The Sky for June 2026

The Sky for June 2026

The Sky for June 2026

Posted on by Scott Young
Posted on: Tuesday May 26, 2026

June gives us our shortest nights of the year. For several weeks on either side of the summer solstice (June 21st in 2026), the sun never really gets very far below the horizon, and the sky doesn’t get truly dark for southern Manitoba’s latitude (near 50 degrees north). The farther north you go, the more this effect is magnified until you get to the Arctic circle, where the sun doesn’t set at all on June 21st. North of the Arctic Circle is the “land of the midnight sun” – there’s a period in the summer when the Sun doesn’t set for days, weeks, or months. This, plus the ongoing travesty that is “Daylight Savings Time”, means it doesn’t get dark enough to see stars in June until very late, 10 pm or so.

Despite this, the evening sky after sunset is a treat this month. We’ll see Venus and Jupiter from last month, approaching and then passing each other, while Mercury creeps up from the horizon and the Moon swings through the area for a few days around mid-month.

Event of the Month: Evening Planets

Right from the beginning of the month, we get a great view of some planets in the twilight. Brilliant Venus is rising slightly higher throughout the month, while slightly-fainter Jupiter sinks lower into the horizon haze. They are closest from June 7th through 10th, giving several days for a chance at clear skies. Just above and two the right are the two bright stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini – probably visible only with binoculars or once the sky gets darker.

The sky on June 17, 2026 at 10pm local time.

From June 8th to 15th, Mercury joins the scene, creeping up from the horizon. You’ll need a nice flat horizon and clear skies to see it, as it doesn’t get very high. Just as Mercury begins to sink down, the thin crescent Moon pops up from the horizon and moves through the area for a few days.

Each evening in the first half of June, you can see the clockwork of the solar system ticking by, as each planet (including ours) orbits at a different speed. The changing positions of the planets is one consequence of our planet’s motion through space.

For details on specific events, see the Sky Calendar section and click on the small boxes to see a star chart for that night.

The Solar System for June 2026

Mercury appears low in the evening sky this month, but hugs the horizon and never gets higher than about 10 degrees above the horizon when the sky is dark enough to see it. See the Sky Calendar entries for June 8th through 12th for the best views.

Venus is the bright “evening star” visible at sunset. It shines low in the west after sunset, and sets about three hours later.  It has a close approach with Jupiter (see Sky Calendar entries for June 6th though 10th).

Mars rises just before dawn in the east, but is inconspicuous at best this month. It will rise higher in the sky over the coming months.

Jupiter is low in the west after dark, above Venus at the beginning of the month but quickly passing below it by the second week of the month. See Sky Calendar entries for June 6th through 10th for the best views of the close approach.

Saturn becomes visible for the first time in a while, although still low in the southeast as dawn brightens the sky. We’ll get much better views over the summer as it rises higher.

Uranus is technically in the morning sky, but doesn’t rise above our horizon until after the sun rises. Give it a couple of months.

Neptune is near Saturn in the sky, but still too faint to catch in the dawn twilight.

Of the five known dwarf planets, only (1) Ceres is close enough to be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. It is too close to the Sun to be seen this month.

Sky Calendar for June 2026

All times are given in Central Daylight Time, the local time for Manitoba. However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.

If there’s a little box to the left of the date, you can click on it to see a star map of that event! All images are created using Stellarium, the free planetarium software.

The evening sky for June 1, 2026 at 10:30 pm CDT.Monday, June 1, 2026 (evening sky): Start watching the evening sky every night! Venus and Jupiter are easily visible; the stars Castor and Pollux are much fainter. Mercury is just above the horizon, but likely not visible for a few days.

The sky for June 3, 2026 at 10:30pm CDT.Wednesday, June 3, 2026 (evening sky): Venus and Jupiter are moving closer together, while Mercury is a little higher this evening.

The sky for June 5, 2026 at 10:30pm CDT.Friday, June 5th, 2026 (evening sky): Venus and Jupiter are close together, and Mercury is probably visible to the lower right.

The sky for June 6, 2026 at 10:30 pm CDT.Saturday, June 6th, 2026 (evening sky): Jupiter and Venus begin their four-day closest approach.

The sky for June 7, 2026 at 10:30pm CDT.Sunday, June 7th, 2026 (evening sky): Jupiter and Venus are at their closest tonight and the next two nights. Mercury is getting easier to see.

Monday, June 8th, 2026 (morning sky): Last Quarter Moon

The sky for June 8, 2026 at 10:30pm CDT.Monday, June 8th, 2026 (evening sky): Jupiter and Venus are at their closest tonight and tomorrow, with Mercury rising higher.

The sky on June 9, 2026 at 10:30pm CDT.Tuesday, June 9th, 2026 (evening sky): Jupiter and Venus begin to pull away from each other after tonight. Mercury continues to rise higher.

The sky on June 10, 2026 at 10:30pm CDT.Wednesday, June 10th, 2026 (evening sky): Jupiter is sinking below Venus, but still visible. Mercury is near its highest for the next few nights.

The sky on June 11, 2026 at 10:30pm CDT.Thursday, June 11th, 2026 (evening sky): Mercury is near its best for the month, with Jupiter sinking lower and Venus remaining higher.

The sky on June 12, 2026 at 10:30pm CDT.Friday, June 12th, 2026 (evening sky): Mercury is near its best for the month, while Jupiter continues to sink and Venus continues to be easily visible.

The sky on June 13, 2026 at 10:30pm CDT.Saturday, June 13th, 2026 (evening sky): Mercury starts to sink lower night after night from this point, mirroring Jupiter’s motion. Venus is still higher and easily visible.

Sunday, June 14, 2026: New Moon

The sky on June 16, 2026 at 10:30pm CDT.Tuesday, June 16th, 2026 (evening sky): The thin crescent Moon joins Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus after sunset in the evening sky. Get out before sunset to make sure you don’t miss it.

The sky on June 17, 2026 at 10:30pm CDT.Wednesday, June 17th, 2026 (evening sky): The Moon stands above the planets Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury in the evening twilight.

Sunday, June 21, 2026: The summer solstice occurs at 3:25 a.m. Central Time today, marking the astronomical beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere (and winter in the southern hemisphere). The sun sets farthest north of west and rises farthest north of east, and the night is shortest. Today is also First Quarter Moon.

Thursday, June 25th, 2026 at 7 p.m. CDT: The Planetarium’s award-winning Dome@Home show streams on the Manitoba Museum’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Find out what is up in the night sky for the coming month!

Monday, June 29, 2026 (all night): Full Moon

People stare up at the northern lights above them.

Other Celestial Sights

Outside of the events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.

Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.

Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour (from a dark sky with no moonlight interfering). Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.

Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. The most common sightings are Starlink satellites, which are being launched dozens at a time to bring internet to remote regions, but which cause trouble with astronomy and pollution. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

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The Sky for May 2026

Posted on by Scott Young
Posted on: Friday May 1, 2026

April’s showers bring May flowers, so the saying goes… but here in Treaty One territory in Winnipeg, my flowers have not enjoyed the repeated freeze-thaw cycles of the past several weeks. Hopefully we will return to seasonal temperatures and clearer skies for this month’s celestial line-up.

May’s skies seem to go by so quickly. With the combination of later sunsets and Daylight Savings Time, the sky doesn’t get dark until quite a bit later, and by then the last of the winter constellations have dropped into the west. Even the spring constellations are best seen right after sunset before they also begin to fade away.

However, May is a great time to spot the famous Big Dipper, which is right overhead as darkness falls and moves towards the west throughout the night. It is close enough to the celestial north pole that it never quite sets, but at other times of the year it is much lower or skims the northern horizon.

The seven stars of the Big Dipper are bright enough to spot even under city lights. The second star of the handle, where the handle bends, is actually two stars very close together, and is a test of your eyesight. Those with excellent eyesight can spot the two stars without aid, but for the rest of us, binoculars will do the job easily.

Event of the Month: Venus, Jupiter and the Moon dance in the west

Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon are visible 45 minutes after sunset from May 17-20, 2026.

The best event to focus on this month is NOT the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, which you will no doubt hear all about on social media. It’s covered below in the Sky Calendar section, but it’s best seen in the southern hemisphere, and this plus the bright moon during its peak mean that we will see less than 10 meteors per hour at best.

This month, the slow dance of the three brightest objects in the night sky this month. In order of brightness, they are the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter. Go out any night this month after sunset and you’ll spot Venus low in the west, and Jupiter higher in the southwest. Throughout May, Jupiter will sink lower each night, approaching Venus (they’ll reach their closest conjunction in mid-June).

