Night sky guide for April 2018

Night sky guide for April 2018

Three meteor showers will mark April 2018, with Lyrids on April 21 and 22 the most promising one. The first quarter moon will set shortly after midnight, leaving dark skies for the what could be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. …

Night sky guide for March 2018

Night sky guide for March 2018

While February had no full moon, March will host two of them – one on March 2 and the second, blue moon, on March 31. The best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere – New Moon – is on…

Night sky guide for February 2018 – Partial Solar Eclipse

Night sky guide for February 2018 – Partial Solar Eclipse

After super blue blood Moon on January 31, we are heading toward our next celestial event on February 15 when a partial solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Chile, Argentina, and Antarctica. The best time of this month to observe faint objects such as galaxies…

Night sky guide for December 2017

Night sky guide for December 2017

The year ends with the first and last supermoon of the year, the first of 3 over the next 60 days, one royal meteor shower, and December solstice. Hopefully, this year made us all stronger, wiser and ready for what's to come in 2018 and beyond. December 1 -…

Night sky guide for November 2017

Night sky guide for November 2017

November brings us peaks of 2 notable meteor showers, Northern Taurids (Class II) on November 11 and Leonids (Class I) on November 18. The Moon will be 24 days old during the peak of Taurids and 30 during Leonids, presenting minimal interference. We also have peaks…

Night sky guide for October 2017

Night sky guide for October 2017

October 2017 has two meteor showers, one minor – Draconids, on October 8, and one major – Orionids, on October 21 and 22. Draconids will be mostly blocked by the nearly full moon, but Orionids will present an interesting opportunity as the crescent Moon will set…

Night sky guide for September 2017

Night sky guide for September 2017

There are no major (Class I) meteor shower peaks during this month. Instead, we have two minor ones (Class II), Aurigids on September 1 and September Epsilon Perseids on September 9, with an estimated number of meteors per hour of 6 and 5, respectively. We'll…

Night sky guide for August 2017

Night sky guide for August 2017

Solar eclipse chasers, especially those living in the United States, have waited for this month for many years. On August 21, a rare, once-in-a-lifetime event for viewers in the US will make the Moon completely block out the Sun – total solar eclipse, revealing the…

Night sky guide for July 2017

Night sky guide for July 2017

The Earth's annual orbit around the Sun will carry us to our furthest point from the Sun – aphelion – at a distance of 1.02 AU on July 3. Technically speaking, this marks the moment when the Sun appears smaller in the sky than at any other time of year, and when…