Category: Moon - My Stardust Observatory

~ Full Moon on the 29th July 2026 also known as Full Buck Moon ~

7/30/2026

There are some funny names for the full Moon each month, this month it’s called a Buck Moon again so named for the northern hemisphere and its folklore.

We here in Australia in the southern hemisphere as far as I know do not name our full Moons but it would be fun to give them some names…right now it’s very cold so this full moon could be called the Cold or Snow Moon or Flower Moon because all the eucalyptus trees are in flower and the parrots are having a feast of nectar :-D

July: Buck Moon
Male deer, which shed their antlers every year, begin to regrow them in July, hence the Native American name for July's full moon. Some refer to this moon as the thunder moon, due to the summer storms in this month. Other names include the hay moon, after the July hay harvest.

Information taken from Royal Museums Greenwich website at:
https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/space-astronomy/what-are-names-full-moons-throughout-year

Full Moon image taken with a Seestar S50 telescope, the wide field image was taken with a Canon 70D camera and Tamron 28-400mm lens; exposure time was 1/60th second ISO200.

~ Waxing crescent Moon above Venus & Jupiter on 18th June 2026 ~

6/18/2026

The waxing crescent Moon is now above Venus in the evening sky with Jupiter below Venus, Mercury is lower down but cannot be seen because of thick cloud.

Hopefully it will clear in the next couple of days so I can get another shot of capturing Mercury with the other planets. It’s been really exciting watching the dance of the planets on the ecliptic the Moon joining them was an extra treat :-D

Images were taken with a Canon 70D camera and Tamron 28-400mm lens on a tripod; both images were taken with an 8 second exposure and ISO 200.

~ Celestial display as crescent Moon joins Venus, Jupiter and Mercury on 17th June 2026 ~

6/17/2026

Crescent Moon Joins Planets

Oh my, how pretty it was this evening with the crescent Moon joining Venus, Jupiter and Mercury for a stunning celestial display in the western sky. The beautiful pink and purple colours of the sky after sunset just added another special magic to this wonderful event :- )

Images were taken with a Canon 70D camera and Tamron 28-400mm lens on a tripod; exposure times were 8 seconds and ISO200.

‘Once in a Blue Moon’ 2nd Full Moon in month of May 31st May 2026 ~

6/1/2026

This is the second full Moon in the month of May, the first being on the 2nd May and now this full Moon on the 31st May 2026. Two full Moons in a calendar month now is commonly known as a ‘Blue Moon’ or once in a blue Moon because it doesn’t happen that often, perhaps only once every two to three years.

This Moon is also an Apogee Moon or micro moon because it’s further away from us in its orbit about the Earth.

I’ve also made a mineral Moon by adding some saturation so it shows the different colours of the minerals on the surface of the Moon.

Image taken with a Seestar S50 telescope capturing a RAW movie file and stacking within the unit, then processed in PS.

~ Twilight sky with Venus, crescent Moon & Jupiter on 20th May 2026 ~

5/20/2026

~ Venus, Jupiter & Crescent Moon ~

It’s always so beautiful to see the Moon and planets together in a twilight coloured sky, this conjunction with the crescent Moon and Venus, then with the planet Jupiter has just been lovely to view over the last couple of nights.

The Orion constellation is now going down in the western sky, the Moon and Jupiter are both in the constellation of Gemini.

My images were taken with a Canon 70D camera with a 28-400mm Tamron lens attached to a tripod.

~ Conjunction of Venus & crescent Moon in evening sky 19th May 2026 ~

5/19/2026

~ Venus & Moon Conjunction ~

After so many days of heavy rain the sky cleared enough to view this beautiful conjunction of Venus with a new 2-day-old crescent Moon in the early evening sky :- )

My images were taken with a Canon 70D camera and 28-400mm Tamron lens attached on a tripod.

~ Full Flower Moon on the 2nd May 2026 ~

5/2/2026

~ Full Flower Moon on the 2nd May 2026 ~

In Remembrance of my dear Mother 1937 to 2026
~ Forever loved ~

My dear precious mother has passed away and this beautiful full Moon in the month of May is called the Flower Moon, I dedicate this picture of the Moon to my loving mother, love you forever Xxx

~ Close encounter of Venus & new crescent Moon on 19th April 2026 ~

4/20/2026

I only just got this image of the thin 2-day-old crescent Moon and Venus with the pretty sunset colours in the western sky. I was out on the footpath with my camera and tripod taking these images and showing all the people who were walking their dogs :-D

My images were taken with a Canon 70D camera and Tamron 18-400mm lens on a tripod, with ISO 400; exposure times were 1/6th & 1/8th second. The video was captured in movie mode.

~ Goodbye Moon from Artemis 11 re-entry to Earth 11th April 2026 ~

4/12/2026

~ Waning Moon in morning sky as Artemis 11 re-enters Earths atmosphere on 11th April 2026 ~

I was unable to capture a picture of the Moon during the night because of cloud, but the next morning just after 9.30am (11th April 2026) and just before re-entry of the Orion Capsule, I was able to capture this image of the Moon in a clear blue sky…. In SE QLD in Australia, the Orion Capsule was predicted to re-enter for splashdown at approximately 10am (AEST).

Congratulations to the four astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen who have completed a most amazing mission back to our Moon…Woohoo!!!

The lunar image was taken with the Seestar S50 telescope in a beautiful clear blue sky. This would have been the phase that the astronauts would have seen when looking back toward the Moon as they said goodbye after such a successful mission that will light our passion on rediscovery our closest celestial body in the solar system.

Since 2020, NASA has invited you, the public, to be virtual guests at launches and milestone events. As a virtual guest, you have access to curated resources, schedule changes, and mission specific information delivered straight to your inbox. Following each activity, guests are sent a stamp for their virtual guest passport! All resources, participation, and registration are FREE. Select your opportunities. Join us!

https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-virtual-guest-program/

~ Very special Full Moon on the 2nd April 2026 ~

4/2/2026

I was very lucky to get this image of the full Moon late last night as it was raining earlier on in the evening. It’s a very special full Moon as it’s the closest full Moon after the equinox that dictates when Easter is celebrated by many religions from around the world.

Another reason this full Moon is special is because Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are right now on their way to orbit our Moon in the Orion spacecraft with the Artemis 11 mission. Tonight they will be looking out there windows at us here on planet Earth then going forward onto our amazing Moon…how incredible is that! After so many years humans are going back to the Moon…WooHoo!

NASA Artemis 11 mission to the Moon
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis/

My image was taken with a ZWO Seestar S50 telescope capturing a RAW video and stacking within in the unit, and then processed in PS.

~ CREDIT: NASA