On May 17th, the thin crescent Moon will appear in the evening sky, low in the west after sunset. It will set soon after the Sun, so you’ll need to be out early to catch it, and need a horizon clear of not only clouds but also trees or buildings. On the 18th, the crescent Moon will be higher and sit next to Venus, a striking sight visible after sunset. The following night, on May 19th, the Moon will have moved to  a position closer to Jupiter – the result of its orbital motion around our planet. By the evening of May 20th the Moon will have risen above Jupiter. On the 21st, the moon will be farther from Jupiter and closer to a quarter moon, forming a wide line with the other two objects.

Any of these nights will be a great photo opportunity. A phone camera will probably do a decent job with the automatic settings, but if you spend a few minutes to learn how to manually focus and adjust the exposure time you will get better results. A point-and-shoot digital camera or DSLR will provide better results, and any camera will work better if you can mount it on a tripod and adjust the ISO sensitivity and exposure settings. Try setting the ISO to a medium-high number, and then taking exposures from 1/4 second up to a few seconds, and see what works best.

The Solar System for May 2026

Mercury passes behind the Sun on May 14, 2026, and so is invisible until late in the month, when it rockets out of the twilight to join Mercury low in the west after sunset. Much fainter than either Venus or Jupiter, you can find it during the last week of the month if you have *very* clear skies by drawing a line from Jupiter through Venus until it intersects the horizon. Then, sweep with your binoculars above that point beginning 30 minutes after sunset.

Venus dominates the evening sky, shining low in the west after sunset and setting about three hours later. Venus is the brightest “star” and the first star you should be able to see after sunset.

Mars rises before the sun but remains too low to be visible in the growing light of dawn.

Jupiter is is in the west after dark, and sets around midnight – but don’t let that fool you into thinking you have long to catch it. With the late sunset, by the end of the month Jupiter is already sinking low as darkness falls. Any telescope views will need to be early in the month to be able to see it before it sinks into the murky air near the horizon.

Saturn, like Mars, rises before dawn but hugs the horizon and is too low to spot easily this month.

Uranus has disappeared into the evening twilight. This is due mostly to our own planet’s motion around the Sun, which (from Uranus) would appear to be passing behind the Sun.

Neptune is invisible this month, close to Mars and Saturn in the morning sky.

Of the five known dwarf planets, only (1) Ceres is close enough to be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. It is too close to the Sun to be seen this month.

Sky Calendar for May 2026

All times are given in Central Daylight Time, the local time for Manitoba. However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.

If there’s a little box to the left of the date, you can click on it to see a star map of that event! All images are created using Stellarium, the free planetarium software.

Friday, May 1, 2026: Full Moon

Tuesday, May 5 – Wednesday, May 6, 2026 (early morning sky): The Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks just before dawn Wednesday morning. Usually a reasonable meteor shower, this year the bright gibbous Moon is up during the peak times. This extra light in the sky will block out most meteors in much the same way as city lights. Observers in the  northern hemisphere can expect only a handful of meteors per hour during the peak viewing hours of 2:00 am through dawn local time.

Saturday, May 9, 2026: Last Quarter Moon

Saturday, May 16, 2026: New Moon

Sunday, May 17, 2026 (evening sky): The thin crescent Moon reappears in the evening sky, below and to the right of Venus. Jupiter stands higher in the southwest. This marks the starts of this month’s “Event of the Month” (see above).

Monday, May 18, 2026 (evening sky): The crescent Moon is beside brilliant Venus in the evening sky after sunset. Jupiter stands higher in the southwest. (See “Event of the Month”, above.)

Tuesday, May 19, 2026 (evening sky): The crescent Moon is between Jupiter (to the left) and Venus (to its lower right).  (See “Event of the Month”, above.)

Wednesday, May 20, 2026 (evening sky): The crescent Moon has moved to the upper left of Jupiter, with Venus still much lower. The three form a slightly bent line in the evening sky after sunset. (See “Event of the Month”, above.)

Thursday, May 21, 2026 (evening sky): Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon are almost equally-spaced across the western sky after sunset.

Saturday, May 23, 2026: First Quarter Moon

Sunday, May 31, 2026: Full Moon

People stare up at the northern lights above them.

Other Celestial Sights

Outside of the events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.

Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.

Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour. Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.

Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. The most common sightings are Starlink satellites, which are being launched dozens at a time to bring internet to remote regions, but which cause trouble with astronomy and pollution. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. He hosts Dome@Home, the Manitoba Museum’s award-winning online astronomy show.

Manitoba Stories: In the Sky

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The Sky for April 2026

Posted on by Scott Young
Posted on: Thursday April 2, 2026

April’s article is a day late, due to the writer’s time being occupied by the Artemis II launch to the Moon!

Although this article focuses on events visible in Manitoba, most events will also be visible across Canada and most places in the mid-northern hemisphere.

Update: A Bright Comet (or Two?)

Updated: 14 April 2026

April had two potential comets forecast. Unfortunately, one of them – Comet 2026 A1 (MAPS) –  disintegrated as it passed very close to the Sun, and so we never got to see it become bright. However, the other one is becoming a nice photo target in the morning sky in late April, and may become bright enough to see with the unaided eye (barely).

Comet 2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) rises in the morning sky before the Sun, and has become a nice comet with a decent tail for astrophotographers. As of this writing (April 14, 2026) it is bright enough to be seen in binoculars if you know exactly where to look. During the week of April 13-20 it gets brighter but also rises later, so the best day to see it is a balance between the comet’s brightness and that of the morning twilight sky. See detailed entries in the Sky Calendar section below, since the situation changes daily.

How to See the Comet

To spot PANSTARRS, get away from city lights – you likely won’t spot it unless you have a dark sky. Find a place with a clear horizon to the east and northeast. (Avoid areas southwest of Winnipeg or you’ll be looking back through the city lights!) Let your eyes dark-adapt – turn off your phone and any other lights. Starting about 5 am local time, start scanning the sky centered on the east-northeast along the horizon. You’ll first spot a big diamond of four fairly bright stars – the Square of Pegasus. This is the key, since this comet spends much of its time inside the area bounded by the Square. Use binoculars to scan the area inside the Square and look for a softly-glowing, fuzzy round ball that is bigger than a star. Use what’s called “averted vision” – move your eye around the field of view, and you might be able to see it out of the corner of your eye rather than when you look right at it.

Once you spot the comet’s head, look for any sign of the tail which should point up and to the right. Once you know where it is, try it without the binoculars and see if you can see it with just your eyes. It will probably be a challenging observation, but well worth it – bright comets are not very common, and they are pretty much the smallest pieces of the solar system we can ever see without the aid of a telescope. It’s also one of the oldest. That fuzzy ball is a cloud of gas surrounding a tiny icy nucleus that dates back to before the Earth was formed!

You can also try taking a picture of the comet with your phone or (better) with a camera on a tripod. This comet has been very photogenic thus far, and modern cameras do a surprisingly good job of astro-imaging.

While you’re out comet hunting, scan your binoculars to the left of the Square of Pegasus to spot the Andromeda Galaxy (M31 on the daily charts below). It’s also a fuzzy spot, but more elongated than the comet, and a totally different type of object. M31 is a galaxy of up top a trillion stars, located so far away that the light you see tonight has been travelling for nearly 2.5 million years to arrive. (By comparison, the light from the Moon has a bit more than a second’s travel time; the Sun is about 8 light minutes away, and the edge of our solar system is about 4 light hours away.) M31 is the largest and most distant object that can be seen by the unaided eye.

If you spot the comet, let us know! Send your observing report or images to space@manitobamuseum.ca, and we may feature it on our next Dome@Home show.

The Solar System for April 2026

Mercury is too close to the Sun to be easily visible this month.

Venus is low in the west after sunset, getting slightly higher and moving slightly farther north over the course of the month. Head out after sunset when the sky is still fairly bright; Venus is the brightest “star” you can see above the western horizon.

Mars is still too close to the Sun to be visible this month.

Jupiter is high in the south as darkness falls, and sets about 3 a.m. local time in the west-northwest. It’s a great time to look at the planet in binoculars (to see the four largest moons) or a telescope.

Saturn has passed behind the Sun and is still too close to spot this month.

Uranus is in the evening sky a few degrees below the famous Pleaides star cluster (also known as the Seven Sisters). It is too faint to easily see without binoculars, and even a telescope shows it as a faint dot that looks just like the other faint stars. A detailed star-charting app like Stellarium or the charts in the Observer’s Handbook is required to track it down.

Neptune is invisible this month, close to Mars and Saturn in the morning sky.

Of the five known dwarf planets, only (1) Ceres is close enough to be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. It is too close to the Sun to be seen this month.

