Moon Phases
Thursday, March 26, 2026
Waxing Gibbous 55% illuminated
Rise: 11:53 AM
Set: 3:28 AM
Eye on the Night Sky, March 26, 2026
Thursday, March 26, 2026
Today:
As has been shown in the past two nights’ entries, a look to the west-southwest at 9 PM reveals a whole host of bright objects, including the Moon, Jupiter, and 7 of the 12 brightest stars that shine within the northern celestial hemisphere. Turning around and facing east-northeast shows a much sparser picture, with the only representative of the top 12 brightest stars being Arcturus, low in the east.
Friday:
Like Arcturus rising in the east, another lonely denizen of its sector of the sky is Polaris, the North Star. It appears prominent in the north because of its isolattion from any bright neighbors, but is only the 33rd brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. At a distance of 432 light years from Earth, Polaris isn’t actually a single star, but a system comprised of three star that appear as one to the naked eye.
Saturday:
High in the south this evening are two “twin” stars, the Twins of Gemini. The stars of Gemini are the location where the planet Uranus was discovered in March of 1781 by Sir William Herschel. Uranus was last in Gemini between 1950 and 1956. Its 84 year orbit will bring it back here in 2034.
Start Chart:
Total Lunar Eclipse
The Moon passes into the Earth’s shadow early Tuesday morning, March 3rd, 2026.
The Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow late at night on Tuesday, March 3rd, just as twilight increases. By the time the Moon is fully eclipsed, it becomes difficult to see in the brightening twilight, and it sets only 20 minutes after the eclipse is total.
The Earth’s rotation causes the stars, as well as the Moon, to rise in the east and set in the west. The Moon’s orbital motion, however, goes the opposite way, with the Moon actually moving from west to east, but much, much more slowly. This means the Moon’s expected motion, lowering toward the western horizon, comes from the Earth’s rotation. The Moon’s actual orbital motion causes it to move into the Earth’s shadow from lower right to upper left. This explains why the shadow starts on the Moon’s upper left, and progresses to the lower right.
Lunar eclipses aren’t rare, but they are also not frequent. The next Total Lunar Eclipse visible here is in June 2029, followed by another in December of 2029.
This program is a partnership between the Fairbanks Museum and Vermont Public.