Key takeaways
- On 26 March the 64%-lit Moon passed just 3.9° from Jupiter, a pairing bright enough to see easily with the naked eye
- The pair sat south-southwest after sunset at 57° altitude, high and unmistakable
- Jupiter shone at magnitude –2.3, making it the brightest 'star' near the Moon
- Binoculars could show Jupiter's four Galilean moons as tiny dots beside the planet
- The pair stayed in the sky until after 2 a.m., so there was no rush and any time that evening would have done
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On the evening of Thursday 26 March 2026, the waxing gibbous Moon glided past Jupiter in the constellation Gemini, the two brightest objects in the evening sky sitting side by side, high above the horizon, perfectly placed for a casual glance or a proper observing session. You didn't need a telescope. You didn't need to stay up late. Stepping outside after sunset, facing south and looking up was all it took.
What Happened on 26 March
A conjunction happens when two celestial objects appear close together in the sky as seen from Earth. On 26 March, the Moon and Jupiter reached their closest apparent separation, just 3.9 degrees apart, at around 12:12 UTC (just after noon in the UK, while both were below the horizon). But that didn't matter: by the time darkness fell that evening, the pair was still sitting comfortably close, with the 64%-illuminated Moon glowing just a few degrees from Jupiter's steady, brilliant light.
Both objects were in the constellation Gemini, the Twins. Jupiter had been camped out there since late 2024, slowly drifting eastward among the stars. That night the Moon passed through on its monthly orbit, creating a temporary but striking visual pairing that would have been obvious to anyone who glanced at the sky.
The Moon sat roughly between Jupiter and the bright star Pollux, one of the two "twin" stars that crown Gemini. It was a beautiful three-way arrangement: the golden Moon, the steady cream-white glow of Jupiter, and the warm orange tint of Pollux, all within a relatively small patch of sky.
When and Where the Pair Was Placed
This was one of those events where the instructions were genuinely simple. Here was the plan for that night:
Time: Any time from about 19:00 GMT (sunset) onwards. The pair was highest and best placed around 19:00–20:00, sitting at roughly 57 degrees above the south-southwestern horizon, which was more than halfway up the sky, well clear of buildings and trees.
Direction: South-southwest. The Moon was the unmistakable bright object. Jupiter was the very bright "star" sitting a few degrees away from it. Nothing else in that part of the sky came close to matching Jupiter's brightness.
Duration: The pair was above the horizon all evening, slowly sinking toward the west-northwest as the hours passed. They didn't set until around 02:14 GMT, so there was absolutely no pressure to catch them early. Even if you didn't get outside until 23:00, they were still well above the horizon in the west.
Weather: This being the UK in March, cloud was always possible. If it was overcast at sunset, the advice was to keep checking, as gaps could open up later in the evening. Even thin high cloud wouldn't hide objects this bright; the Moon and Jupiter would still have shown through a milky veil of cirrus.
What the Naked Eye Could See
With nothing more than your own eyes, here was what the sky offered that night:
The Moon was a fat waxing gibbous, 64% illuminated, more than half-lit but not yet full. The terminator (the shadow line between the lit and dark sides) would have been clearly visible, running roughly down the middle of the disc. With a careful look, dark maria (the "seas") could be picked out on the lit portion, including Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquillitatis, the Sea of Serenity and the Sea of Tranquillity.
Jupiter shone at magnitude –2.3 that night, brighter than any star in the sky. It had a distinctly steady light compared to the stars around it, which twinkled. That's because Jupiter is a disc (a planet), not a point source, so atmospheric turbulence doesn't make it flicker the way stars do. Once you knew to look for it, you would have noticed the difference immediately.
The stars of Gemini framed the scene beautifully. Pollux (magnitude 1.1, slightly orange) sat just 3.3 degrees from the Moon that night. Its twin Castor (magnitude 1.6, white) was a little further north. Below Jupiter lay the fainter stars that form Gemini's body stretching toward the south.
Also nearby were bright Capella in Auriga to the upper right, and the orange-red Betelgeuse in Orion further to the south. On a clear night, the whole scene was framed by some of the finest stars the sky has to offer.
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You could enjoy the Moon-Jupiter pairing with nothing more than your eyes, but even cheap binoculars show the four Galilean moons lined up beside the planet.
Light enough to hold steady one-handed, which is exactly what you need for a quick look at Jupiter's moons before bed.
More magnification pulls Jupiter's moons further apart and gives the Moon's terminator craters real depth. Best rested on a wall or fence post.
Sharper edge-to-edge views made it easier to pick Pollux and Castor out from the glare of the Moon and Jupiter nearby.
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What Binoculars and Telescopes Could Reveal
The Moon and Jupiter were too far apart that night (3.9°) to fit in the same telescope eyepiece, but they would have sat together beautifully in a wide-field binocular view. Here's what each step up in equipment could reveal:
Binoculars (any size, even 8×42): Pointed at Jupiter, they would show tiny pinpoints of light lined up beside the planet. These are Jupiter's four Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. They shift position from night to night (and even hour to hour), so what you saw on 26 March would have looked different on 27 March. Swung across to the Moon, they would have made the craters along the terminator leap out, as the terminator is always the most dramatic part of the Moon to observe because the long shadows make the terrain look three-dimensional.