Sky Calendar for April 2026

All times are given in Central Daylight Time, the local time for Manitoba. However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.

If there’s a little box to the left of the date, you can click on it to see a star map of that event! All images are created using Stellarium, the free planetarium software.

Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2026: Artemis II launched! The Artemis II crew is on their way to the Moon, after a launch at 5:35:12 p.n. CDT from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to spot the spacecraft in the sky easily without computer-aided telescopes – but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try!

April 1st is also Full Moon in the Central Time Zone (it occurs at 9:32 p.m. CDT, but many calendars use Greenwich mean Time when they print their moon phases, so your paper calendar might show it as the next day.)

Friday, April 3rd, 2026 (daytime): Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) makes its closest approach to the Sun today. While it will likely not be visible to amateur sky-watchers, you can follow it through the SOHO sun-watching satellite.

Thursday, Apr. 9, 2026: Last Quarter Moon

Comet 2025R3 (MAPS) as seen from near 50 degrees latitude at 5:15 am local time on April 15, 2026. The view faces east-northeast.Wednesday, April 15, 2026 (morning sky): Comet 2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) is about 10 degrees above the east-northeast horizon at 5:15 am local time, near the middle of the Square of Pegasus. It will appear as a small, fuzzy ball of light that hovers at the edge of visibility. The tail will point up and to the right (away from the direction of the Sun) but will be much fainter – try binoculars or a camera to catch it.

Comet 2025R3 (MAPS) as seen from near 50 degrees latitude at 5:15 am local time on April 16, 2026. The view faces east-northeast.Thursday, April 16, 2026 (morning sky): Comet 2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) will be brighter but lower than yesterday morning, still inside the Square of Pegasus.

Comet 2025R3 (MAPS) as seen from near 50 degrees latitude at 5:15 am local time on April 17, 2026. The view faces east-northeast.

Friday, April 17, 2026 (morning sky): Comet 2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) continues to brighten in the pre-dawn sky, but is low enough that you might not be able to see it until the twilight has already begun to brighten the sky.

Friday, Apr. 17, 2026: New Moon

Comet 2025R3 (MAPS) as seen from near 50 degrees latitude at 5:15 am local time on April 18, 2026. The view faces east-northeast.Saturday, April 18, 2026 (morning sky): Comet 2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) is brightening and may be easier to spot even though it is lower in the sky at 5 am local. As it rises and the sky brightens, it may become easier to see – it all depends on exactly how bright the comet gets compared to the dawn twilight background.

Saturday, Apr. 18, 2026 (evening sky): The thin crescent Moon is just to the right of Venus in the evening sky.

Comet 2025R3 (MAPS) as seen from near 50 degrees latitude at 5:15 am local time on April 19, 2026. The view faces east-northeast.Sunday, April 19, 2026 (morning sky): Comet 2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) has moved outside of the Square of Pegasus and now stands to the left of the bottom star in that asterism. By 5:30 am local it should be high enough to catch with the unaided eye if predictions are correct.

Sunday, Apr. 19, 2026 (evening sky): The waxing crescent Moon stands above Venus in the western evening sky.

Comet 2025R3 (MAPS) as seen from near 50 degrees latitude at 5:15 am local time on April 20, 2026. The view faces east-northeast.Monday, April 20, 2026 (morning sky): Comet 2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) is low in the east-northeast sky, just a few degrees above the horizon at 5:15 am local time.

Comet 2025R3 (MAPS) as seen at 5:15 am local time on April 21, 2026. The view faces east-northeast.Tuesday, April 21, 2026 (morning sky): Comet 2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) is very low in the east-northeast sky, just a few degrees above the horizon at 5:15 am local time. Probably the last day to catch it.

Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2026 (evening sky): The waxing crescent Moon is off to the right of Jupiter high in the south this evening.

Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026 (evening sky): The waxing crescent Moon is just above Jupiter high in the south this evening.

Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026 (morning sky): The peak of the annual Lyrid “meteor shower” occurs in the predawn sky today, but “shower” is misleading. You can expect between 2-10 meteors per hour in the hours before dawn. See more details here.

Thursday, Apr. 23, 2026: First Quarter Moon

Saturday, Apr. 25, 2026 (evening sky): The waxing gibbous moon eclipses the bright star Regulus in the daytime sky for Manitobans. Probably not visible except in a telescope equipped with a camera. The dark side of the Moon will block the star at about 7:15 p.m. CDT for southern Manitoba, with the star disappearing very close to the north pole of the Moon from our view. Regulus will re-appear along the bright top edge of the Moon only about 25 minutes later, but this will be harder to see because of the bright Moon ‘s glare.

 

People stare up at the northern lights above them.

Other Celestial Sights

Outside of the events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.

Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.

Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour. Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.

Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. The most common sightings are Starlink satellites, which are being launched dozens at a time to bring internet to remote regions, but which cause trouble with astronomy and pollution. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. He hosts Dome@Home, the Manitoba Museum’s award-winning online astronomy show.

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The Sky for March 2026

Posted on by Scott Young
Posted on: Thursday February 26, 2026

March skies begin the very short spring season, astronomically speaking. Between the sun setting later and the daylight savings time change, it seems like we only see the spring constellations briefly before the summer ones rise up to supplant them. This March, Manitobans can also look forward to a total lunar eclipse as well as the hopefully warmer temperatures that should accompany the Vernal Equinox.

Although this article focuses on events visible in Manitoba, most events will also be visible across Canada and most places in the mid-northern hemisphere.

An image of Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS on October 14, 2024.

Update: A Bright Comet (or Two?)

A comet is a chunk of rock and ice a few kilometers across that orbits the Sun in a long, oval path.  When the comet is close to the Sun, some of the comet’s ice melts and forms a tail which can stretch for a million kilometers or more. After looping around the Sun, the comet heads back into the outer solar system and refreezes, becoming invisible again until its next trip around. While there are always a few dozen comets in the sky, most are very faint and invisible without a telescope.

Occasionally, a comet will become bright enough to see in binoculars or (on rare occasions) with the unaided eye. We have had a few bright comets in the past few years, most recently Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS which was a beautiful sight in the fall of 2024 (see image at right).

For 2026, there are two comets which *might* become bright. The trouble is, both were just discovered in the last year, so we don’t have past behaviour as a guide. Both will reach their peak in April of 2026, and if they pan out there will be a special update of the Astronomy Blog here to provide details.

First is comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS). This is a rare type of comet called a sungrazer, which means it gets very close to the Sun in its orbit. During closest approach, the comet can become very bright; the other side of the coin is that the comet is very close to the Sun and thus in the daytime sky. If the comet gets bright enough, it may be visible in broad daylight for a few days in early April; if it doesn’t, then you won’t see it at all. Recent observations with the James Webb Space Telescope suggest that the comet is on the small side, which means it might just melt away before it even gets a chance to brighten. Comet MAPS will be one of those late-breaking news stories, so stay tuned for our April edition!

Second is comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS). This comet will likely become a binocular object in the early morning sky in mid-April, but there is some thought that it might become brighter. We’ll follow this one as well and provide updates as more details become known.

(By the way, MAPS and PANSTARRS are both acronyms for robotic telescope surveys which discovered the comets while scanning the sky looking for new objects. They each discover lots of comets, so it’s usually important to mention the numeric designation as well as the name. There are several comet MAPS and more than a dozen comet PANSTARRS already!)

The Solar System for March 2026

Mercury drops back into the evening twilight after a good run in late February; you might still catch it very low and to the right of much brighter Venus very early in the month, right after sunset.

Venus is very low in the west after sunset, getting slightly higher and moving slightly farther north over the course of the month. Head out after sunset when the sky is still fairly bright; Venus is the brightest “star” you can see above the western horizon.

Mars is still too close to the Sun to be visible this month. It will appear very low in the east-southeast just before sunrise sometime next month.

Jupiter is high in the south as darkness falls, and sets about 3 a.m. local time in the west-northwest. It’s a great time to look at the planet in binoculars (to see the four largest moons) or a telescope. See our feature article on Jupiter in last month’s blog.

Saturn is fading into the evening twilight, low in the southwest and above much brighter Venus, setting about 90 minutes after the Sun.  It passes Venus on March 7th and 8th, although you’ll have to catch it soon before it sets. Head out about 30 minutes after sunset to start looking for it near much brighter Venus.  Saturn will return to the morning sky in mid-2026 for its next apparition.

Uranus is in the evening sky a few degrees below the famous Pleaides star cluster (also known as the Seven Sisters). This month it approaches and passes a pair of stars of similar brightness, which should help in identifying which “dot” in your binoculars is the ice giant planet. It is too faint to easily see without binoculars, and even a telescope shows it as a faint dot that looks just like the other faint stars. A detailed star-charting app like Stellarium or the charts in the Observer’s Handbook is required to track it down.

