The Moon with Jupiter and Mars

57 nights to go

26 December 2026 to 28 December 2026 · Before dawn

The Moon that night: 86% lit. If the sky is clear.

Before breakfast on 27 December 2026 the Moon sits right beside Jupiter, and on 28 December beside Mars, high in the south-west. On 26 December it is on its way, between the two and the west.

In the morning after Christmas, the Moon is next to two planets. One is bright white: Jupiter. One is orange: Mars.

The Moon moves across the sky a little every night, about its own width every hour against the stars. Over three mornings it slides past Jupiter and then Mars, so you can watch it travel. You need no telescope: both planets are easy to see with just your eyes, even from a town with street lights.

The Moon moves about 13° a day against the stars. Astronomy-engine puts it about 3° from Jupiter on the morning of 27 December and about 5° from Mars on the 28th (geocentric). Mars is getting brighter as Earth catches up with it before its opposition in February 2027.

Two bright dots in a black sky, the lower one with tiny dots beside it. — Saturn (top) and Jupiter (bottom, with its moons as tiny dots) from Alexandria, Virginia, 17 December 2020: planets near each other in the evening sky. Photo: NASA/Joel Kowsky (NASA Image and Video Library, public domain).

Where to look

South-west, about five fists up, before dawn. They are also up late in the evening, rising in the east after about 10 pm.

What to do

Before breakfast on 27 December, look south-west and high.
Find the Moon; the very bright point next to it is Jupiter.
Look again on the 28th: the Moon has moved next to Mars, the orange one.

More sky events

“If it's cloudy, don't worry. The planets will still be there tomorrow night.”