We get a total lunar eclipse this week. Jupiter is about to turn around in Gemini. Mercury passes by the sun. Mira is about as bright as it gets. And remember T. Corona Borealis? Why hasn't it brightened up yet?

There's another so-called planetary alignment this week. The moon has its northernmost occultation of the Pleiades. Mars is out of sight while most of the planets are not.

And find out about next week's total lunar eclipse.

Antarctica and the Southern Ocean get an annular eclipse. Mercury's at perihelion and greatest elongation. In a manner of speaking, it's closest to and farthest from the sun at the same time.

Planets have their orbits. But the way we see them going around, they also have synodic periods.

Three naked eye planets can be seen setting in the evening this week, at least in some places. Mire continues to brighten. There's an annular solar eclipse next week. And several animals are following Orion around the sky. Among them is a unicorn.

Jupiter remains in Gemini. Mercury and Venus slowly make their way into the evening. The moon hides Regulus.

And there once was a planet named George. Despite it being a planet, it was called George's Star.

Another of the monthly meetings of the moon and the Pleiades is about to happen. These have been happening every 27 nights or so. Saturn and Jupiter remain out at night. But the other naked eye planets are still clustered with the sun.

What's that by Jupiter? Wasat! It's named for being in the middle of the sky. Sometimes, planets pass right in front of it. Mercury goes through superior conjunction. Mars and Venus remain out of sight, too.

Three naked eye planets are out of sight. You can see them clustered in a planetarium program view. Saturn and Jupiter are still out at night. Try to find Uranus, Neptune, Hebe, and Ceres too. And now's a good time to start looking for the variable star Mira, which has been invisible to the naked eye but should reach peak brightness in less than two months.

Mercury, Venus, and Mars are about to pass around the other side of the sun. Earth is getting farther from the sun. Jupiter and Saturn remain out at night. And find out about the Local Group of galaxies, some of which you can see fairly easily.

Eclipses, oppositions, a famous variable star brightens up, Venus rules the evening, and the closest full moon of the year are among the dozen events of 2026 previewed in this edition.