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Sunday, 8 March 2026 | Default Location
Showing the sky from Greenwich, London. Log in to use your own location.
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Tonight at a Glance

Waning Gibbous 74%
Dark window: 19:01 – 04:58 (9 h 56 m)

Bright moon tonight — best deep-sky viewing before moonrise (00:14)

Aurora Forecast — Slight chance

Kp 6.0 / need 7 Bz -8.1 nT G2

Kp just below threshold, but southward Bz may push the oval further south.

View full forecast

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.4 · 59° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Ganymede Transit begins
Ganymede Transit ends
Io Occultation begins
Io Occultation ends

For Beginners (naked eye)

M44
Beehive Cluster or Praesepe Open Cluster
mag 3.7

At 21:00 look high in the south

Cancer
M42
Great Orion Nebula Nebula
mag 4.0

At 21:00 look low in the southwest

Orion
M31
Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy
mag 3.4

At 21:00 look low in the northwest

Andromeda

Binocular Targets

R Leo
Variable Star
mag 6.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the southeast

Leo
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 northwest

Triangulum

Small Scopes (3–6 inch)

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

At 21:00 look high in the south

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
R Cnc
Variable Star
mag 7.1

At 21:00 look high in the south

Cnc

Big Scopes (8–12 inch)

Z Cam
Variable Star
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look high in the north

Cam
NGC 2432
Open Cluster
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look low in the south

Pup
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 low in the northwest

And

The Week Ahead

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
🌖 74% 🌖 65% 🌖 55% 🌗 46% 🌗 36% 🌗 27% 🌘 19%

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

The Aurora Tree

Yes, but can your tree do this? Pictured is a visual coincidence between the dark branches of a nearby tree and bright glow of a distant aurora. The beauty of the aurora -- combined with how it seemed to mimic a tree right nearby -- mesmerized the photographer to such a degree that he momentarily forgot to take pictures. When viewed at the right angle, it seemed that this tree had aurora for leaves. Fortunately, before the aurora morphed into a different overall shape, he came to his senses and captured the awe-inspiring momentary coincidence. Typically triggered by solar explosions, aurora are caused by high energy electrons impacting the Earth's atmosphere around 150 kilometers up. The unusual Earth-sky collaboration was witnessed in March of 2017 in Iceland. Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after 1995)

Image credit: Alyn Wallace — APOD is a service of NASA and Michigan Tech. U.

View on NASA APOD

Space News

NASA Simulations Improve Artemis II Launch Environment

NASA uses advanced simulations to optimize launch conditions for Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon under the Artemis program.

NASA — 20 Mar 2026

Artemis II rolls again

Artemis II rocket completes its second rollout to the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center, advancing preparations for the lunar test flight.

ESA — 20 Mar 2026

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

NASA's observations of the rare interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS from over a dozen science missions are archived in public data for future discoveries.

NASA — 20 Mar 2026

Meet the Platypi: NASA’s Newest Astronaut Candidate Class

NASA's newest astronaut candidate class of ten explorers is training at Johnson Space Center for future missions to the ISS, Moon, and Mars.

NASA — 19 Mar 2026

Watch Earth from Space

A 3D globe with real-time day/night terminator, ISS position tracking, aurora oval overlay, and city lights. See where the sun is shining — and where the stars are out.

Watch Earth from Space Open Earth

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