Originally published by Space.
APRIL
April 1, 6:24 p.m. EST (2324 GMT): Artemis 2 will send three NASA astronauts and one Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut around the moon for humanity’s first lunar excursion in more than 50 years. The mission will launch the crew aboard an Orion spacecraft on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, on a free-return trajectory lunar flyby to the moon and back to Earth.
April 9: SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket with Northrop Grumman’s uncrewed Cygnus XL spacecraft to the International Space Station on NG-24 mission. The cargo vehicle will deliver more than 8,200 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, commercial products, hardware, and other cargo to the ISS.
Visible Planets and Night Sky Guide for June 2026
June evenings: Charts for Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury June 10 before dawn: Daytime Arietids June 10 and 11 mornings: Moon near Saturn June 15: New supermoon June 15: Mercury at greatest elongation from the sun June 16 after sunset: Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury June 17 after sunset: Spectacular! Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury June 18 and 19 evenings: Moon, Venus, and Regulus On the evenings of June 18 and 19, the waxing crescent moon will be near brilliant Venus and Regulus, the...
Blue Moon – and Smallest Moon of 2026 – on May 30-31
May 2026 has 2 full moons. The 1st was the full Flower Moon on May 1. The 2nd will be on overnight May 30-31. It’s a Blue Moon and a micromoon – or distant full moon – the most distant full moon of 2026. The Full Blue Moon Overnight on May 30-31, 2026 The coming Blue Moon – at 8:45 UTC on May 31, 2026 – is a Blue Moon and the most distant full micromoon of this year. Blue Moons aren’t blue. But micromoons – near their monthly apogees, or most distant points from Earth for the month – are small...
Visible Planets and Night Sky Guide for May 2026
May 1: Full Flower Moon lies between Antares and Spica Start watching Venus and Jupiter! Venus is the brightest planet in Earth’s sky. And Jupiter is the 2nd-brightest. About every 3 to 5 years, these 2 blazing worlds come together in Earth’s sky in a way that’s truly spectacular. They’re gearing up to do that now. Their conjunction will be around June 8 and 9. And, when closest, their distance on our sky’s dome will be roughly the width of your pinky finger held at arm’s length. Start...
Meteor Showers are Here! 10 Easy Tips for Watching
Hooray! It’s meteor time! That’s right, the Lyrid meteor shower rambles across for a few weeks around April 22. So, how can you optimize your chances of seeing a great meteor display? Follow the tips below. 1. Know the peak time Generally, meteor showers happen over many days as Earth encounters a wide stream of icy particles in space. These particles are debris left behind by a comet. So the peak is a point in time when Earth is expected to encounter the greatest number of comet particles....
Meteor Shower Guide 2026: Up Next … the Lyrids (April)
April 2026 meteors … the Lyrids When to watch in 2026: After midnight and through dawn on the morning of April 22. The predicted peak is 19:15 UTC on April 22. The peak of the Lyrids is narrow (no weeks-long stretches of meteor-watching, as with some showers). In 2026, the first quarter moon falls at 2:32 UTC on April 24. So, meteor watching after midnight and before dawn on April 22 will be under a dark and moonless sky. Radiant: Rises before midnight, highest in the sky at dawn. Nearest moon...
Rocket Launches can sometimes be seen in Garrett County. Especially those from Wallops Island.
