just before dawn. That’s for an observer near 40° north latitude. Seen from farther south, rates all night will be a bit lower, especially during the evening.
Sky & Telescope

15 – Venus at Greatest Eastern Elongation. The planet Venus reaches its greatest eastern elongation of 45.9 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Venus since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the bright planet in the western sky after sunset.

17 – Kappa Cygnids Meteor shower. The radiant is the constellation Aquarius.

28 – Full Moon. Sturgeon Moon.

28 – Partial Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of North America, Mexico, Central America, South America, the Atlantic Ocean, and most of Europe and Africa.

September

11 – New Moon

25 – Neptune at Opposition. The blue giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth, and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view and photograph Neptune. Due to its extreme distance from Earth, it will only appear as a tiny blue dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.

26 – Full Moon. Harvest Moon.

23 – Autumn Equinox – Northern Hemisphere. Vernal equinox – Southern Hemisphere. Look for the Zodiacal light in the east. This is best viewed from a dark area just before dawn.

October

4 – Saturn at Opposition. The ringed planet will be at its closest approach to Earth, and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view and photograph Saturn and its moons. A medium-sized or larger telescope will allow you to see Saturn’s rings and a few of its brightest moons.

7 – Draconid meteor shower. This meteor shower isn’t as well-publicized as the Perseids, but it has been known to produce meteor storms. The shower runs annually from October 6-10 and peaks this year on the night of the 7th. The waning crescent moon will not be much of a problem this year. Skies should be dark enough for a good show. Best viewing will be in the early evening from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Draco, but can appear anywhere in the sky. It’s an unpredictable meteor shower and is worth the effort to witness it.

9 – Southern Taurids Meteor shower. The radiant is the constellation Taurus.

10 – New Moon

12 – Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the planet low in the western sky just after sunset.

21-22 – Orionid meteor shower. A doozy of a meteor shower, this one has a long duration. From September 26 through November 22, peaking on October 22nd. The waxing gibbous moon will block some of the fainter meteors in the evening. But it will set after midnight, leaving dark skies for what could be an excellent early morning show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Orion, but can appear anywhere in the sky The radiant is the constellation Orion, the most recognized constellation in the night sky.

Screenshot from Stellarium desktop with Orion in view.

26 – Full Moon. Hunters Moon.

November

4-5 – Northern Taurids Meteor shower. The radiant is the constellation Taurus and is a long-running minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is unusual in that it consists of two separate streams. The first is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10. The second stream is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. The shower runs annually from September 7 to December 10. It peaks this year on the night of November 4.

9 – New Moon

17 – Leonids Meteor Shower. The radiant is the constellation Leo. This shower is unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years, where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001. The Leonids is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865. The shower runs annually from November 6-30. It peaks this year on the night of the 17th and morning of the 18th. This should be a good year for the Leonids. The waxing gibbous moon will block some of the fainter meteors in the early evening. But it will set shortly after midnight, leaving dark skies for what should be an excellent early morning show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight.

20 – Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.

24 – Full Moon. 2nd supermoon of the year. Beaver Moon. This particular supermoon will have its closest distance to Earth at 221,965 miles. Supermoons always occur in sequence; this supermoon is the second one. Supermoons occur because of the oval orbit of our Moon. When the Moon is at closer distances in the oval, it appears 8 to 16 percent bigger.

25 – Uranus at Opposition. The blue-green planet will be at its closest approach to Earth, and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view Uranus. Due to its distance, it will only appear as a tiny blue-green dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.

December

9 – New Moon.

5 – Sigma Hydrids Meteor shower. The radiant is the constellation Hydra.

7 – Puppid-Velids Meteor shower. The radiant is the constellation Pi Puppid.

8 – Monocerotids Meteor shower. The radiant is the constellation Monoceros and spans November 9 to December 18.

13-14 – Geminid meteor shower. This one gets stargazers excited. It is a prolific meteor shower, and something about its occurrence in December makes it even more magical. The cold December air gives us better atmospheric clarity, which makes the meteors more brilliant. The shower, which lasts from December 1 to December 21, will peak on the night of December 13 to 14. During that brief window, up to approximately 120 meteors per hour will cross the sky, best observed under conditions of darkness. The waxing crescent moon will set early in the evening, leaving dark skies for what should be an excellent show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. The radiant is the constellation Gemini, which the shower is named after.

21 – Ursids Meteor shower. The radiant is the constellation Ursa Minor, near Polaris. Not a very energetic meteor storm, producing about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tuttle, which was first discovered in 1790. The shower runs annually from December 17-25. It peaks this year on the night of the 21st and morning of the 22nd. Unfortunately, the near full moon will block all but the brightest meteors this year.

21 – Winter Solstice – Northern Hemisphere. Summer Solstice – Southern Hemisphere.

23 – Full Moon. Cold Moon. Last supermoon of the 3 super moons year.

31 – Coma Berenicids Meteor shower. The radiant is the constellation Bootes and is visible from December 8th to January 23rd.

The sky is never boring. Keep looking up!

Which celestial events do you look forward to every year? Let’s hear them in the comments.

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