← Back to Articles

Calendar of Phenomena: July and August 2026

Skywatching Guide for Blahová (Sárrét) and the Žitný ostrov (Csallóköz) Region for the Naked Eye and Small Telescopes
The flat, open horizon of Blahová and its favorable light pollution levels offer excellent opportunities for both naked-eye and telescopic observations. In late summer 2026, a series of spectacular and rare celestial events will unfold in the sky.

By Tibor Csörgei • Jul 22, 2026
Astronomical Calendar

🌙 MOON PHASES (CEST / Local Time)

📅 July

  • Last Quarter: July 7, 21:29

  • New Moon: July 14, 11:43

  • First Quarter: July 21, 13:05

  • Full Moon: July 29, 16:35

📅 August

  • Last Quarter: August 6, 04:21

  • New Moon: August 12, 19:36

  • First Quarter: August 20, 04:46

  • Full Moon: August 28, 06:18

📅 1. JULY EVENTS (From July 18)

☄️ Observing Comet 10P/Tempel 2

  • Date: Second half of July (best during dark, moonless nights around the New Moon)

  • How to view: Telescope only. A perfect astrophotography target for the Seestar S50 smart telescope!

  • Description: 10P/Tempel is a short-period comet that makes its closest approach to Earth in mid-to-late July. Since its light is relatively diffuse, a dark countryside sky (like the one in Blahová) offers the best chance to capture it successfully.

🪐 Saturn's "Disappearing" Rings

  • Date: Throughout July and August, during the second half of the night

  • How to view: Small amateur telescope (approx. 80-100 mm in diameter, with higher magnification).

  • Description: The tilt of Saturn's ring system as seen from Earth is currently extremely small, turning almost edge-on to us. In a smaller telescope, instead of the usual magnificent ring structure, we will see only a hairline-thin dark line crossing the planet's disk. An extremely rare and special observing opportunity!

☄️ Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower Maximum

  • Date: Night of July 29-30

  • How to view: Naked eye, comfortably from a deck chair.

  • Description: Although the Perseids are the main meteor shower of the summer, the Delta Aquariids maximum serves as an excellent warmup. It can produce about 15-20 meteors per hour, with its radiant located near the southern horizon.

📅 2. AUGUST EVENTS (The most exciting month of the year!)

☀️ AUGUST 12 EVENING: The "Great European" Partial Solar Eclipse

  • Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 – Start: 19:21 CEST | Maximum: 20:06 CEST | Sunset: 20:08 CEST

  • How to view: Solar filter film or eclipse glasses are MANDATORY! Breathtaking both with the naked eye and through a telescope (with a proper filter).

  • Description: While visible as a total eclipse from Spain and Iceland, the Žitný ostrov and Blahová will experience a very deep partial solar eclipse. From Blahová, the Moon will obscure nearly 80% (specifically 79.6%) of the Sun's disk!

  • Local feature of Blahová: The special aspect of this event is its proximity to sunset. The Sun will be heavily eclipsed while standing just a few degrees above the western horizon, finally setting as a thin crescent. Since Blahová is flat with no blocking hills, your perfectly flat western horizon offers a fantastic photographic opportunity of the setting, crescent Sun!

🌠 NIGHT OF AUGUST 12–13: Absolute Maximum of the Perseids Meteor Shower

  • Date: Night of August 12 to 13 (best period between midnight and 5:30 AM)

  • How to view: Naked eye, from a dark location.

  • Description: The Perseids are the year's most popular meteor shower, but in 2026, the conditions are absolutely perfect! Why? Because the day of the solar eclipse (August 12) is also the day of the New Moon (occurring precisely at 19:36). This means the night sky will be pitch black all night long, with zero annoying moonlight to wash out the meteors. Under dark skies, you can observe up to 100-150 bright, dense meteors and fireballs per hour!

🌑 AUGUST 28 DAWN: Deep Partial Lunar Eclipse on the Horizon

  • Date: Friday, August 28, 2026 – Start: 3:23 CEST | Partial phase begins: 4:33 CEST | Maximum: 6:05 CEST | Moonset: 6:09 CEST

  • How to view: Naked eye, and very spectacular with a small telescope.

  • Description: A very deep partial lunar eclipse, where Earth's shadow will cover nearly 93% (92.9% in the southwest) of the Moon's surface, turning it a reddish-brown dark color.

  • Local feature of Blahová: The maximum of the eclipse (at 6:05) almost exactly coincides with moonset (at 6:09). The Moon will be only 0.2 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon. Combined with the morning twilight, the sight of a glowing, reddish-gray, almost completely eclipsed giant sphere low on the western horizon promises an unforgettable visual and photographic experience.

🔭 RECOMMENDED TELESCOPIC TARGETS (Seestar S50 / small refractors)

  1. M13 (Hercules Globular Cluster): The king of the summer sky. Under Blahová's dark skies, its edges can be resolved into individual stars with an 80 mm refractor, while the Seestar reveals its core in stunning detail in seconds.

  2. M57 (Ring Nebula in Lyra): Small but extremely bright planetary nebula, easily photographed even from mildly light-polluted areas.

  3. M27 (Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula): A massive gas cloud; with the Seestar's filters, its red and green gas structures are beautifully revealed.

🌐 SOURCES AND OFFICIAL DATA:

  1. Slovak Central Observatory (SÚH) – Solar and Lunar Eclipses (suh.sk / astro.cz)

  2. Hungarian Astronomical Association (MCSE) – Astronomical Almanac 2026 (mcse.hu)

  3. Svábhegy Observatory – Most Spectacular Astronomical Phenomena of 2026 (svabhegyicsillagvizsgalo.hu)

  4. TimeandDate Portal – Bratislava/Trnava Solar and Lunar Eclipse Calculators 2026 (timeanddate.com)

  5. NASA / JPL Skywatching – July & August 2026 Skywatching Tips (science.nasa.gov)

T
Tibor Csörgei

Club Member

← All Articles Home →