Observations of the Sun, the Moon, and Planets 2026
Observation Overview | Special Events | References
In progress
It was not until 2018 that I began to observe the moon a little more in detail and to document my "more important" observations. On this page, I collect, somewhat unsystematically, my observations of the moon, the sun, and the planets from 2026, which might be of interest to others and are therefore described here.
Note: Older observations are listed on the "Astronomy" overview page. The same applies to deep sky and comet observations ("incidental" DSO observations are mentioned here).
Observation Overview
| Date 2026 |
Objects Observed | Location | Devices Used | Eyepieces, Cameras, and More Used | Remarks | Further Remarks |
| Jan 22 | Moon | MH | Dwarf mini | Observed the crescent of the moon at about 5 p.m.. Observed 3x with 50, and once with 38 and 20 subs, which were stacked automatically. One result was post-processed in Stellar Studio, one manually. All in all, I was not content with the results, because the resolution seems too low... | Crescent of the moon | |
| Jan 23 | Moon | MH | Dwarf mini | Observed the crescent of the moon at about 8 p.m.. Observed 2x with 20, and once with 50 subs, which were stacked automatically. All observations were post-processed in Stellar Studio. All in all, the quality appeared a little better to me.. | Crescent of the moon | |
| Jan 24 | Moon | MH | Dwarf mini | Observed the crescent of the moon at about 6:15 p.m... Observed once with 20, and once with 50 subs, which were stacked automatically. All observations were post-processed in Stellar Studio. | Crescent of the moon clearly thicker... | |
| Feb 5 | Sun | MH | Dwarf mini | Observed the sun after 2:50 p.m. Observed 4x with 20 subs, which were stacked automatically and post-processed in Stellar Studio. | Quite a few sun spots |
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| Feb 25 | Sun, Moon | MH | Dwarf mini, Vespera Pro | Sony RX10 M4 | DM: Observed the sun at 3:20 p.m. just once with 20 subs; post-processed in Stellar Studio. |
Just one sun spot; a little more than half moon |
| Feb 26 | Moon | MH | Dwarf mini, Vespera Pro | DM: Observed the even further half moon at about 7 p.m. Observed 2x with 20 subs, which were stacked automatically and post-processed in Stellar Studio. |
More than half moon | |
| Feb 27 | Moon | MH | Dwarf mini | Observed the moon just after the Golden Handle at about 9:30 p.m.. Observed 3x with 20 subs, which were stacked automatically and post-processed in Stellar Studio. | A little beyond the Golden Handle | |
| Mar 1 | Sun | MH | Dwarf mini | Observed the sun at about 4:30 p.m. Observed 4x with 20 subs, which were stacked automatically and post-processed in Stellar Studio. | A few sun spots |
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| Mar 2 | Sun, Moon | MH | Dwarf mini | Observed the sun at about 3:20 p.m. Observed 3x with 20 subs, which were stacked automatically and post-processed in Stellar Studio. Observed the nearly full moon after 9:45 p.m.. Observed 3x with 20 subs, which were stacked automaticallyand post-processed in Stellar Studio. |
Some more sun spots; nearly full moon (99%) |
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| Apr 19 | Moon, Venus, Pleiades | MH | Sony RX10 M4 | Crescent of the moon close to the Pleiades; Venus below the moon |
Learnt only later that the moon was close to the Peiades... | |
| Apr 22 | Moon, Jupiter | MH | Sony RX10 M4 | Jupiter between 5° and 3° close to the moon | ||
| May 18 | Crescent of the Moon, Jupiter, Venus, Alnath | MH | Sony RX10 M4 | "Parade" of Jupiter (near Gemini), Venus, Crescent of the Moon, and Alnath (Auriga) observed and photographed. | Announced in the book "KOSMOS Himmelsjahr 2026" | |
| Jun 16 | Crescent of the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury | MH | LT25 | Observed a "parade" of Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, and Crescent of the Moon (near Mercury). Sometimes we were able to see all 4 objects (ever changing clouds...). | Observed between 10 and 10:30 p.m. See sketch below. | |
| Jun 17 | Crescent of the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, (Mercury) | MH | LT25 | Sony RX10 M4 | Observed a "parade" of Venus, Crescent of the Moon (near Venus), and Jupiter; Mercury was too low to be visible (dark clouds at the horizon). Moon has moved from Mercury (16) to Venus (17). | Observed between 10 and 11:30 p.m. See sketch below. |
| Jun 18 | Crescent of the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury | MH | LT25 | Observed a "parade" of Crescent of the Moon, Venus (near M 44), Jupiter, and Mercury. | Observed between 10 and 11:30 p.m. See sketch below. |
All observations done in Mühlhausen/Kraichgau (MH), except for where noted otherwise; Erk = Erkerode/Germany.
