2023-09-29
- Supermoon
The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 09:59 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Corn Moon because the corn is harvested around this time of year. This moon is also known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the September equinox each year. This is also the last of four supermoons for 2023. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.
2023-10-08
- Draconids Meteor Shower
The Draconids is a minor meteor shower producing only about 10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, which was first discovered in 1900. The Draconids is an unusual shower in that the best viewing is in the early evening instead of early morning like most other showers. The shower runs annually from October 6-10 and peaks this year on the the night of the the 8th and morning of the 9th. The second quarter moon will be visible in the early morning but shouldn't interfere too much. Best viewing will be in the early evening from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Draco, but can appear anywhere in the sky. - Comet 103P/Hartley
At perihelion, the comet will be well-placed in the sky for the observers from the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be positioned much lower but will still be observable. It might become visible through small telescopes or large binoculars already at the end of September. 103P/Hartley is a small short-period comet discovered by Malcolm Hartley in 1986 at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia. On November 4, 2010, the comet was visited by NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft
2023-10-22
- Orionid Meteor Shower
The Orionid meteor shower will be active from 2 October to 7 November, producing its peak rate of meteors around 22 October. At its peak, the shower is expected to produce a nominal rate of around 14 meteors per hour. - Comet 2P/Encke
At its greatest brightness in October, 2P/Encke will only be visible in the morning sky just before sunrise. It’s not expected to be visible to the naked eye but might become observable through binoculars. 2P/Encke has the shortest orbital period of any known comet — about 3.3 years. This comet was first observed by French astronomer Pierre Méchain on January 17, 1786, but got its name after German astronomer Johann Franz Encke, who calculated its orbit in 1819
2023-10-23
- Venus at dichotomy
Venus will reach half phase in its 2023–2024 morning apparition. It will be shining brightly at mag -4.4. Venus shows an intermediate half phase – called dichotomy – at roughly the same moment that it appears furthest from the Sun, at greatest elongation. The exact times of the two events may differ by a few days, only because Venus's orbit is not quite perfectly aligned with the ecliptic.
2023-10-28
- Partial Lunar Eclipse
A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's partial shadow, or penumbra, and only a portion of it passes through the darkest shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse a part of the Moon will darken as it moves through the Earth's shadow. The eclipse will be visible throughout all of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and western Australia.
2023-11-03
- Jupiter Opposition
Jupiter will reach opposition, when it lies opposite to the Sun in the sky. Lying in the constellation Aries, it will be visible for much of the night, reaching its highest point in the sky around midnight local time.
2023-11-04
- Taurids Meteor Shower
The Taurids is a long-running minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is unusual in that it consists of two separate streams. The first is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10. The second stream is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. The shower runs annually from September 7 to December 10. It peaks this year on the the night of November 4 and the morning of the 5th. The second quarter moon may block most of the dim meteors this year. But if you are patient, you may still be able to catch a few good ones. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus
2023-11-10
- Moon Venus Conjunction
Event can be witnessed in morning before sunrise. The Moon will be at mag -10.6, and Venus at mag -4.3, both in the constellation Virgo.
The pair will be too widely separated to fit within the field of view of a telescope, but will be visible to the naked eye or through a pair of binoculars.
2023-11-13
- Uranus at Opposition
The blue-green planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view Uranus. Due to its distance, it will only appear as a tiny blue-green dot in all but the most powerful telescopes
2023-11-17
- Leonids Meteor Showers
The Leonids is an average shower, producing up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. This shower is unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001. The Leonids is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865. The shower runs annually from November 6-30. It peaks this year on the night of the 17th and morning of the 18th. The crescent moon will set before midnight leaving dark skies for what should be a great early morning show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo
2023-11-20
- Moon Saturn appulse
The Moon and Saturn will share the same right ascension, with the Moon passing 2°43' to the south of Saturn. The Moon will be 7 days old.
At around the same time, the two objects will also make a close approach, technically called an appulse.
2023-11-25
- Moon Jupiter Conjunction
The Moon and Jupiter will share the same right ascension, with the Moon passing 2°46' to the north of Jupiter. The Moon will be 12 days old.
2023-12-14
- Geminid Meteor Shower
The Geminid meteor shower will be active from 4 December to 17 December, producing its peak rate of meteors around 14 December.
At its peak, the shower is expected to produce a nominal rate of around 120 meteors per hour. The shower will peak close to new moon, and so moonlight will present minimal interference.
2023-12-22
- December Solstice
The December solstice occurs at 03:21 UTC. The South Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its southernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.44 degrees south latitude. This is the first day of winter (winter solstice) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of summer (summer solstice) in the Southern Hemisphere.
2023-12-23
- Ursids Meteor Shower
The Ursids is a minor meteor shower producing about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tuttle, which was first discovered in 1790. The shower runs annually from December 17-25. It peaks this year on the the night of the 21st and morning of the 22nd. The waxing gibbous moon will block out most of the faintest meteors this year. But if you are patient, you should still be able to catch a few good ones. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor
2024-02-22
- Comet C/2021 S3 (PanSTARRS)
Although the comet reaches perihelion only in 2024, it might brighten to magnitude 9 by the end of 2023. In this case, it might become observable with small telescopes. C/2021 S3 (PanSTARRS) is a short-period comet discovered on September 24, 2021, by the Pan-STARRS 2 telescope at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, USA
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