Skymaps | The Evening Sky Map

The Vernal Equinox occurs at 14:45 UT on March 20th (now). This is the moment when the Sun, moving along the ecliptic, passes into the northern celestial hemisphere signifying the onset of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the start of Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. 🔭

The 1.3 day old waxing crescent Moon (2.0% illuminated) appears near Venus (mag –3.9) at 10h UT (now) on 20 March 2026. Near impossible to observe at only 18° from the Sun, the event nevertheless marks the return of the Moon to the evening sky. 🔭 #stargazing #moon

New Moon occurs at 1:25 UT (now) on 19 March 2026. Start of lunation 1277. 🌟 The next few days remain a great time for evening stargazing. Download The Evening Sky Map (PDF) (skymaps.com/tesm/) and enjoy exploring the Universe with your eyes, binoculars or a telescope! 🔭

The Moon will be at its southernmost declination (–28.4°) in 2026 on March 11th at 21h UT (now). Two weeks ago on February 25th, the Moon was at its northernmost declination (+28.4°) in 2026. 🔭 #astronomy #Moon March 2026 Events: skymaps.com/skycalendar/

🌗 The Last Quarter Moon occurs on March 11th at 9:40 UT (now) marking the onset of moonless evening skies. This is an ideal time for stargazing over the next week or so. Download The Evening Sky Map (PDF) from skymaps.com/tesm/ and go outside to explore the Universe! 🔭

The Moon will reach apogee (farthest from Earth) at 14h UT (now) on 10 March. At this time the Moon's distance from Earth will be 404,384 km or 251,273 miles and span an angular size of 29.5 arc-minutes.🔭 #stargazing #moon March 2026 events: skymaps.com/skycalendar/

7 March: Mercury at inferior conjunction with the Sun at 11h UT (now). The innermost planet passes into the morning sky. 🔭 #stargazing

🌖 🌟 Over the next few hours, the Moon will appear near Spica, the brightest star in Virgo. Best seen in the morning sky with closest approach at 17h UT on 6 March. Spica is near the ecliptic making for regular encounters with the Moon.🔭 Sky Lore Books: skymaps.com/myths/

Taken a few minutes ago during the Total Lunar Eclipse of 3 March 2026... 🔭

During totality, when the Moon is fully within the Earth’s shadow, the Moon will appear red-orange in colour. This is the colour of all the sunsets and sunrises in Earth’s atmosphere being projected onto the Moon's Earth-facing side. More info: eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2…

A Total Lunar Eclipse will occur between 11:04 UT to 12:03 UT on 3 March 2026, with greatest eclipse at 11:34 UT. Partial phases begin at 9:50 UT and end at 13:17 UT. 🔭 The total eclipse will be widely visible from east Asia, Australia, Pacific Ocean and the Americas.

⭐ Over the next few hours, the Moon will once again pass near the bright star Regulus. Closest approach is at 11h UT on 2 March 2026, with an occultation visible from eastern Russia, eastern China, Mongolia and Japan. 🔭 in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20… #stargazing

🌟 The March 2026 edition of The Evening Sky Map (PDF) is now available for download at skymaps.com/tesm/. The PDF features easy-to-use sky maps for the northern & southern hemispheres, and for the equatorial regions. Enjoy exploring the Universe! 🔭 #stargazing #space

The Moon will be at its northernmost declination (+28.4°) in 2026 on March 25th at 23h UT (now). Then, in 2 weeks time, the Moon will be at its southernmost declination (–28.4°) in 2026. 🔭 #astronomy #Moon February 2026 Events: skymaps.com/skycalendar/

🌓 24 February: First Quarter Moon at 12:28 UT (now). The days around First Quarter are a great time to explore and view craters and many other lunar features. A telescope will provide spectacular views. 🔭 📖 NG Moon Map (Amazon): skymaps.com/a1/1566959535/ #stargazing #moon

The ringed-planet Saturn is in a close conjunction with Neptune at the moment. The planetary pairing will be located in the evening sky for several days, but requires a low-power telescope to view both planets at the same time. Good luck! 🔭 #stargazing

The Large Magellanic Cloud (dwarf galaxy) imaged from a Bortle 7 site. Many nebulae are visible in the galaxy. The largest and brightest is the Tarantula Nebula -- the most active region of star formation in the Local Group of galaxies. 🔭 Imaging rig: skymaps.com/ir0/

17 Feb: New Moon at 12:02 UT (now). Start of lunation 1276 🌟 The next few days remain a great time for evening #stargazing. Download The Evening Sky Map (PDF) (skymaps.com/tesm/) and enjoy exploring the Universe with just your eyes, binoculars or a telescope! 🔭 #space

The image was taken with the assistance of students from a local school who used an iPad to direct the telescope to the faint distant galaxy -- the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3660. #astronomy #SuperNova #outreach

🌟 206 million years ago in a galaxy far, far away, a star exploded. The light from the Type II (core collapse) supernova 2026cff eventually reached Earth last week and was discovered on 6 February by the Zwicky Transient Facility. 🔭 Imaging rig details: skymaps.com/ir2/