Sep262026 · UTC
Neptune at Opposition
Neptune lies opposite the Sun, rises near sunset, and is favorably placed for observing.
Your guide to the sky
Planetary Events.
Close encounters on the sky’s stage. Follow conjunctions, oppositions and elongations, and learn what each one means for an evening outside.
Plan ahead
Upcoming planetary events
The next 400 days in the available catalog. Event pages explain local visibility and prediction uncertainty.
Oct42026 · UTC
Saturn at Opposition
Saturn lies opposite the Sun, rises near sunset, and is favorably placed for observing.
Oct122026 · UTC
Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation
Mercury reaches its widest apparent separation from the Sun and is best placed in the evening sky.
Nov162026 · UTC
Mars–Jupiter Conjunction
Mars and Jupiter pass about 1.2° apart.
Nov202026 · UTC
Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation
Mercury reaches its widest apparent separation from the Sun and is best placed in the morning sky.
Nov252026 · UTC
Uranus at Opposition
Uranus lies opposite the Sun, rises near sunset, and is favorably placed for observing.
Jan32027 · UTC
Venus at Greatest Western Elongation
Venus reaches its widest apparent separation from the Sun and is best placed in the morning sky.
Feb32027 · UTC
Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation
Mercury reaches its widest apparent separation from the Sun and is best placed in the evening sky.
Feb112027 · UTC
Jupiter at Opposition
Jupiter lies opposite the Sun, rises near sunset, and is favorably placed for observing.
Feb192027 · UTC
Mars at Opposition
Mars lies opposite the Sun, rises near sunset, and is favorably placed for observing.
Mar172027 · UTC
Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation
Mercury reaches its widest apparent separation from the Sun and is best placed in the morning sky.
Mar312027 · UTC
Mars–Jupiter Conjunction
Mars and Jupiter pass about 4.3° apart.
Apr192027 · UTC
Mercury–Saturn Conjunction
Mercury and Saturn pass about 0.56° apart but lie close to the Sun in our sky.
May72027 · UTC
Venus–Saturn Conjunction
Venus and Saturn pass about 0.61° apart.
May282027 · UTC
Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation
Mercury reaches its widest apparent separation from the Sun and is best placed in the evening sky.
Jul12027 · UTC
Mercury–Venus Conjunction
Mercury and Venus pass about 4.6° apart but lie close to the Sun in our sky.
Jul152027 · UTC
Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation
Mercury reaches its widest apparent separation from the Sun and is best placed in the morning sky.
Aug112027 · UTC
Mercury–Venus Conjunction
Mercury and Venus pass about 0.51° apart but lie close to the Sun in our sky.
Aug192027 · UTC
Mercury–Jupiter Conjunction
Mercury and Jupiter pass about 0.62° apart but lie close to the Sun in our sky.
Aug262027 · UTC
Venus–Jupiter Conjunction
Venus and Jupiter pass about 0.49° apart but lie close to the Sun in our sky.
Sep242027 · UTC
Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation
Mercury reaches its widest apparent separation from the Sun and is best placed in the evening sky.
Sep282027 · UTC
Neptune at Opposition
Neptune lies opposite the Sun, rises near sunset, and is favorably placed for observing.
Oct112027 · UTC
Mercury–Venus Conjunction
Mercury and Venus pass about 3.8° apart.
Catalog refreshed . Dates and predictions come from the catalog used by Forecast Bar, with a source on every event.
Calendar day groupings use UTC. Event times adapt to your device’s time zone when JavaScript is available. Exact local visibility and weather can differ from the global catalog timing.
A little context. A better view.
Planetary Events: a field guide
Conjunctions are apparent meetings
Two objects can look close together from Earth while remaining far apart in space. Angular separation describes their apparent spacing, not their physical distance.
Opposition favors outer planets
An outer planet at opposition lies opposite the Sun in our sky. It is generally well placed during the night; its altitude and your weather still shape the observing opportunity.
Elongation measures distance from the Sun in the sky
Greatest elongation can make Mercury or Venus easier to find in the evening or morning. A low horizon and local twilight conditions are important, even when the separation is large.
A catalog event is not always observable
Some conjunctions occur close to the Sun. The event page preserves that distinction. Never sweep near the Sun with binoculars or a telescope to find a planet.
Learn more: NASA’s guide to observing the planets
Recently in the sky
Past events, preserved for reference.
Aug152026 · UTC
Mercury–Jupiter Conjunction
Mercury and Jupiter pass about 0.55° apart but lie close to the Sun in our sky.
Aug152026 · UTC
Venus at Greatest Eastern Elongation
Venus reaches its widest apparent separation from the Sun and is best placed in the evening sky.
Aug22026 · UTC
Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation
Mercury reaches its widest apparent separation from the Sun and is best placed in the morning sky.
Take the sky with you
From a date on a calendar
to a night worth remembering.
Open the astronomy calendar in Forecast Bar to explore events alongside your local weather and astronomy alert settings.