Special Events
January 22, 2026: Crescent of the Moon (Dwarf mini)
Crescent of the Moon: Top row 50 subs stacked, right photo post-processed with Stellar Studio; bottom row 20 subs stacked, right photo made brighter manually (Adobe PSE).
January 23, 2026: Crescent of the Moon (Dwarf mini)
Crescent of the Moon: Top row 50 subs stacked, bottom row 20; right photos post-processed with Stellar Studio
January 24, 2026: Crescent of the Moon now Clearly Thicker (Dwarf mini)
Crescent of the Moon: Top row 50 subs stacked, bottom row 20; right photos post-processed with Stellar Studio
February 5, 2026: Sun Spots (Dwarf mini)
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Screenshot of the app when obserbing the sun |
Comparison photo (The Sky Live) |
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Image of the sun as delivered by the telescope, 4th series, section |
Ditto, post-processed with Stellar Studio |
February 25, 2026: Sun Spot (Dwarf mini)
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20 subs stacked |
Ditto, post-processed with Stellar Studio |
February 25, 2026: A little more than Half Moon
Dwarf mini
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20 subs stacked |
ditto, post-processed with Stellar Studio |
Vespera Pro
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Single shot |
ditto, post-processed and denoised |
Sony RX10 M4
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Moon unprocessed |
ditto, post-processed |
February 26, 2026: Beyond Half Moon
Dwarf mini
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20 Fotos stacked |
ditto, post-processed with Stellar Studio |
Vespera Pro
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Single shot |
ditto, post-processed and denoised |
February 27, 2026: A little Beyond the Golden Handle (Dwarf mini)
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20 Fotos stacked |
ditto, post-processed with Stellar Studio |
March 1, 2026: Sun Spots (Dwarf mini)
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20 subs stacked |
Ditto, post-processed with Stellar Studio |
March 2, 2026: Sun Spots (Dwarf mini)
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20 subs stacked |
Ditto, post-processed with Stellar Studio |
March 2, 2026: Nearly Full Moon (Dwarf mini)
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20 subs stacked |
Ditto, post-processed with Stellar Studio |
April 19, 2026: Moon close to the Pleiades, Venus (Sony RX10 M4)
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Moon, 3 stars of the Pleiades, and Venus (image made brighter) |
Moon and Venus (Pleiades too faint...) |
April 22, 2026: Moon close to Jupiter (Sony RX10 M4)
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Jupiter east of the moon (4°) |
Jupiter east of the moon, half an hour later (4°) |
May 18, 2026: Parade of Jupiter, Venus, Crescent of the Moon and Alnath (Auriga) (Sony RX10 M4)
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Venus, Moon, and Alnath |
Jupiter, Venus, Moon, and Alnath |
June 16, 2026: Parade of Venus, Jupiter, Mercury and Crescent of the Moon (near Mercury)
Positions at about 10:30 p.m.
June 17, 2026: Parade of Venus, Crescent of the Moon (near Venus), Jupiter, (and invisible Mercury) (Sony RX10 M4)
Positions at about 10:30 p.m.
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Venus and Crescent of the Moon at about 10:30 p.m. |
Venus and Crescent of the Moon at about 10:30 p.m., exposed shorter |
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| Venus and Crescent of the Moon at about 11:30 p.m. shortly before setting |
June 18, 2026: Parade of Crescent of the Moon, Venus (near M 44), Jupiter, and Mercury
Positions at about 10:30 p.m.
References
Links
- Mond (Wikipedia): de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mond
- Moon (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon
- Virtual Moon Atlas: ap-i.net/avl/en/start
Books (in German)
- Lambert Spix (2013, 3. Auflage). moonscout - Mondmeere, Krater und Gebirge einfach finden und beobachten. Oculum-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938469-58-3
- Lambert Spix & Frank Gasparini (2011, 1. Auflage). Der Moonhopper. Oculum-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938469-54-5
- Ronald Stoyan, Hans-Georg Purucker (2013, 1. Auflage). Reiseatlas Mond. Oculum-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938469-64-4
- Robin Scagell (2016). 101 Himmelsobjekte, die man gesehen haben muss. Kosmos Verlag (out of print).
On this Website
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made by  on a mac! |
| 18.06.2026 |  |