Night Sky Highlights for April-June 2026
By Jim Mazur
Solar System
Mercury
There will be a good opportunity to view Mercury in the west after sunset during much of June. It will be farthest from the Sun (as viewed from Earth) on June 15, but it should be fairly easy to see for more than a week before and after if you have a good view of the western horizon. It will make a nice grouping with Venus, Jupiter, and the crescent Moon on June 16.
Venus
Throughout the spring, Venus will be the brightest object in the night sky other than the Moon, shining around magnitude -4 in the west after sunset.
Mars
Mars will be close to the Sun in April, but by May and June it will start to appear in the eastern sky before dawn. It will be far from Earth and its disk will be very small, just over 4″ in diameter.
Jupiter
Jupiter will continue to be well placed for evening observing during April and May, but in June it will be getting lower in the west after sunset. Bright Venus will be nearby throughout June, and on June 9 the two planets will be just 1.6 degrees apart.
Saturn
Through April, Saturn will be very hard to spot in the early morning twilight. It gets progressively higher in the eastern sky during the pre-dawn hours of May and June. After a couple of years when its rings appeared nearly edge-on to us, they will start to open up a little more now.
Uranus
Throughout the spring, Uranus will be too close to the Sun to observe well.
Neptune
Neptune is close to Saturn, and like Saturn it will begin to appear in the east before dawn as the spring progresses. A finder chart for Neptune is available here: https://theskylive.com/neptune-info
Deep Sky Objects
The spring sky is full of galaxies that can be observed through typical amateur telescopes, and they often come in groups of two or more. Listed below are pairs, triplets, or quartets of galaxies that can be seen in the same 1-degree field of view, a typical low-power field in many telescopes. Once the galaxies are located, higher magnification can be used to darken the sky background and bring out more details in these distant island universes. These groups are also good targets for astrophotographers.
Messier 59 and 60, and NGC 4647, Virgo
M59 is an oblong elliptical, M60 is rounder, and NGC 4647 is a face-on spiral galaxy very close to M60. Star-hop chart
Messier 84 and 86, Virgo
Two 9th magnitude elliptical galaxies, about 1/4 degree apart. Star-hop chart
Messier 89 and 90, Virgo
M89 is an oblong spiral galaxy, and M90 is a small elliptical (basically round), 2/3 degrees to the north-north-east. Star-hop chart
NGC 3185, 3187, 3190, and 3193 (Gamma Leonis Galaxy Group), Leo
Four galaxies within a 1/2-degree circle; NGC 3187 is the dimmest and most difficult to see. Star-hop chart
NGC 4038 and 4039 (Caldwell 60 and 61, Antennae Galaxies), Corvus
A pair of interacting galaxies making a rough “C” shape, also know as the Ring-Tail Galaxy. Star-hop chart
NGC 4567 and 4568 (Butterfly Galaxies), Virgo
Two interacting spiral galaxies, both about magnitude 11, resembling a butterfly’s wings. Star-hop chart
NGC 4435 and 4438 (The Eyes), Virgo
A pair of galaxies resembling two eyes, part of Markarian’s chain of galaxies. Star-hop chart