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10 must-shoot events for astrophotographers in 2026

January 5, 2026

Digital Camera World

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10 must-shoot events for astrophotographers in 2026

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After a thrilling 2025 filled with spectacular auroras, planet parades and two bright comets, astrophotographers have much to look forward to in 2026.

In the year ahead, expect another total solar eclipse — this time over Europe — the final “blood moon” for a few years, an unusual partial lunar eclipse, some enticing planetary conjunctions and plenty of landmark meteor showers peaking under dark, moonless skies.

Whether you’re a seasoned astrophotographer or just getting started, here are the 10 biggest astrophotography opportunities to circle on your calendar in 2026.

1) January 10 (and October 4): Gas giants at opposition

Jupiter. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Ricardo Hueso (UPV), Imke de Pater (UC Berkeley), Thierry Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Michael Wong (UC Berkeley), Joseph DePasquale (STScI)) — Saturn and Jupiter shine at their brightest when opposite the sun. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Ricardo Hueso (UPV), Imke de Pater (UC Berkeley), Thierry Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Michael Wong (UC Berkeley), Joseph DePasquale (STScI)))

Planetary cameras at the ready! For astrophotographers focused on the solar system’s two brightest and most imaging-friendly planets, the bright oppositions of Saturn and Jupiter should be double-underlined in any calendar. Jupiter will open 2026 looking its best (great timing for anyone lucky enough to be gifted astrophotography gear during the festive season), with Saturn following in October.

2) March 3: Total lunar eclipse

Total lunar eclipse — A total lunar eclipse will turn the moon red for nearly an hour. (Image credit: Gettty images)

Here comes the third total lunar eclipse in three eclipse seasons — after two in 2025 — and the last until 2029. Astrophotographers in western North America, Australia, New Zealand, East Asia, and the Pacific will see the moon turn reddish for 58 minutes.

3) June 9 — Venus and Jupiter in conjunction

Conjunction of Venus & Jupiter — Venus and Jupiter will appear close together after sunset. (Image credit: Getty Images)

One of the most beautiful planetary conjunctions of 2026 will see Venus, as the bright “Evening Star,” shine less than two degrees from tiny planet Jupiter. The pair will be visible in the west just after sunset, close to the stars Pollux and Castor in the constellation Gemini, with the tiny planet Mercury visible below.

4) June 19 — Venus and the Beehive Cluster

The Beehive Cluster — Venus will pass through the Beehive Cluster in a rare sky event (Image credit: Getty Images)

Be outside with your camera and/or telescope facing east on June 19, 2026, to see a lovely “planet parade” of Venus, Jupiter and Mercury above the northwest horizon. Look more closely at Venus and you’ll see it surrounded by a dense concentration of stars — M44, better known as the Beehive Cluster and Praesepe, one of the most beautiful open clusters of stars in the night sky. The cluster will also be visited by the moon on September 8, 2026, and by Mars on October 11, 2026.

5) August 12 — Total solar eclipse

A time-sequence composite of the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse. In this case, time runs from left to right, from the last filtered partial phases I shot, through unfiltered shots of the rapidly changing last glimmer of sunlight disappearing behind the advancing Moon at Second Contact, forming Bailyâ€™s Beads, to totality at centre. The sequence continues at right with the Sun emerging from behind the Moon in a rapid sequence at Third Contact, followed by two post-totality filtered partials to bookend the total eclipse images. The C3 limb had a beautiful array of pink prominences. The Contact 2 and 3 images were taken in rapid-fire continuous mode and so are only fractions of a second apart in real time. Most are 1/4000th second exposures. The totality image is a blend of 7 exposures, from 1/1600 second to 1/15 second to preserve detail in the corona from inner to middle corona. These were aligned, and merged into a smart object and blended with a Mean combine stack mode. The partials are 1/2500-second exposures through a Thousand Oaks metal-on-glass solar filter for the yellow colour. The placement of the frames here only roughly matches the actual position and motion of the Sun across the sky during the time around totality. Partials and C2 and C3 images layered into Photoshop and blended into the background totality image with a Lighten blend mode, and masked to reveal just the wanted bits of each arc. The site was north of Driggs, Idaho in the Teton Valley, north of the centreline. Thus the diamond rings are above the centre of the Moon's disk. — A rare total solar eclipse will be visible from parts of Europe and the Arctic. (Image credit: Alan Dyer / Stocktrek Images / Alamy )

