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Sky Digest

Thursday, 26 February 2026 | Default Location
Showing the sky from Greenwich, London. Log in to use your own location.
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Tonight at a Glance

Waxing Gibbous 75%
Dark window: 18:41 – 05:18 (10 h 36 m)

Bright moon tonight — best deep-sky viewing after moonset (05:12)

Aurora Forecast — Very unlikely

Kp 3.7 / need 7 Bz 1.7 nT

Geomagnetic activity far below the Kp 7 needed at your latitude.

View full forecast

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.5 · 61° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Europa Occultation begins
Europa Occultation ends

Comets

MAPS mag 8.7 · 2° alt · Cetus Details
bright 1.57 AU Perihelion: Apr 4 (in 12d)

For Beginners (naked eye)

M44
Beehive Cluster or Praesepe Open Cluster
mag 3.7

At 21:00 look high in the southeast

Cancer
M42
Great Orion Nebula Nebula
mag 4.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the southwest

Orion
M31
Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy
mag 3.4

At 21:00 look halfway up in the northwest

Andromeda

Binocular Targets

U Ori
Variable Star
mag 5.4

At 21:00 look high in the southwest

Ori
M47
NGC 2422 Open Cluster
mag 4.4

At 21:00 look low in the south

Puppis
M33
Triangulum/Pinwheel Galaxy Galaxy
mag 5.7

At 21:00 look low in the west

Triangulum

Small Scopes (3–6 inch)

Castor
HIP 36850; Alpha Gem; 66 Gem Double Star
mag 2.0

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Gem
C58
NGC 2360 Open Cluster
mag 7.2

At 21:00 look low in the south

Canis Major
Eskimo Nebula
NGC 2392 Planetary Nebula
mag 9.2

At 21:00 look high in the south

Gemini
M81
Bode's Galaxy Galaxy
mag 6.9

At 21:00 look high in the northeast

Ursa Major
HIP 35210
Double Star
mag 4.8

At 21:00 look low in the south

CMa

Big Scopes (8–12 inch)

Z Cam
Variable Star
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look high in the north

Cam
NGC 2304
Open Cluster
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look high in the south

Gem
NGC 2438
Planetary Nebula
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look low in the south

Pup
C7
NGC 2403 Galaxy
mag 8.4

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Camelopardalis
RX And
Variable Star
mag 10.2

At 21:00 look halfway up in the northwest

And

The Week Ahead

Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed
🌔 75% 🌔 84% 🌔 92% 🌔 97% 🌕 100% 🌕 100% 🌕 98%
Moon occults Kappa Gem Full Moon

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Webb and Hubble: IC 5332

What does the universe look like through infrared goggles? Our eyes can only see visible light, but astronomers want to see more. Today’s APOD shows spiral galaxy IC 5332 as seen by two NASA telescopes: Webb in mid-infrared and Hubble in ultraviolet and visible light. To toggle between the two space-based views just slide your cursor over the image (or follow this link). The Hubble image highlights the spiral arms of the galaxy separated by dark regions, whereas the Webb image reveals a finer, more tangled structure. Interstellar dust scatters and absorbs light from the stars in the galaxy, causing the dark dust lanes in the Hubble image, and then emits heat in infrared light, so dust glows in this Webb image. The Mid-InfraRed Instrument on Webb needs to operate at a chilling temperature of -266ºC (or - 447ºF), otherwise it would detect infrared radiation from the telescope itself. Combining these observations, astronomers connect the “small scale” of gas and stars to the truly large scale of galactic structure and evolution.

APOD is a service of NASA and Michigan Tech. U.

View on NASA APOD

Space News

NASA’s X-59 Experimental Supersonic Aircraft Makes Second Flight

NASA's X-59 experimental supersonic aircraft completed its second flight, beginning a series of dozens of test flights planned for 2026 to validate quiet supersonic flight technology.

NASA — 20 Mar 2026

Artemis II rolls again

Artemis II rocket rolled back to its launchpad at Kennedy Space Center, marking a key milestone in preparation for the crewed lunar test flight.

ESA — 20 Mar 2026

NASA Simulations Improve Artemis II Launch Environment

NASA conducted advanced simulations of airflow around rockets to optimize launch conditions for the Artemis II mission to the Moon.

NASA — 20 Mar 2026

How Open NASA Data on Comet 3I/ATLAS Will Power Tomorrow’s Discoveries

More than a dozen NASA science missions observed the rare interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, with data now available in NASA's public archives for future research.

NASA — 20 Mar 2026

Kepler's Laws Come Alive

Drag velocity vectors to reshape orbits, watch equal areas sweep in equal times, and discover why distant planets orbit slower — all three laws animated in real time.

Kepler's Laws Come Alive Open Kepler's Laws

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