Neptune is invisible this month in the bright sky of evening twilight. It requires good binoculars or a small telescope to even spot, and a large telescope to make it out as anything more than a faint dot. As with Uranus, a detailed star chart like those in the Observer’s Handbook or produced software by Stellarium is required to tell which tiny “dot” is Neptune.

Of the five known dwarf planets, only (1) Ceres is close enough to be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. Ceres has faded below easy visibility in binoculars for the year, but will brighten again beginning in late 2026.

Sky Calendar for March 2026

All times are given in Central Standard Time, the local time for Manitoba. However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.

If there’s a little box to the left of the date, you can click on it to see a star map of that event! All images are created using Stellarium, the free planetarium software.

Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2026 (morning sky): Full Moon / Total Lunar Eclipse. Read our detailed article on this lunar eclipse.

The western sky 45 minutes after sunset on March 4, 2026. Venus and Saturn are visible. Image created with DIGISTAR.

Wednesday, Mar. 4, 2026 (evening sky): Venus and Saturn are close in the evening sky. Watch their changing positions over the next few days.

The western sky 45 minutes after sunset on March 5, 2026. Venus and Saturn are visible. Image created with DIGISTAR.Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026 (evening sky): Venus and Saturn are close in the evening sky.

 

The western sky 45 minutes after sunset on March 6, 2026. Venus and Saturn are visible. Image created with DIGISTAR.Friday, Mar. 6, 2026 (evening sky): Venus and Saturn are close in the evening sky.

The western sky 45 minutes after sunset on March 7, 2026. Venus and Saturn are visible. Image created with DIGISTAR.Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026 (evening sky): Venus and Saturn are close in the evening sky.

The western sky 45 minutes after sunset on March 8, 2026. Venus and Saturn are visible. Image created with DIGISTAR.Sunday, Mar. 8, 2026 (evening sky): Venus and Saturn are close in the evening sky.

The western sky 45 minutes after sunset on March 9, 2026. Venus and Saturn are visible. Image created with DIGISTAR.Monday, Mar. 9, 2026 (evening sky): Venus and Saturn are close in the evening sky.

The western sky 45 minutes after sunset on March 10, 2026. Venus and Saturn are visible. Image created with DIGISTAR.Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026 (evening sky): Venus and Saturn are close in the evening sky.

Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2026: Last Quarter Moon

Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2026: New Moon

The thin crescent Moon and Venus are visible on March 19, 2026 about 30-45 minutes after sunset. Image created using DIGISTAR.Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026 (evening sky): A very young Moon is near Venus in the evening sky. Catching the 1%-illuminated crescent will require clear skies and probably binoculars. For Manitoba, the Moon is only about 24 hours “old” when it sets, which is a very challenging observation.

The thin crescent Moon and Venus are visible on March 20, 2026 about 30-45 minutes after sunset. Image created using DIGISTAR.Friday, Mar. 20, 2026 (evening sky): Tonight, the much-easier-to-spot crescent Moon is directly above Venus and twice as high above the horizon after sunset.

Sunday, Mar. 22, 2026 (evening sky): The waxing crescent Moon is below and to the right of the Pleiades star cluster. Watch the Moon approach the cluster as the pair slowly sink into the west as they set.

Wednesday, Mar. 25, 2026 (evening sky): The First Quarter Moon is beside Jupiter tonight.

Thursday, Mar. 26, 2026 (evening sky): The Moon is near the bright stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini, and actually eclipses the star Kappa Geminorum as seen from Manitoba at about 10:30 p.m.

People stare up at the northern lights above them.

Other Celestial Sights

Outside of the events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.

Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.

Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour. Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.

Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. The most common sightings are Starlink satellites, which are being launched dozens at a time to bring internet to remote regions, but which cause trouble with astronomy and pollution. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. He hosts Dome@Home, the Manitoba Museum’s award-winning online astronomy show.

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Total Lunar Eclipse March 2-3, 2026

Posted on by Scott Young
The total lunar eclipse of March 15, 2025 as seen from Winnipeg. Image by Planetarium Astronomer Scott Young.

You should stay up late on Monday, March 2 – after midnight, or get up reeeally early on Tuesday, March 3. Manitobans (and most of North America) will witness a total lunar eclipse – which will probably be called the “blood worm moon” by the AI astronomy pages that saturate social media these days.

A total lunar eclipse is a very accessible celestial event. It’s widely visible – the entire half of the Earth that can see the Moon will get the same view of the eclipse. And it takes a while – even if we omit the less-interesting penumbral phase, March’s eclipse will last more than three-and-a-half hours from the start of the partial phase to moonset (here in Manitoba). That’s much more opportunity than a total solar eclipse provides – those only happen for a narrow path for a few minutes at most.

Manitoba viewers will see the early stages of the eclipse and all of the total phase, but the Moon will set before completely leaving Earth’s shadow. Viewers farther west will see more of the eclipse’s end, while eastern Canada only sees the very early stages before moonset.

A lunar eclipse has three phases. The first phase, the penumbral eclipse, occurs when the Moon begins to move into the tenuous outer shadow of the Earth, called the penumbra. This is followed by the partial eclipse, when the Moon enters the darker central shadow of the Earth, which is known as the umbra. The third phase, the total phase, occurs when the Moon is completely within the Earth’s umbra. This is the “blood moon” phase, since it is when the red colour of the eclipse is most visible. (It’s there during the partial phase as well, but glare from the bright uncovered portion of the Moon makes it difficult to see.)

Times of Lunar Eclipse Events for Western Canada

Event

PST

MST

CST

EST
Penumbral phase begins

12:44:25 am.

 1:44:25 am. 2:44:25 am.

3:44:25 am.
Partial phase begins

1:50:07 am.

 2:50:07 am. 3:50:07 am.

4:50:07 am.
Total phase begins

3:04:34 am.

4:04:34 am.

5:04:34 am.

6:04:34 am.
Maximum Eclipse

3:33:46 am.

4:33:46 am.

5:33:46 am.

6:33:46 am.
Total phase ends

4:02:49 am.

5:02:49 am.

6:02:49 am.

7:02:49 am.
Partial phase ends

5:17:15 am.

6:17:15 am.

7:17:15 am.

8:17:15 am.
Penumbral phase ends

6:23:06 am.

7:23:06 am.

8:23:06 am.

9:23:06 am.

For southern Manitoba, the Moon sets within a minute or so of 7:00 a.m. CST. Items in shaded boxes occur after moonset in those time zones.

Where to Look

Usually finding the Full Moon isn’t difficult, but with possible clouds in the forecast it’s best to know roughly where to look. The Moon begins the eclipse very high up in the south for Manitobans. If you’re in eastern North America, the Moon will be progressively lower in the west the farther east you are. Similarly, the Moon will be farther east (and lower) the farther west you are in North America. Over the course of the eclipse, the Moon, like the Sun and most of the stars, will appear to move across the sky towards the western horizon, eventually setting in the west about 7:00 am CST for Manitobans. The Moon sets earlier the farther east you are, and later the farther west you are.

 

 

How to Observe

Total lunar eclipses are completely safe to view, unlike an eclipse of the Sun where the bright Sun can cause eye damage. During a total lunar eclipse, the brightest things get is a Full Moon, and it gets dimmer from there.

The best way to observe a total lunar eclipse is with an ordinary pair of typical binoculars, 7×35 or 8×42 or 7×50 or something similar. The binoculars make it easier to see the red colour, and also reveal some of the dark areas and even the larger craters on the Moon. If you have a telescope, you can of course use that as well, but use your lower magnification eyepieces so you can see the whole Moon at once.

 

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

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The Sky for February 2026

Posted on by Scott Young
Posted on: Wednesday February 4, 2026

February skies give us a combination of the winter stars with hopefully less-frigid temperatures than last month, although warmer temps can also bring clouds. Take your clear nights when you can this month to catch some of the celestial sights on offer.

Although this article focuses on events visible in Manitoba, most events will also be visible across Canada and most places in the mid-northern hemisphere.

The Solar System for February 2026

Mercury becomes visible around midmonth in the west-southwest after sunset. Start looking about 30 minutes after sunset low on the horizon – you might need binoculars to spot it before about the 10th. Mercury rises higher above the horizon each night, but also gets fainter which will make it harder to spot. Probably the best date and time to catch it will be the evening of February 18th, when the thin crescent Moon passes just below it (see Sky Calendar entry below).

