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Sky Digest

Sunday, 22 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

Waxing Crescent 18%
Dark window: 19:30 – 04:30 (9 h 0 m)

Aurora Forecast — Slight chance

Kp 6.7 / need 7 Bz -8.4 nT G3

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

View full forecast

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.3 · 54° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Ganymede Transit begins
Io Occultation begins

Moon occults 17 Tau

Star mag 3.7, Moon illumination: 23%. Visible from parts of Earth only.

View on Star Map

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
M47
NGC 2422 Open Cluster
mag 4.4

At 21:00 look low in the south

Puppis

Binocular Targets

R Leo
Variable Star
mag 6.0

At 21:00 look high in the south

Leo
M48
NGC 2548 Open Cluster
mag 5.5

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Hydra
M81
Bode's Galaxy Galaxy
mag 6.9

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Ursa Major

Small Scopes (3–6 inch)

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

At 21:00 look high in the southwest

Gem
NGC 2374
Open Cluster
mag 8.0

At 21:00 look low in the southwest

CMa
Ghost of Jupiter
NGC 3242 Planetary Nebula
mag 7.8

At 21:00 look low in the south

Hydra
M82
Cigar Galaxy Galaxy
mag 8.4

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Ursa Major
R Cnc
Variable Star
mag 7.1

At 21:00 look high in the south

Cnc

Big Scopes (8–12 inch)

Intergalactic Wanderer
NGC 2419 Globular Cluster
mag 10.4

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Lynx
NGC 2440
Planetary Nebula
mag 11.0

At 21:00 look low in the south

Pup
NGC 2841
Galaxy
mag 9.3

At 21:00 look near the zenith

UMa
NGC 2683
Galaxy
mag 9.7

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Lyn
C48
NGC 2775 Galaxy
mag 10.3

At 21:00 look high in the south

Cancer

The Week Ahead

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
🌒 18% 🌓 28% 🌓 39% 🌔 50% 🌔 62% 🌔 72% 🌔 81%
Moon occults 17 Tau Moon occults Beta Tau Moon occults Kappa Gem

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Leaving Earth

What would it look like to leave planet Earth? Such an event was recorded visually in great detail by the MESSENGER spacecraft as it swung back past the Earth in 2005 on its way in toward the planet Mercury. Earth can be seen rotating in this time-lapse video, as it recedes into the distance. The sunlit half of Earth is so bright that background stars are not visible. The robotic MESSENGER spacecraft orbit around Mercury from 2011 to 2015 has conducted the first complete map of the surface. On occasion, MESSENGER peered back at its home world. MESSENGER is one of the few things created on the Earth that will never return. At the end of its mission, MESSENGER was purposefully crashed into Mercury's surface. Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator

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

View on NASA APOD

Space News

NASA Simulations Improve Artemis II Launch Environment

NASA used advanced simulations to optimize launch conditions for Artemis II, the first crewed lunar mission under the Artemis program, demonstrating critical preparations for this major milestone.

NASA — 20 Mar 2026

Artemis II rolls again

Artemis II rocket completed its second rollout to the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center, advancing toward the crewed 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 will be archived as public data for future discoveries before the comet leaves our solar system.

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 to become flight-eligible for future missions to the ISS, Moon, and beyond.

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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