This week, as the Moon waxes from its crescent phase and approaches full Moon, it will meet several beautiful objects in the night sky.
Observe the Moon night-after-night this week and you'll see it make close approaches to the planet Jupiter, a beautiful bright star in Taurus and a blue star cluster that's easily visible with the naked eye.
Then over the weekend, there's a chance to see two lunar occultations, when the Moon will appear to pass in front of two different deep-sky objects.
More stargazing
The first lunar occultation occurs in the early hours of Saturday morning, 28 March 2026, as the Moon passes in front of the stars of the famous Beehive Cluster.
Then on Sunday evening just after sunset, there's a chance to see a lunar occultation of Regulus, the brightest star in Leo.
Here we'll reveal where you need to look – and when – every night this week, to take our Moon tour of the night sky.
Full Moon is approaching
New Moon, when the Moon is on the same side of Earth as the Sun, occurred on 18 March 2026.
During the new Moon phase, the Moon isn't visible. But once the new Moon phase has passed, it begins to emerge as a thin crescent in the evening sky.
For fans of the Moon, this is a great time to observe our celestial companion.
During this time, the Moon is waxing from a crescent Moon to its 'first quarter' phase – when the Earth-facing side of the Moon is half-lit – through its gibbous phases and, finally, to full Moon.
What's more, the Moon tracks eastward across the sky from one night to the next, meaning you can often see it cross paths with prominent night-sky objects.
The next full Moon is the Pink Moon, which is visible on 1 April 2026, and this week leading up to full Moon will see it meet multiple beautiful objects in the night sky.
Here's our quick guide to what you can see each night.
- Monday 23 March: The crescent Moon is near the Pleiades open star cluster.
- Tuesday 24 March: The crescent Moon is below blue-white star Elnath in Taurus.
- Wednesday 25 March: A half-lit Moon sits to the right of Jupiter.
- Thursday 26 March: The Moon is now to the left of Jupiter.
- Saturday 28 March: The nearly-full Moon passes in front of the Beehive Cluster.
- Sunday 29 March: The Moon occults star Regulus at sunset
Monday 23 March
On Monday, the crescent Moon is above the Pleiades star cluster in the west after sunset. This is a great chance to get out your binoculars and explore them both.
Below and to the left of the Pleiades, you should be able to see a bright, orange-coloured star. This is Aldebaran, and it's key to spotting another beautiful star cluster, known as the Hyades.
The Hyades looks like a sideways 'V' shape, and is best seen through binoculars or a telescope.
Tuesday 24 March
On Tuesday, the Moon is just below Elnath (Beta Tauri), the brightest star in the constellation Taurus.
The pair will be visible high in the west after sunset. The side of the Moon we see from Earth is now nearly half-lit.
Wednesday 25 March
On Wednesday, the half-lit Moon is in the southwest after sunset. To its left, you'll see a bright 'star', which is actually Jupiter, the brightest and best planet to see in the night sky at the moment.
This is another good chance to get out your binoculars and explore both the Moon and Jupiter.
If you've got a telescope, see if you can spot the lunar X and the lunar V on the surface.
These are clair-obscur effects visible caused by the play of light and shadow on the Moon's rugged terrain. They really do look like an X and a V!
Find out more in our guide on how to see the lunar X and V.
Thursday 26 March
By Thursday, the Moon is now entering its gibbous phases, which means it's more-than-half-lit. Full Moon is approaching!
The gibbous Moon is now to the left of Jupiter, sitting between the planet and Castor and Pollux, the twin stars of Gemini, which are easily seen with the naked eye under clear, dark skies.
Friday 26 March/Saturday 27 March
On Friday night, the Moon is nearly full and now even farther from Jupiter. But if you can stay with it until the early hours of Saturday morning, you'll be able to see a rare lunar occultation as the Moon passes in front of the Beehive Cluster.
You'll need binoculars or a telescope and a clear western horizon to see the event, and a good stargazing app will help you locate the star cluster.
Sunday 29 March
Tonight the Moon is very close to and just below Regulus, the brightest star in Leo.
In fact, if you can catch them early enough, this is another lunar occultation, when the Moon will pass in front of Regulus.
The beginning of the lunar occultation occurs just before sunset, so by the time the Sun has set, Regulus will already be behind the Moon.
That means if you observe the nearly-full Moon with binoculars as soon as the Sun has set, you'll see star Regulus popping out from the top of the Moon!
This is a great event to round off a week of Moonwatching.
After this week, the Earth-facing side of the Moon will become more illuminated, night-after-night, until it reaches full Moon on 1 April.
This will be the Pink Moon, the fourth full Moon of the year.
If you observe or photograph the Moon this week, share your observations and images with us by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