Venus reappears in the evening sky this month, very low in the west-southwest after sunset. You’ll need a clear horizon, since it remains quite low and sets about an hour after the Sun. Venus will remain in the evening sky for the next several months.

Mars is still too close to the Sun to be visible this month. It passes behind the sun and reaches superior conjunction on January 9th, 2026.

Jupiter is still dominating the evening sky, sitting high in the east-southeast as darkness falls and moving across the southern sky throughout the night. Jupiter is just past its January 10th opposition, when Jupiter appears near its brightest and largest as seen from Earth. It’s a great time to look at the planet in binoculars (to see the four largest moons) or a telescope. See our feature article on Jupiter in last month’s blog.

Saturn is fading into the evening twilight, low in the southwest as darkness falls and setting in mid-evening. Good telescope views are done for the year; Saturn’s main interest this month is its grouping with Neptune and the Moon on February 19th (see Sky Calendar entry below). Saturn will return to the morning sky in mid-2026 for its next apparition.

Uranus is in the evening sky a few degrees below the famous Pleaides star cluster (also known as the Seven Sisters). It is too faint to easily see without binoculars, and even a telescope shows it as a faint dot that looks just like the other faint stars. A detailed star-charting app like Stellarium or the charts in the Observer’s Handbook is required to track it down.

Neptune requires good binoculars or a small telescope to even spot, and a large telescope to make it out as anything more than a faint dot. It spends the month near Saturn, though, which makes it easier to track down than usual. As with Uranus, a detailed star chart like those in the Observer’s Handbook or produced software by Stellarium is required to tell which tiny “dot” is Neptune.

Of the five known dwarf planets, only (1) Ceres is close enough to be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. Ceres has faded below easy visibility in binoculars for the year, but will brighten again beginning in late 2026.

Sky Calendar for February 2026

All times are given in Central Standard Time, the local time for Manitoba. However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.

If there’s a little box to the left of the date, you can click on it to see a star map of that event! All images are created using Stellarium, the free planetarium software.

Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026: Full Moon

Monday, Feb. 9, 2026: Last Quarter Moon

Binocular view of Saturn and Neptune, Feb. 16, 2026.Monday, Feb. 16, 2026: Neptune is less than 1 degree from Saturn, low in the western sky after sunset. The accompanying image shows the view through typical household binoculars. It’s pretty much this close all month, since Saturn moves very slowly and Neptune hardly at all over such small timescales.

Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026: New Moon. There is an annular (ring) solar eclipse at this time, but it is only visible in the extreme southern hemisphere.

Mercury and the Moon together in the evening sky on Feb. 18, 2026.

Binocular view of Mercury and the Moon on the evening of Feb. 18, 2026.

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026: The Moon eclipses Mercury during the day (not visible from Canada) and is still nearby after sunset.

I binocular view of the Moon above the Pleiades star cluster on February 23, 2026 at 10 pm CST.Monday, Feb. 23, 2026: The Moon is just above the Pleiades star cluster tonight. The accompanying image shows the view through typical household binoculars at 10:30 p.m. Central Time.

“Planetary Parade” begins – look for Venus, Mercury, and Saturn low in the west after sunset. Jupiter is on the other side of the sky.

Venus, mercury,and Saturn gather in the western sky after sunset. This view shows 6:30 p.m. local time on Feb. 24, 2026.

Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026: First Quarter Moon. Also the best night for Venus, Mercury/Saturn grouping in western evening sky. Be outside with a clear western horizon by 6:30 p.m. local time. From this date on, Venus gets higher and easier to see, while Mercury gets lower and harder to see.

Venus, Mercury, and Saturn gather in the western sky after sunset. This view shows 6:30 p.m. local time on Feb. 25, 2026.Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026 (evening sky): Venus, Mercury, and Saturn are together in the western sky after sunset.

Venus, mercury,and Saturn gather in the western sky after sunset. This view shows 6:30 p.m. local time on Feb. 26, 2026.Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026 (evening sky): Venus, Mercury, and Saturn are together in the western sky after sunset. Tonight is also the monthly Dome@Home online planetarium show, where you can discover what’s up in the sky on the Museum’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

The Moon is near Jupiter in the constellation Gemini the Twins on February 26, 2026.Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026: Meanwhile, at the other end of the “parade”, the Moon is near Jupiter in the evening sky.

Venus, mercury,and Saturn gather in the western sky after sunset. This view shows 6:30 p.m. local time on Feb. 27, 2026.Friday, Feb. 27, 2026 (evening sky): Venus, Mercury, and Saturn are together in the western sky after sunset.

Venus, Mercury,and Saturn gather in the western sky after sunset. This view shows 6:45 p.m. local time on Feb. 28, 2026.Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026 (evening sky): Venus, Mercury, and Saturn are together in the western sky after sunset. Probably your last chance to see Mercury before it fades into the evening twilight.

Monday evening, March 2 to Tuesday morning, March 3: There’s a total lunar eclipse visible from Winnipeg! Keep your eye open for the March 2026 Sky Calendar which will have full details.

People stare up at the northern lights above them.

Other Celestial Sights

Outside of the events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.

Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.

Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour. Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.

Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. The most common sightings are Starlink satellites, which are being launched dozens at a time to bring internet to remote regions, but which cause trouble with astronomy and pollution. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. He hosts Dome@Home, the Manitoba Museum’s award-winning online astronomy show.

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Canada Flies Around the Moon

Posted on by Scott Young

Update 1 April 2026 08:36 a.m. CDT: The countdown is underway, and the Artemis rocket is being fueled with super-cold liquid hydrogen and oxygen in preparation for launch. Launch is still scheduled for the beginning of the launch window at 5:24 p.m. CDT. The Dome@Home online watch party (on the Museum’s Facebook page and YouTube channel) will begin at 3:00 p.m. today and feature feeds and content from across NASA and the Canadian Space Agency.

Past updates:

Update 06:48 a.m. CDT: Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson has given the GO to fuel the giant Space Launch System rocket. Over the next several hours, liquid hydrogen and oxygen will fill the orange fuel tank of the rocket’s core stage and the upper ICPS (Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Unit) stage. Launch is still targeting the beginning of the 2-hour launch window at 5:24 p.m. CDT.

Update 31 Match 2026 14:01 p.m. CDT: The Artemis II countdown continues throughout the day as launch controllers prepare NASA’s most powerful rocket ever for its Wednesday launch attempt. The two-hour launch window opens at 5:24 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, April 1st. If the launch is delayed, there are further opportunities daily until the 6th, and then another “window” opens on April 30th.

Join us for an online launch party on the Manitoba Museum’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. The event currently is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, April 1st.

 

This month, if all goes well, a Canadian astronaut will fly around the Moon. The Artemis II mission, years in preparation, is set to launch NET (not earlier than) April 1, 2026 at 5:24 pm Central Daylight Time from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Aboard will be three American Astronauts and Canadian Jeremy Hansen. Scroll down for the latest updates!

 

Background

If you didn’t know we were less than two weeks away from a Canadian lunar astronaut mission, it’s not surprising. News headlines have been dominated with many other issues, but that’s not the only reason. For the first time since its formation, NASA has been very close-lipped about the dates and times of any of the events leading up to the mission. We only got possible launch dates a couple of weeks ago, when usually these would be set and released months in advance. The Canadian Space Agency has been under the news embargo as well, although they have some excellent resources on the mission background and on our astronauts.

Jeremy Hansen is a Mission Specialist on the Artemis II mission, along with American astronauts Reid Wiseman (Commander), Victor Glover (Pilot), and Christina Koch (Mission Specialist). They will spend nearly 10 days aboard their Orion spacecraft, named “Integrity”, for the first crewed launch of the giant Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The mission will test the spacecraft in Earth orbit, and then head out on a long, looping orbit which will slingshot them around the Moon and back to Earth.

There are plenty of articles which detail the mission, Jeremy’s role, and Canadian astronaut Jenni Gibbons, who is Jeremy’s back-up for the mission. This blog will focus on the latest news on the mission and any updates we get on the timing.

Artemis II watch party promotional image with four astronauts posing for a photo wearing orange space suits. Seated, right, is Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

Artemis II Watch Party

Join us for a live-streamed Dome@Home Special Event: Artemis II Launch Party on the Museum’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. If the launch proceeds as scheduled, the event will begin at 3 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, April 1st, with launch expected at 5:24 p.m. CDT. However, the launch window is two hours long, and so if there are delays the launch might occur as late as 7:24 p.m. So again, “if” is the operative word.

Since this is the first crewed launch of a new rocket and spacecraft, though, that is a big “if”. Each month has about 6 days of possible launch dates, based on the positions of the Moon and the requirements of the orbit, sunlight angles, and so forth. It’s hard to schedule an evening event in-person at the Museum with that much uncertainty, so at this point all we can promise is an online livestream watch party. Keep checking this page for the latest updates.

