After several years of record-breaking short days, Earth’s spell of unusually rapid rotation may have peaked, with the shortest day of 2026 set to occur on July 26.
Everything you need to know about July’s full moon, including when it turns full, the best evening to see it rise and how it sets the stage for a total solar eclipse.
With the total solar eclipse taking place so close to sunset on Aug. 12, eclipse chasers in the path in Spain could find their view blocked by mountains and buildings.
On July 22, 2028, a spectacular total solar eclipse will unfold above one of the world’s most famous skylines, plunging Sydney, Australia, into darkness during the day.
Europe’s total solar eclipse on Aug. 12 will see totality in Spain and Iceland and a deep partial eclipse in the rest of the continent, as Perseid meteors peak.
Each Monday, I pick out North America’s celestial highlights for the week ahead (which also apply to mid-northern latitudes in the northern hemisphere).
In 1,000 days, on April 13, 2029, the near-Earth asteroid Apophis will make one of the closest flybys of a large asteroid ever predicted with certainty.
On Friday, July 17, 2026, a 17%-lit waxing crescent moon will shine just to the left of Venus in the west after dark.
The Perseid meteor shower begins today, with a moonless August peak expected to produce up to 100 meteors an hour under ideal dark-sky conditions.
A new moon on July 14 starts the countdown to the August 12 total solar eclipse, while the first waxing crescent and the opening of the Perseid meteor shower follow.