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Whether you’re planning to stay up all night or just want to catch a few highlights before bed, it’s a great night for deep-sky observing.
The Orion Nebula (M42) is one of more that 100 entries in Charles Messier’s list of deep-sky fuzzies. This weekend, dedicated observers can try for them all. Credit: Giuseppe Donatiello (Flickr, CC0)
Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.
March 20: The Moon passes Venus on the vernal equinox
This is the ideal night to run the 2026 Messier marathon. This annual event challenges observers to view every object in Charles Messier’s catalog in a single night, from sundown to sunup. According to the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) website, the full catalog of 109 objects (Astronomy magazine does not include M110) can be attempted by observers between 7 and 35 degrees north. Those limits are set by the visibility of M30, a globular cluster in Capricornus that rises not long before the Sun.
But even if you’re an inexperienced observer or unable to take the whole night, you can still enjoy some of the best Messier has to offer. Early in the evening, one of the most famous entries in the catalog, the Orion Nebula, is visible above the southwestern horizon. Cataloged as M42, this huge, bright star-forming nebula is visible to the naked eye, below the easternmost (leftmost) star in Orion’s Belt. Spanning roughly 85’ by 60’, the nebula glows at magnitude 4.0 and is a favorite in any telescope. Take your time examining its intricate structure, and look especially for the Trapezium Cluster of young, hot stars at its center.
Sunrise: 7:02 A.M.
Sunset: 7:13 P.M.
Moonrise: 8:06 A.M.
Moonset: 10:48 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (12%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.