Older Updates 

Update 30 Mar 2026 14:37 CDT: The countdown begins today for the April 1 launch of Artemis II! The nearly-50-hour process of preparing the rocket for launch, loading the crew, and finally launching begins at 3:44 p.m. CDT today.

Update 24 Feb 2026 08:53 CST: Launch Delayed to April. Just after completing a successful Wet Dress Rehearsal on February 20th, NASA teams found an issue with the rocket’s upper stage, the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion System (ICPS). The ICPS uses helium to pressurize the tanks and engine, and this system worked fine during the test. However, during post-test operations the helium wouldn’t flow. Unfortunately, the helium system is not accessible at the launch pad, and so the entire vehicle has to be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for troubleshooting and more testing – that is happening Wednesday, February 25th, and should take about 12 hours. Finding and fixing the issue and still making one of the possible March launch days was deemed unlikely, and so NASA has officially bumped to the April launch window. The earliest possible launch is now April 1st at 5:24 p.m. Central Time (6:24 p.m. local time at the launch site in Florida).

 

Update 20 Feb 2026 08:56 CST: Success!  Yesterday’s Artemis II rehearsal countdown was completed successfully, hopefully clearing the way for an early March launch. The nearly fifty-hour “wet dress rehearsal” saw the 98-m (322-foot) rocket fully fueled without any of troublesome hydrogen leaks seen during the first test two weeks ago. The count stopped at T-33 seconds as planned, and held there to demonstrate that even a last-minute issue with the rocket could be dealt with without a full countdown reset. And there was one – a minor issue that was dealt with and solved in about three and a half minutes, which would not have delayed a real launch. The countdown clock was then reset to T-1o minutes and the “terminal count” run a second time, this time stopping at T-29 seconds.

The test shows NASA has solved the hydrogen leak issues, but also that it can hold during the terminal countdown to deal with issues such as weather, range safety violations (like when a tourist boat sails into the restricted area), and other transitory events without delaying the launch. Each launch window is two hours long, which gives plenty of time to be able to solve issues, top up the fuel tanks again, and still head to the Moon.

The four-person crew of Artemis II – Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Kristina Koch (all NASA astronauts) and Canadian Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen – were not involved in the test, remaining in Houston where they are preparing for a March 6 launch. Even without them, the pad crew went through the motions of closing the hatches to ensure all processes were practiced one more time.

NASA plans a press conference at 10 a.m. Central Time today to discuss the results of the test. The earliest possible launch (due to the position of the Moon, the spacecraft’s required trajectory, and requirements for reentry)  is March 6th, 2026 at 7:29 p.m. Central Time (8:29 p.m. local time at the launch site in Florida).

 

Update 18 Feb 2026 9:07 a.m. CST – Second Wet Dress Rehearsal Underway! NASA began its second dress rehearsal for the Artemis II launch yesterday on Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Controllers were called to stations at about 7:00 p.m. Central Time for the nearly 50-hour countdown which will put the Artemis II rocket and Orion spacecraft Integrity through a full rehearsal of fueling and preparation for launch.

The Artemis II rocket sits on the launch pad during the second Wet Dress Rehearsal test. (Image: NASA)This rehearsal comes two weeks after the first attempt ended prematurely with some hydrogen leaks, a persistent issue with hydrogen-fueled rockets. Hydrogen is the smallest and lightest element, which means it can sneak through even the tightest seals to some degree.

Most of the visible action will occur on Thursday, when the rocket will be fully fueled and powered up for launch. The countdown will run until T-33 seconds, which is when the automatic launch sequence would take over the count from the human flight controllers. NASA will then run through the last ten minutes (the “terminal count”) a few times, simulating a minor delay which requires a few extra minutes to resolve.

The four-person crew – Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot David Glover, Mission Specialist Kristina Koch, and Mission Specialist (and Canadian) Jeremy Hansen – is not involved in the test and is still in Houston. Despite this, the pad crew will still go through the motions of closing the hatches as if this was an actual launch. Depending on the results of the test, the earliest possible launch date for Artemis II is March 6, 2026 at 7:29 p.m. Central Time (8:29 p.m. local time in Florida).

Next update is expected Thursday morning, unless conditions warrant an earlier update.

 

Update 3 Feb 2026 9:29 a.m. CST – Launch delayed: Based on the results of the wet dress rehearsal yesterday (Feb 2), the launch of Artemis II has been bumped to the March launch window. This means the first possible launch will occur on March 6, 2026 at 8:29 p.m. CST. The countdown will begin roughly 48 hours before that.

 

Update 3 Feb 2026 9:29 a.m. CST – Launch delayed: Based on the results of the wet dress rehearsal yesterday (Feb 2), the launch of Artemis II has been bumped to the March launch window. This means the first possible launch will occur on March 6, 2026 at 8:29 p.m. CST. The countdown will begin roughly 48 hours before that.

 

Update 2026 Feb. 2 12:43 p.m. CST: Did I post too soon? Hydrogen flow stopped “for troubleshooting”; liquid oxygen flow continues.

 

Update 2026 Feb 2 12:02 p.m. CST: They are now starting to chill down the ICPS, the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion System – the second stage of the SLS Block I. This involves feeding a bit of the super-cold hydrogen and oxygen into the tanks, so that the warm tanks don’t boil off too much as they fill. We do the same thing at the Science Gallery when we use liquid nitrogen.

That seems to indicate that the fueling of the big orange stage one tank went well? That was an issue on Artemis I – dealing with hydrogen is hard, since it is the smallest element in the periodic table and can leak through almost any other substance. So maybe no news is good news?

 

Update 2026 Feb 2 11:25 a.m. CST: Go for tanking! The Artemis II rocket is being fueled in today’s wet dress rehearsal, which is targeting a *simulated* launch window at 8:00 p.m. CST tonight. They will count all the way down to T-33 seconds, fueling the rocket and doing everything except putting the crew on board. They’ll count all the way down to T-33 seconds, then rest the clock for T-10 minutes and do it again. This simulates the need to delay the launch for a while due to things like weather or a small glitch that they need a few minutes to deal with. Each launch window is two hours long, so they have some wiggle room.

If all goes well in today’s test, NASA is targeting Sunday, February 8 at 10:20 p.m. CST for the launch of Jeremy Hansen and the rest of the Artemis II crew on their 1-day mission around the Moon. Stay tuned!

 

Update 2026 Feb 2 9:24 a.m. CST: Wet Dress Rehearsal Underway! The Wet Dress Rehearsal, the last major test of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft before launch, began at 8:13 p.m. on January 31, 2026. The “interesting” bits will be occurring today (Feb 2, 2026) as they decide whether they can fuel the rocket or not. Looking at the cold, they may not, which would delay the test and push the launch to the March launch window. Waiting to see!

 

UPDATE 2026 Jan 30 1:14 p.m. CST: The Artemis Wet Dress Rehearsal has been delayed due to a cold front rolling through Florida over the next few days. The last major test is now scheduled for Feb. 2, which means the earliest launch opportunity has slipped to February 8th at 10:20 p.m. CST.

 

Update 28 Jan 2026 09:40 am CST

As of now, the giant SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft is sitting on the launch pad, awaiting the final test, known as the “wet dress rehearsal”. This is a complete countdown rehearsal from L-10 hours and 40 minutes, including fueling the rocket with cryogenic (supercold) hydrogen and oxygen (hence “wet”). The crew does not board the rocket, and they go all the way down to 33 seconds, when the computer would take over the automated launch sequence. This makes sure there are no leaks, that all the batteries and communications work, and that everything is safe to put humans on top of the rocket. A day or so after the wet dress rehearsal, they will do it all again for real.

As of this writing the wet dress rehearsal is scheduled for January 31, which should leave plenty of time for a February 6 launch. So, as things stand launch will occur at 8:41 pm CST on February 6. But this is of course subject to change, based on any troubles in the dress rehearsal or any other technical or weather issues on launch day.

 

 

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. He hosts Dome@Home, the Manitoba Museum’s award-winning online astronomy show.

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The Sky for January 2026

Posted on by Scott Young
Posted on: Wednesday December 31, 2025

Manitoba’s January skies are usually cold if they are clear, and the long winter nights make stargazing easier. You don’t need to stay up late to spot Orion and his retinue of winter constellations rising in the east after dark, and the crisp winter air can provide remarkably clear views for users of telescopes and binoculars.

Although this article focuses on events visible in Manitoba, most events will also be visible across Canada and most places in the mid-northern hemisphere.