After a 26-year wait, European astrophotographers and eclipse chasers finally get a chance to see nature’s greatest sight on their own continent. While the U.K. will see an enormous partial solar eclipse — peaking at 96% in the Scilly Isles (and 91% in London) — the only good places to be will be on a cruise ship, eastern Greenland, on the west coast of Iceland (including the capital, Reykjavik) and northern Spain to witness an exquisite totality. For the latter, sightlines will be tricky because totality will occur just before sunset. Maximum totality will be 2 minutes 18 seconds near Iceland.

Check out how to prepare for the 2026 solar eclipse.

6) August 12-13 — Perseid meteor shower

Perseid meteor shower — The Perseids will deliver a dazzling meteor display after the eclipse. (Image credit: Getty Images)

For some, August 12, 2026, will feature a unique astrophotography double header, with the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower occurring the night after a solar eclipse. Expect about 60 meteors per hour in the early hours of August 13.

7) August 28 — Partial lunar eclipse

Partial Lunar (moon) Eclipse, March 4th 2007 — A deep partial lunar eclipse will dim most of the moon’s surface in August (Image credit: Getty Images)

Most lunar eclipses aren’t total, but it’s rare for the moon to only partly enter Earth’s central shadow in space. That’s exactly what happens on August 28, 2026, when about 96% of the lunar surface will turn slightly reddish from North America, South America, parts of Europe and Africa. Is it a “blood moon?” Technically, it won’t be, but it’s as close as anyone will get until New Year’s Eve 2028.

8) October 5 and November 16: Mars in close conjunctions

France. Seine et Marne. Nice view of the conjunction between the crescent Moon and the planet Mars (on the right). Image taken on march the 19th 2021. — Mars will pair closely with the moon and Jupiter in two stunning dawn events (Image credit: Getty Images)

The red planet will rise in the northeast in the early hours of October 5, 2026, with the 30% waning crescent moon less than a degree away. They’ll be visible in the southeast just before sunrise, with Jupiter shining brightly below. A similar positioning and timing will occur six weeks later, on November 16, 2026, when Mars and Jupiter will be just over a degree apart, with the bright star Regulus positioned just below.

9) December 13-14: Geminid meteor shower

A composite showing the 2017 Geminid meteors streaking from the radiant point in Gemini at upper left, above the blue-white star Castor. 2 or 3 meteors are not Geminids as their paths do not project back to the radiant, but I have left them in regardless, as an illustration. This also illustrates how the meteor paths are shorter closer to the radiant and lengthen away from the radiant. Orion and its red nebulas are at right. The Beehive star cluster, M44, is at lower left. Sirius is the bright star at lower right. Taken December 13/14, 2017 during the very active 2017 Geminid meteor shower. — (Image credit: Getty Images)

It gets left off a lot of Northern Hemisphere astrophotographers’ calendars because of low temperatures and a higher chance of cloud. Still, it’s worth knowing that the Geminid meteor shower is, technically, the most prolific display of “shooting stars” of any year. In 2026, the peak occurs on a moonless night.

10) December 24 — A Christmas Eve supermoon for the ages

The waning Hunter's Moon is eclipsed by the ancient silhouette of St Michael's Tower atop Glastonbury Tor in Somerset. Distant figures are also in silhouette. The distance of a mile and perspective of an 800mm telephoto lens give this foreshortening effect. No image manipulation, straight shot — (Image credit: Getty Images)

The supermoon on December 24, 2026, will be the closest and largest full moon since 2019, coming just 221,668 miles (356,740 km) from Earth. Appearing brighter and slightly bigger than usual, imaging it as it rises in the east on Christmas Eve will prove a fitting finale to 2026’s skywatching calendar.

Author: Jamie Carter
Source: DigitalCameraWorld
Reviewed By: Editorial Team

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