Daily Lunar Phases This Month
Daily lunar phases for the month
Diagram created with LunarPhase Pro
Total Lunar Eclipse This Month

Total Lunar Eclipse March 3rd, 2026

Diagram created with LunarPhase Pro. All times in UTC.

On March 2nd/3rd, 2026, there’s going to be a full Moon. This Full Moon is known as the Worm Moon.

This is the only Total Lunar Eclipse of 2026 and is visible from Asia, Australia, and North America.

The eclipse will take place in the early hours of March 3 for skywatchers in the U.S., so make sure you set your alarm!

Lunar eclipses are completely safe to watch with the naked eye; no filters or special glasses are needed (unlike solar eclipses).

All you need to do is make sure you find the moon at the right time, sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

This is the last total lunar eclipse until the December 31, 2028 – January 1, 2029 New Year’s Blood Moon Eclipse.

Times For Emerging Crescent Moons
Below are times for viewing Crescent Moons in UT for Dublin, Ireland. Crescent data is specific for your location but adding your timezone offset from GMT to the Sunset and Moonset times will give you an idea of when the Moon is visible locally. The amount of time you have to see a crescent and what percentage of the Moon is illuminated will be somewhat different for where you live. LunarPhase Pro will calculate all this information specifically for your location. The data in the screenshot below was generated by the software.

Events for August, 2026

NASA What’s Up In August, 2026

HubbleSite – Tonight’s Sky For August, 2026

BBC Sky At Night: What To See In The Night Sky For August, 2026

What’s In The Night Sky August, 2026?

High Point Scientific | What’s in the sky August, 2026?

August, 2026 Podcasts:

The Jodcast - from Jodrell Bank in the UK. For more information about what's happening this month, visit the Jodcast August page.

What Messier Objects Are Visible Tonight (August, 2026):

A list of messier objects visible this month. All are possible with binoculars, most are easy even with small binoculars.
August Messier Tour

Date: Sat, 05 Aug 1995, 10:27:42 -0500 (EST)
From: Tony Cecce, Corning, NY <CECCE_AJ at corning.com>
Subject: August Messier Tour

Twelve Month Tour of the Messier Catalog August Messier Objects

This is the month that we begin to sneak into the summer Milky Way and the heart of our galaxy as we find 12 more object. Some are visible to the naked eye, all are possible in binoculars. There are six globular clusters, four open clusters, and two diffuse nebula. Many of these objects also appear to be in pairs, either in visual appearance or location.
M10, M12
This pair of globular clusters in the middle of Ophiuchus are easily swept up in binoculars looking like small blue snow balls. Through an 8" telescope M12 is well resolved while M10 is slightly more fuzzy looking. Both become very bright towards the center.
M107
A small, fairly faint globular cluster in Uphiuchus. It is a tough binocular object, appearing as a very small faint patch of light possibly requiring averted vision. In a telescope, M107 is a larger and brighter fuzzy patch of light than what can be seen in binoculars.
M9
Another small, relatively faint globular cluster in Ophiuchus. M9 is very similar to M107, only slightly brighter. Another tough, but possible binocular object.
M19, M62
Another pair of globular clusters in Ophiuchus separated by about four degrees. Fairly easy to find in binoculars, they are smaller than M10 and M12 thus not quite as obvious. These clusters are not resolvable through small scopes, and appear as round fuzzy patches brightening towards the center. M19 is slightly brighter than M62.
M6, M7
This is a pair of large, bright open clusters in Scorpius visible to the naked eye. Binoculars provide the best view of these clusters. Both are completely resolvable in 10x50 binoculars and can be fit into the same field of view. M7 is the larger and brighter of the pair.
M8
This is a bright emmission nebula in Sagittarius, easily visible to the naked eye. The common name of M8 is the Lagoon nebula. In binoculars M8 is an oval cloud of light larger than the full moon with several bright stars embedded within it. A telescope makes this nebula larger and brighter but does not really improve the view.
M20
Another diffuse nebula in Sagittarius only 1.4 degrees northwest of M8 and is called the Trifid nebula. This is easily seen in binoculars looking like a cloud of smoke around some bright stars. A view through a telescope appears much the same, although try to pick out the three dust lanes that gives M20 its name. This is a somewhat difficult object to see right away, at first glance it looks like the optics are in need of cleaning and are causing the light from the bright stars to "smear".
M21
This is a small, but bright open cluster in Sagitarius right next to M20. Binoculars show a very small bright patch partially resolvable. Small telescopes easily resolve all of the clusters members. M8, M20, and M21 are all within the same binocular field and lie in a very rich region of the Milky Way. This view is one of the finest to be found.
M23
The last object of the month is a large open cluster in Sagittarius. through binoculars M23 is a large, hazy patch of light almost the size of the full moon. A telescope at low powers easily resolves this cluster among a rich background of other stars.
Via The Messier Catalog

 

Other Events To Watch Out For This Month

Next Up! A Deep Partial Lunar Eclipse on Aug. 27–28

19 Aug 2026 at 3:06pm

A near-total lunar eclipse wraps up August's trifecta of two major eclipses and the Perseids.

