The night sky is at its darkest and most favorable for stargazing on the nights before and after a New Moon. Dates for new moons in 2026 are: 

January 18, February 17, March 18, April 17, May 16, June 14, July 14, August 12, September 10, October 10, November 9, December 8

You can also plan your stargazing adventures around these celestial events. (dates and observing information collected from seasky.org and other astronomy sources)

January 3-4 – Quadrantids Meteor Shower. This meteor shower can produce up to 40 meteors per hour in a good year. The meteors radiate from the Bootes constellation but can be seen anywhere in the sky

January 10 – Jupiter at Opposition. This is Jupiter’s closest approach to Earth with its face fully illuminated by the sun. A telescope or powerful pair of binoculars will provide a good view Jupiter’s four largest moons. 

March 3 – Total Lunar Eclipse. Totality will occur between 4:00am and 5:00am MST. As the Earth’s shadow moves across the Moon’s surface, partial phases will be visible about an hour and a half before and after totality.  

March 20 – Spring Equinox. On the day of the Equinox the Sun is directly above the equator, resulting in nearly equal amounts of day and night. This Equinox is the beginning or Spring in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of fall in the southern hemisphere.

April 22-23 – Lyrids Meteor Shower. The Lyrids Meteor Shower is produced by trailing dust particles from the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher and typically produces up to 20 meteors per hour. Meteors in this shower are associated with the constellation Lyra.

May 6-7 – Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower. While most of this meteor shower activity is seen in the Southern Hemisphere, it is possible to see up to 30 meteors per hour at its peak in the Northern Hemisphere. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet Halley, which has been known and observed since ancient times.

June 21 – Summer Solstice. The summer solstice occurs when the North Pole of the Earth is tilted toward the Sun. On this day we have the longest period of daylight and the Sun is in its northernmost position in the sky.

July 28-29 – Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower. The Delta Aquarids is an average shower that can produce up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by debris from the comets Marsden and Kracht with meteors appearing to radiate from the constellation Aquarius.

August 12-13 – Perseids Meteor Shower. The Perseids is a favorite meteor shower to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. Meteors radiate from the constellation Perseus but typically streak across all areas of the night sky.

August 28 – Partial Lunar Eclipse. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth’s shadow covers only a portion of the Moon. The peak in our area will occur around 10:00pm when the largest part of the Moon is covered, with smaller covered parts visible in the hour and a half before and after the peak time.

September 22 – Fall Equinox. On the day of the Equinox the Sun is directly above the equator, resulting in nearly equal amounts of day and night. This Equinox is the beginning or fall in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of spring in the southern hemisphere.

September 25 – Neptune at Opposition.  Neptune makes its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun making it brighter than any other time of the year. It will be visible all night long but this far away planet will appear as a tiny dot visible only with a powerful telescope.

October 4 – Saturn at Opposition. Saturn will be at its closest position to Earth with its face fully illuminated by the Sun. It is always a thrill to see Saturn with powerful binoculars or a telescope and this is a particularly good time to view and photograph the ringed planet and its moons.

October 7 – Draconids Meteor Shower. The Draconids is a minor meteor shower with approximately 10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, which was first discovered in 1900. The Draconids is an unusual shower in that the best viewing is in the early evening instead of early morning like most other showers.

October 21-22 – Orionids Meteor Shower. The Orionids is an average shower producing up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. The meteors are produced by dust grains left behind by comet Halley, which has been known and observed since ancient times.

November 4-5 – Taurids Meteor Shower. This shower produces only 5-10 meteors per hour at its peak. The Taurids Meteor Shower consists of two separate debris streams from the Asteroid 2004 TG10 and the Comet 2P Encke. The meteors can be seen from early September to early December with the peak in early November.

November 17-18 – Leonids Meteor Shower. The Leonids produces up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. The meteors are produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865.

November 25 – Uranus at Opposition. The planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. Uranus is a great distance from Earth so even with the best viewing conditions, it will only appear as a tiny blue-green dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.

December 13-14 – Geminids Meteor Shower. The Geminids is the favorite of the meteor showers, producing up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by debris left behind by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered in 1982.

December 21 – Winter Solstice. The winter solstice occurs when the South Pole of the Earth is tilted toward the Sun. On this day we have the shortest period of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere and the Sun is in its southernmost position in the sky.

December 21-22 – Ursids Meteor Shower. The Ursids is a minor meteor shower producing 5-10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tuttle, which was first discovered in 1790.