 

The Solar System for January 2026

Mercury is too close to the Sun to be easily seen from Manitoba this month, although more southerly viewers might catch it very low in the southeast just before sunrise during the first few days of the month. It reaches superior conjunction (in line with and just below the Sun) on January 21st, 2026.

Venus has disappeared into the sun’s glare as well, passing its superior conjunction on January 6th, 2026. It will reappear in the evening sky early in the spring of 2026.

Mars is still too close to the Sun to be visible this month. It passes behind the sun and reaches superior conjunction on January 9th, 2026.

Jupiter is the planetary highlight of the month. The giant planet is low in the east at sunset and is visible all night, rising high into the south and then lower into the northwest by sunrise. Jupiter reaches opposition on January 10th, the date when it is opposite the Sun in the sky. This is also when Jupiter appears near its brightest and largest as seen from Earth, so it’s a great time to break out the binoculars or telescope and take a look.

Even a small telescope will show Jupiter as a tiny planet with several tinier “stars” in a line near it – these are Jupiter’s largest moons. Up to four of them can be seen, depending on where they are in their orbit around the giant planet. Often these moons can be glimpsed in binoculars as well.

Saturn is in the south, a third of the way up the sky, as darkness falls. It sets before midnight in the southwest, so catch it early if you want to spot it. Saturn’s rings are nearly edge-on to our line of sight, making them nearly invisible in a telescope. The Moon is nearby on January 22nd and 23rd, 2026.

Uranus is in the evening sky a few degrees below the famous Pleaides star cluster (also known as the Seven Sisters). It is too faint to easily see without binoculars, and even a telescope shows it as a faint dot that looks just like the other faint stars. A detailed star-charting app like Stellarium or the charts in the Observer’s Handbook is required to track it down.

Neptune requires good binoculars or a small telescope to even spot, and a large telescope to make it out as anything more than a faint dot. It spends the month near Saturn, though, which makes it easier to track down than usual. As with Uranus, a detailed star chart like those in the Observer’s Handbook or produced software by Stellarium is required to tell which tiny “dot” is Neptune.

Of the five known dwarf planets, only (1) Ceres is close enough to be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. Ceres has faded below easy visibility in binoculars for the year, but will brighten again beginning in late 2026.

Jupiter and its moons as seen through a backyard telescope. (Image credit: Planetarium Astronomer Scott Young)

Planetary Spotlight: Jupiter

Jupiter is probably the best planet for amateur astronomers. Being the largest planet, we can see details in the cloud tops (Jupiter is a gas giant planet, and so the “surface” we see is actually the top of the  atmosphere). Its four brightest moons are visible in any telescope, and even in binoculars if you can hold them steady enough (try bracing your arms against your body or the arms of a reclining lawn chair, or mount the binoculars on a tripod).

Seeing detail on Jupiter does require some practice, though. The first time you look at Jupiter up close, you’ll probably see a bright white “star” with a few fainter “stars” lined up with it. Don’t just take a quick peek and give up, though. Your eyes will see more if you keep looking. Eventually you’ll see that the bright “star” isn’t a point of light, but a tiny globe. You’ll start to notice some dark lines running across it – those are the big equatorial cloud bands that circle the planet.

The more often you look at Jupiter through a telescope, the more you will see. Our eyes aren’t very good at looking at tiny images through a small tube. It takes practice to train your eye and brain. The tenth night you look at Jupiter, you will see much more than you did on the first night. You can also put your camera at the eyepiece to snap a picture. It takes practice to make it work, but you can get great images through a telescope with just a cell phone or point-and-shoot camera.

Sky Calendar for January 2026

All times are given in Central Standard Time, the local time for Manitoba. However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.

If there’s a little box to the left of the date, you can click on it to see a star map of that event! All images are created using Stellarium, the free planetarium software.

Friday, January 2nd, 2026: First Friday at the Manitoba Museum includes free telescope viewing this month (weather permitting). Telescopes will be set up outside the Planetarium dome from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for views of the Full Moon and the planets Jupiter and Saturn. Dress warmly!

The Full Moon and Jupiter rise side by side among the stars of Gemini the Twins on January 3rd, 2026.

Saturday, January 3rd, 2026: Full Moon, appearing near Jupiter in the sky. Since Jupiter is near opposition, and the Full Moon is basically what happens when the Moon reaches its own “opposition” (the point opposite the Sun in the sky), this make sense!

Saturday evening is also the peak of the annual Quadrantid meteor shower, but with the full moon and the timing this isn’t a great year for it. You might see a handful of meteors after sunset tonight, but the Moon will overwhelm most of them.

Tuesday, January 6th, 2026: Venus reaches superior conjunction, passing around the far side of the Sun as seen from Earth.

Friday, January 9th, 2026: Mars reaches superior conjunction, passing around the far side of the Sun as seen from Earth.

Saturday, January 10th, 2026: Jupiter reaches opposition, about 634 million kilometers away from Earth. Today is also the Last Quarter Moon.

Sunday, January 18th, 2026: New Moon

Wednesday, January 21st, 2026: The planet Mercury reaches superior conjunction, passing around the far side of the Sun. If this text sounds familiar, it’s because it is the third planet to pass superior conjunction this month – nothing more than a coincidence of cycles that have been going on for billions of years.

The crescent Moon is to the right of Saturn in the southwest on the evening of January 22nd, 2026.Thursday, January 22nd, 2026: The Moon is to the right of Saturn tonight in the early evening sky.

The crescent Moon is above Saturn in the southwest on the evening of January 23rd, 2026.Friday, January 23rd, 2026: The Moon is to the left of Saturn tonight in the early evening sky.

A binocular view of the Moon beside the Pleiades star cluster on the evening of January 27th, 2026. The view shown is at 6 p.m. Central Time.Tuesday, January 27th, 2026: The Moon is beside the Pleaides star cluster this evening. It is closest at dusk, but the Moon’s orbital motion moves it farther away from the star cluster even as the Earth’s rotation carries them both higher into the sky. (The accompanying chart shows the view at 6 p.m., Central time; the Moon will move farther to the left about its own diameter every hour relative to the background stars.)

Wednesday, January 28th, 2026: Mercury and Venus pass close to each other, but this occurs far too close to the Sun to be visible.

Saturday, December 27th, 2025: First Quarter Moon

People stare up at the northern lights above them.

Other Celestial Sights

Outside of the events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.

Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.

Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour. Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.

Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. The most common sightings are Starlink satellites, which are being launched dozens at a time to bring internet to remote regions, but which cause trouble with astronomy and pollution. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. He hosts Dome@Home, the Manitoba Museum’s award-winning online astronomy show.

Manitoba Stories: In the Sky

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Geminid Meteor Shower 2025

Posted on by Scott Young

What is a meteor shower?

Well, first, a meteor is a flash of light we see in the sky, often called a “shooting star” or “falling star”. They’re not stars at all, though – they are tiny pieces of space dust crashing into the Earth as it orbits the Sun. When the dust (called a “meteoroid” when it’s still out in space) hits the Earth’s atmosphere, friction causes the dust to burn up and create a tunnel of glowing air as it travels.

There’s dust scattered throughout space, left over from the formation of the solar system, and so on any given night you might see a meteor or three. If you were in perfectly dark skies and watched the entire sky for an entire hour, you might see a half-dozen meteors an hour on any given night.

But just like dust in your house, there are places in space where there is more dust than average. One of those places is in the orbit of a comet. A comet is a small body made of dust and ice that orbits the Sun. If a comet’s orbit brings it close enough to the Sun, it starts to melt and the dust forms a long tail behind it. This dust fades away fairly quickly, but it’s still out there in the comet’s orbital path. If that orbital path comes close to the Earth’s orbit, we can run through a big clump of comet dust on the same night each year. That’s a meteor shower.

 

What are the Geminids?

The Geminid meteor shower is an annual event that peaks around December 13-14 each year. It’s an unusual meteor shower, in that it’s not in the orbit of a comet, but of an asteroid: asteroid (3200) Phaethon. (Maybe Phaethon used to be a comet but the ice has all melted, so it’s just dust. We’re not sure.)

Phaethon has an unusual orbit that takes it very close to the Sun, closer then Mercury, before looping out to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Phaethon’s orbit also comes in at a steep angle compared to the rest of the planets, which is one of the reasons the Geminids are a great meteor shower (more on this later).

On an average year, you can expect to see a meteor a minute or so in the couple of hours between 11 pm and 1 am local time. That’s pretty good – most “meteor showers” are really more of a trickle, with only a dozen or so meteors per *hour*. So, one a minute is a “shower”, relatively speaking. And, almost alone among meteor showers, the peak of activity occurs in the middle of the night, around local midnight, when the constellation Gemini is high in the sky. This is because of the high angle that the meteor orbits make with the plane of the Earth’s orbit. Most meteor showers don’t peak until just before dawn, so they are much less convenient to watch.