The post Next Up! A Deep Partial Lunar Eclipse on Aug. 27–28 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Read more...

Spying on a Split Comet

18 Aug 2026 at 12:00pm

Traversing through the solar system, a comet split in two, and a recent study used six months of observations to investigate when and why.

The post Spying on a Split Comet appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Read more...

California Teen Wins 2026 National Young Astronomer Award

17 Aug 2026 at 12:00pm

Elizabeth Zhang of Cupertino, California, has earned the Astronomical League's National Young Astronomer award for her study of circumbinary planets.

The post California Teen Wins 2026 National Young Astronomer Award appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Read more...

This Week's Sky at a Glance, August 14 – 23

14 Aug 2026 at 9:33am

After eclipsing the Sun last Wednesday, the Moon returns to the evening sky as a crescent low in twilight. Watch it pass Venus, then Spica.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, August 14 – 23 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Read more...

Did You See the Solar Eclipse? Here’s What We Saw, from Around the World

13 Aug 2026 at 1:03pm

Sky & Telescope editors traveled the world, both literally and figuratively, to see the solar eclipse that darkened the world in the most magical way on August 12, 2026. Here are some of their stories.

The post Did You See the Solar Eclipse? Here’s What We Saw, from Around the World appeared firs...

Read more...

Daily / Weekly Notes
Today’s Sky Event from Earth& Sky
A different astronomical event is described each day

This Week’s “Sky at a Glance”
From Sky & Telescope

AMS Meteor Activity Outlook
A weekly preview of meteor activity

Monthly Notes
Sky at Night
Catch up on the latest edition of the BBC Programme

Stardate Daily Programme Calendar
Monthly listing of aired programs from StarDate

The Night Sky
Monthly observing notes from Jodrell Bank

Satellite Predictions and Visibility
Spot The Station
NASA SkThus web-based application provides sky watchers worldwide with a picture of when and where the International Space Stationcan be seen with the unaided eye as it passes overhead.

Heavens Above
Provides all the information you need to observe satellites such as the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle, spectacular events such as the dazzlingly bright flares from Iridium satellites as well as a wealth of other spaceflight and astronomical information.

Online Skymaps and Charts
Your Sky
An interactive planetarium run by Fourmilab. You can produce maps for any time and date, viewpoint, and observing location. If you enter the orbital elements of an asteroid or comet, Your Sky will compute its current position and plot it on the map. Each map is accompanied by an ephemeris for the Sun, Moon, planets, and any tracked asteroid or comet. A control panel permits customization of which objects are plotted, limiting magnitudes, colour scheme, image size, and other parameters.

Daily predictions for brighter satellites (Heavens Above)
Provides a range of charts and information, including sky charts for your location (which you’ll have to specify).

Observing Resources
Meteor Showers (International Meteor Organization)
A listing of meteor showers that occur throughout the year.

Recent International Astronomical Union Circulars
This page lists the dates of issue and the titles of the items on the twenty most-recent IAUCs. Individual items can be displayed by selecting the relevant title.

Minor Planet Center: Recent MPECs
This list gives the dates of issue, titles and details of the items on the fifty most-recent MPECs.

Current Observable Comets
Lists links to orbital elements and ephemerides of (potentially) observable comets

BAA Comet Section
lists links to news, current magnitudes and ephemerides of currently observable comets.

Major News About Minor Objects
The Asteroid/Comet Connection’s daily news journal about asteroids, comets, and meteors.

American Association of Variable Star Observers
The AAVSO is the largest organization of variable star observers worldwide. You can get daily updates and find out more about them, the projects they sponsor and the data they make available to astronomers around the world.

The Minima of Algol
The star Algol (Beta Persei) was the first eclipsing variable star ever discovered, and it’s still the most famous one. You can check on it whenever you step outdoors on nights when Perseus is in view.

International Occultation and Timing Association
This page gives information on the circumstances of lunar and other types of occultation for various locations around the world.

SEDs Messier Catalog
A listing of images and information on the Messier objects with links to other deep sky catalogues (NGC objects, etc.)

The Interactive NGC Catalog Online
An interactive NGC (IC, and Messier) catalog at SEDS, based on the famous NGC 2000.0 by R.W. Sinnott of Sky Publishing Corp.

The Sky Live
Online simulator shows upcoming close approaches between Earth and NEO (Near Earth Object) Asteroids; find information, position data and sky charts for Planets, Asteroids, Comets, Interplanetary Probes; Use the Observing Guide to plan observations of Solar System objects visible tonight from your location; create accurate and interactive maps of the sky visible from any location up to the year 2035; has a 3D Solar System Simulator.

The Sky at Night
The BBC’s dedicated Sky at Night website. Contains past episodes and other video material.