Small telescope (60–80mm, 50–100× magnification): Jupiter's disc would have been clearly visible, a tiny cream-coloured oval. You could have made out the two main equatorial cloud belts running across the planet as dark stripes. The Galilean moons would have been crisp and obvious. On the Moon, dozens of craters would have been visible along the terminator, with the smooth dark floors of the maria contrasting with the rugged bright highlands.
Larger telescope (150mm+ reflector, 150–200×): Jupiter would really open up. The cloud belts would show internal structure, festoons, barges, and if the timing was right, the Great Red Spot. On 26 March Jupiter's disc spanned about 39 arcseconds, which was still generous enough for good detail. The Moon would have been almost overwhelming. A neutral density filter, or simply reducing magnification, would have helped to take in the broader landscape of mountain ranges, rille valleys, and flooded impact basins.
Why Jupiter Was So Good in March 2026
Jupiter had been one of the highlights of the evening sky all winter, and March 2026 was still a fine month to observe it. Here's why:
High altitude: Jupiter was in Gemini at the time, one of the most northerly zodiac constellations. For UK observers, this meant Jupiter passed almost directly overhead, reaching altitudes above 55 degrees when it transited (crossed due south). High altitude means you're looking through less of Earth's atmosphere, which means sharper views, less atmospheric shimmer, and better contrast on planetary detail.
Still bright: At magnitude –2.3, Jupiter was dimming only slowly as Earth pulled ahead of it in their respective orbits. It had been at opposition the previous autumn, but it remained a commanding presence. Its disc on 26 March spanned 39 arcseconds, smaller than at opposition but still large enough for a telescope to show serious detail.
Galilean moon activity: Jupiter's four large moons are endlessly dynamic. They orbit fast enough that their positions change visibly over a single evening. Occasionally one passes in front of Jupiter (a transit), behind it (an occultation), or through its shadow (an eclipse). These events are fascinating to watch in real time through a telescope, and they happen several times a week.
Jupiter was expected to remain well-placed in the evening sky right through to June, when it was due to reach opposition and be at its absolute best. Our full guide, Observing Jupiter Throughout 2026, has month-by-month detail on what to watch for.
Photographing the Conjunction
The good news was that this conjunction was one of the easiest things in astronomy to photograph. The Moon was extremely bright and Jupiter was unmistakable, so even a phone camera could get a decent result.
Smartphone: The approach was to use Night Mode if the phone had one, and to prop the phone against something solid (a fence post, a wall, a car roof) to keep it steady. Tapping to focus on the Moon, then holding a finger on the screen, locked the exposure. The Moon would show some surface detail and Jupiter would appear as a bright dot nearby. If the phone had a 2× or 3× zoom, it was worth trying, as the results could be surprisingly good.
Camera with a zoom lens (70–200mm or similar): The camera went on a tripod, with manual exposure: ISO 400, f/5.6, and 1/250s was a good starting point for the Moon's surface detail. Jupiter would be overexposed at these settings but would show as a bright companion. For a more balanced shot showing both the Moon's surface and Jupiter's disc, the answer was to take two exposures (one for each) and blend them in post-processing.
Wide-angle scene shot: This was often the most satisfying approach. A wide lens (24–35mm) at ISO 800–1600, f/2.8 or wider, with a 2–4 second exposure on a tripod, made a good setup. Including a foreground, trees, a church spire, a hillside, would capture the Moon and Jupiter together with the stars of Gemini, creating a beautiful scene shot that told the story of the conjunction.
What Was Due Next
The Moon and Jupiter conjunction was a lovely event, but the sky had plenty more in store over the following days:
Venus–Jupiter conjunction (29 March): Three days later, Venus and Jupiter were due to appear close together in the evening sky as Venus continued to climb higher after sunset. Venus is even brighter than Jupiter, so this was set to be a dazzling pairing. The place to look was the western sky after sunset on the evening of Sunday 29 March.
Full Pink Moon (1 April): The Moon continued waxing toward full, reaching 100% illumination on April 1, the first full Moon of spring. It's called the Pink Moon after the early-blooming phlox wildflowers, not because it appears pink (though a rising full Moon near the horizon can take on warm colours from the atmosphere).
Artemis II crewed Moon launch (1 April): In a remarkable coincidence, NASA's Artemis II mission was scheduled to launch on the same day as the full Moon, to send four astronauts on the first crewed flight to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. We planned full coverage on the blog.
If you caught a good view or a great photo of the conjunction, we'd love to see it. Tag us @watchthestarsuk on Instagram.
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Ian ClaytonAmateur astronomer and founder of WatchTheStars.co.uk, dedicated to helping others explore the wonders of our universe. Full profile →