 

How do I see the Geminids in 2025?

Meteor observing involves a lot of laying around and just looking at the sky. You don’t need (or want!) a telescope for this – meteors can happen anywhere in the sky, so you need the wide field of view that your unaided eyes provide. Your most useful piece of equipment is a reclining lawn chair so you can lay back and not be on the cold ground. A blanket or three and a thermos of a warm beverage is also a good addition.

The most important thing is to travel to a location where there are no competing lights, and to keep your eyes dark-adapted. Pick a spot in advance: a park, a parking lot, or some other place where you’re not on private property. (DO NOT just pull over to the side of the highway – not only will passing headlights ruin your night vision, but wandering around in the dark near the road is dangerous.)

Once you find a dark spot, you need to keep it dark. That means to turn off your car. This is especially important in a place where other observers have gathered, since your headlights will ruin everyone else’s  view if you leave them on. And, put your phone away. Our eyes take a good five or more minutes to get fully dark-adapted, but as soon as you see a bright-ish light, they immediately flip to “day” mode and you need to re-adapt all over again. Every time a phone turns on in your field of view, even just for a second, you will miss about 10%-15% of the meteors that hour. Don’t drive out of town in the cold and then waste your time doomscrolling instead of watching the sky!

 

When is the best time to look?

The Geminids slowly ramp up through December to their peak on the 13th-14th, and then decline over the next week or so. Best views will be between about 11pm and 2am on the night of Saturday, December 13th, 2025 and into the morning of Sunday, December 14th, 2025. During peak times, the rate from a really dark sky could be as high as 120 or more an hour – that’s an average of two every minute! Earlier in the evening and after the peak, rates will be about half that number. The night before and the night after will still have reasonable activity, perhaps 1/3 to 1/2 the numbers seen at the peak (so, 40-60 per hour). Before and after that, the rates decline sharply. So, we really want clear skies from December 12-15 this year!

(I guess that should be made clear: if it’s cloudy, you won’t see any, since meteors all burn up much higher in the atmosphere than the clouds.)

Remember, any lights you can see will turn off your eyes’ night mode. So, turn off your car headlights or cover them with a blanket. Keep your phone hidden so you don’t lose your darkvision every time a notification comes in. Dress warmly – a clear December night in Manitoba is going to be frigid! Make sure you are in a place where you are secure. Make sure your vehicle is up to winter driving, and that someone knows where you are if your car doesn’t start. (Don’t depend on a cell phone to call for help – cell service tends to fade in remote areas, and batteries die quickly in the cold.)

The Geminids are a great skywatching event – a relaxed event, no specialized equipment required, and you get to sit and watch the stars while waiting for the next meteor. You can even count meteors for science to help astronomers understand the swarm of particles from this unusual asteroid.

If the weather is clear, we will be attempting a live-stream of the Geminid meteor shower on Saturday night. Follow the Manitoba Museum on Facebook or YouTube to watch – if you “like” or “subscribe” you’ll get a notification when the stream goes live.

Clear Skies!

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

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The Sky for December 2025

Posted on by Scott Young
Posted on: Wednesday December 3, 2025

December brings us to the arbitrary “end” of our calendar cycle, one of the few calendar events that aren’t astronomically based. While the number of days in a year comes from the amount of time it takes Earth to revolve around the Sun, there is nothing special about December 31st to mark the “end” of anything.

Because it does mark the last month of the year, though, it’s a good time to look ahead at what’s coming for the next orbit. It’s also the first month this year to be fully back on Standard Time after the Daylight Savings Time excursion of the summer. Finally, December hosts the best meteor shower of the year, the Geminids, which peaks on the evening of the 13th and morning of the 14th in a mostly moonless sky.

 

The Solar System for December 2025

Mercury begins its best morning appearance of the year, but it still isn’t great for those living in northerly latitudes. It’s at its brightest at the beginning of the month, about 10 degrees above the south-eastern horizon just before dawn, but fades and sinks lower into the twilight over the next few weeks. A clear sky, unobstructed horizon, and perhaps binoculars will be needed to pick it out of the brightening dawn.

Venus sinks into the morning twilight during the first few days of December and is invisible for the rest of this month. It passes between us and the Sun early in 2026, thereafter appearing in the evening sky.

Mars is too close to the Sun to be visible this month.

Jupiter rises soon after sunset in the east-northeast and is visible all night, rising high into the south and then lower into the northwest by sunrise. It is near the two bright stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini, Even a small telescope will show Jupiter as a tiny planet with several tinier “stars” in a line near it – these are Jupiter’s largest moons. Up to four of them can be seen, depending on where they are in their orbit around the giant planet. Often these moons can be glimpsed in binoculars as well.

Saturn is in the southeast as darkness falls, the brightest “star” in that area of the sky and well-placed for telescope viewing. Saturn’s rings are nearly edge-on to our line of sight, making them nearly invisible in a telescope.

Uranus is in the evening sky a few degrees below the famous Pleaides star cluster (also known as the Seven Sisters). It is too faint to easily see without binoculars, and even a telescope shows it as a faint dot that looks just like the other faint stars. A detailed star-charting app like Stellarium or the charts in the Observer’s Handbook is required to track it down.

Neptune requires good binoculars or a small telescope to even spot, and a large telescope to make it out as anything more than a faint dot. As with Uranus, a detailed star chart like those in the Observer’s Handbook or produced software by Stellarium is required to tell which tiny “dot” is Neptune.

Of the five known dwarf planets, only (1) Ceres is close enough to be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. Ceres has faded below easy visibility in binoculars for the year, but will brighten again beginning in late 2026.

The Geminid Meteor Shower

The annual Geminid meteor shower is the best meteor shower of the year, and this year is a perfect year for it. The peak of the event occurs with the Moon mostly out of the sky, so if you drive away from any more local light pollution (like city lights), you can have a dark sky full of stars, and see the best that this shower has to offer.

For details on how to observe this event, check out Scott’s latest blog here.

 

Sky Calendar for December 2025

All times are given in Central Standard Time, the local time for Manitoba. However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.

If there’s a little box to the left of the date, you can click on it to see a star map of that event! All images are created using Stellarium, the free planetarium software.

Thursday, December 4th, 2025: Full Moon, occurring just 12 hours after the Moon’s closest point to the Earth in its orbit, a so-called “supermoon”. The difference in size between a “super” moon and a “mini” moon (when the moon is farthest from Earth) is not really noticeable, but the brightness increase may be detectable by careful observers.

Sunday, December 7th, 2025: The waning gibbous Moon forms a nice grouping with Jupiter and the bright stars Castor and Pollux.

Monday, December 8th, 2025: The waning gibbous Moon has passed Jupiter but still is close enough to draw the eye.

Tuesday, December 9th-Wednesday, December 10th, 2026: The Moon occults (eclipses) the bright star Regulus in Leo for much of Canada except the south. In Winnipeg, the Moon skims just north of the bright star, but observers in the northern Interlake and northern Manitoba will see the Moon cover up the star briefly just after midnight. Details for various cities across Canada can be found at the International Occultation Timing Association. (“ZC1487” is a catalogue number referring to Regulus.)

Thursday, December 11th, 2025: Last Quarter Moon

Saturday, December 13th-Sunday, December 14th, 2025 (morning sky): The annual Geminid meteor shower peaks. Decent views are available the night before and after. The Moon is a waning crescent and doesn’t rise until nearly 2 a.m. so it won’t interfere with viewing.

Wednesday, Dec. 17th (morning sky): The thin crescent Moon is about level with Mercury, low in the southeast just before sunrise.

Friday, December 19th, 2025 (morning sky): New Moon

Sunday, December 21st, 2025: Winter Solstice occurs at 9:03 a.m. CST. This marks the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere, astronomically speaking. (The weather tends not to pay attention to the astronomical definitions, of course – it’s just a point in time that can be predicted accurately.)

Monday, December 22nd, 2025 (morning sky): Ursid meteor shower peaks. Usually a minor shower, this shower can still produce 5-10 meteors per hour in the few hours before dawn. It has produced occasional outburst of activity, though, up to 25 meteors per hour for short periods, in a way we can’t yet predict.

Friday, December 26th, 2025: the nearly-first-quarter Moon is near Saturn in the evening sky.

Saturday, December 27th, 2025: First Quarter Moon.

People stare up at the northern lights above them.

Outside of the regular events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.

Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.

Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour. Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.

Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

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