This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, June 26, 2026
Information updated weekly or as needed.
Times given as local St. Louis time this week will be in Central Daylight Time (CDT). For definitions of terminology used in the night sky update, click the highlighted text. If relying on times posted in Universal Time (UT), St. Louis is -5 hours when CDT. Times posted in the Night Sky Update are in the 24-hour format.
Join us for our next star party, Friday, August 7, 2026, held in association with the St. Louis Astronomical Society. For details, see the information at the bottom of this page or visit https://www.slsc.org/explore/mcdonnell-planetarium/public-telescope-viewings/
Observing Highlight
Messier 57 or the Ring Nebula can be seen in this image captured on June 14, 2026. The colors seen in the nebula are produced by material ejected by the star being ionized. The deep blue comes from helium; the light blue is from oxygen and hydrogen and finally the reddish orange colors are from nitrogen and sulfur. Image credit: Chris Hanson
If you are new to telescopes and have been intrigued by deep sky observing, summer offers several great targets that are impressive in the eyepiece and are reasonably easy to find. One of the best examples is the planetary nebula Messier 57 in Lyra.
Planetary nebula are the result of red giant stars shedding off their outer layers as they evolve into their final stage which is a white dwarf. Stars with a mass between 80% of the Sun and 8 times the mass of the Sun will not explode. Instead, they will shed off their outer layers exposing their remnant core as it becomes a white dwarf star. There simply is not enough mass for the star’s core to continue collapsing. Once a star reaches the white dwarf stage, most of its radiation is emitted as thermal radiation; a process that will last for several trillion years.
The radiation emitted by these white dwarfs is high enough that it can ionize the clouds of material shed of by the dying star producing a planetary nebula. Colors seen in these nebulae are indicative of the elements present. Elements such as helium, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are often detected in these colorful displays.
Messier 57 (M57) is located in the constellation Lyra the Harp about 2000 light years away. At magnitude 8.8, M57 is an easy target for most telescopes. I have found it using an 80mm refractor, however, details were not easily seen in that small of a telescope. M57 appears only 58.8 x 84 arc seconds in size making it a small target. You will need to use a moderate sized telescope to start seeing the ring shaped features the nebula is known for.
To find M57, locate the Summer Triangle. This famous asterism will be high in the east by 10 pm containing the bright stars Vega, Altair and Deneb. The constellation Lyra contains the star Vega representing the northwest corner of the triangle. If you can locate Vega, you will find a small parallelogram shape made up of the stars delta, zeta, beta and gamma Lyrae. The last two stars named above are also known as Sheliak and Sulafat, it is between these stars you will find Messier 57 the Ring Nebula.
If you are observing from a light polluted location, this is still an easy deep sky target due to its bright magnitude of 8.8 and its small appearance. The Moon will be an issue this week as it reaches full moon on June 29, but the nebula should still be visible. If tracking down M57 is of interest, you might also try Messier 27 or what many call the Dumbbell Nebula. Its magnitude is 7.5 but it also appears larger than M57 so that magnitude will be spread across a larger surface area. It is located in the constellation Vulpecula.
T CrB Nova Update 6/27/2026
If you are still interested in seeing the recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis, there is still hope. The nova has not yet occurred meaning we are in a waiting game. If you are still interested, the part of the sky the nova will appear overhead by the time it is dark. The star system T Coronae Borealis is found in the constellation Corona Borealis which looks like a small U-shape of stars next to the constellation Boötes. If you cannot observe the sky directly, you can track the behavior of T CrB by checking current magnitude estimates posted at AAVSO here or by visiting spaceweather.com. Current magnitude estimates of the system show it at 10th magnitude.
The Sun and Moon
Sun
Sunrise on Friday, June 26 is at 5:38 and sunset is at 20:29 providing nearly 15 hours of daylight. Even after sunset, light from the Sun will dimly illuminate our sky for about 2 hours. This period is called twilight, which ends around 22:27 this week. For those with a sundial, local noon occurs around 13:04 on June 26, 2026.
| Day | Sunrise (CDT) | Sunset (CDT) |
| 26-June | 5:38 | 20:29 |
| 27-June | 5:38 | 20:29 |
| 28-June | 5:39 | 20:29 |
| 29-June | 5:39 | 20:29 |
| 30-June | 5:40 | 20:29 |
| 01-July | 5:40 | 20:29 |
| 02-July | 5:40 | 20:29 |
| 03-July | 5:41 | 20:29 |
| 04-July | 5:42 | 20:29 |
Moon
Moonrise for Friday, June 26, is at 18:07 and moonset occurs at 03:21 the following day. On June 26, 2026, the Moon will exhibit a waxing gibbous phase with 91% disk illumination. By July 04, 2026, the Moon will exhibit a waning gibbous phase with 79% disk illumination. Full moon occurs on June 29, 2026, at 18:57.
International Space Station (ISS) Observing
Visible passes of ISS from St. Louis for the week of June 26 occur during morning hours. By the end of the week, late evening passes begin. The best of these occur on June 28 and July 4. You can find information about these and other satellite passes at https://heavens-above.com. If you are not viewing from the St. Louis area, make sure to change your viewing location for your local times.
Visible Planets
View looking west on June 26, 2026, at 21:00. Image created using Stellarium
View looking east on June 27, 2026, at 04:30. Image created using Stellarium
Four naked eye planets will be visible this week. Venus and Jupiter will be found in the west about 30 minutes after sunset. Saturn and Mars are visible in the east before sunrise.
Venus
Venus is visible in the west after sunset. Venus will reach maximum eastern elongation on August 15, 2026. Its current evening apparition will continue until October as it approach inferior conjunction on October 23, 2026. Venus sets by 22:54.
Mars
Mars rises around 03:19 this week clearing the 10° mark by 04:14. By 05:00, Mars can be found about 18.5° above the eastern horizon. This apparition of Mars is not the best as it is an aphelic apparition. ALPO’s guide for the Mars 2026-2027 aphelic apparition shows October 14, 2026, as the beginning of the apparition for those using telescopes between 4 and 8 inches. This is the time frame in which most observers can start seeing the surface of Mars through their telescope. Mars reaches opposition on February 19, 2027.
Jupiter
Jupiter is now becoming difficult to find if you have trees or buildings to your west. About 30 minutes after sunset, Jupiter will only be 11° above the horizon. Jupiter’s current apparition is ending as it heads towards superior conjunction on July 29, 2026. Jupiter set around 21:56 this week.
Saturn
Saturn can be found rising in the east around 01:23 clearing the 10° mark by 02:20. Saturn will continue to rise earlier each week until it reaches opposition on October 4, 2026.
Our next Star Party will be held on Friday, August 7, 2026 from 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm.
On the first Friday of each month, the St. Louis Astronomical Society and the Saint Louis Science Center will set up a number of telescopes outdoors and be on hand to answer your questions. Telescope viewing begins once it is dark.
The St. Louis Astronomical Society helps host the monthly Star Parties at the Saint Louis Science Center. In addition to our nighttime viewings, they also help facilitate our daytime event called Solar Sundays. These daytime viewing sessions occur every Sunday through Labor Day. After Labor Day they occur on the 3rd Sunday each month. Visit SLAS’s website linked above to learn about other telescope events SLAS hosts around the St. Louis area.
James S. McDonnell Planetarium
Night Sky Update for June 26, 2026
Subjects
