| Image |
Date |
Event |
Description |
| January |
 | 01 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
 | 02 | Quadrantids | up to 40 meteors per hour at its peak Meteors will radiate from the constellation Bootes |
 | 05 | Jupiter at Opposition | its closest approach to Earth |
 | 07 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
 | 15 | Full Moon | Moon Phase |
 | 24 | Last Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 30 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
| February |
| 06 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 14 | Full Moon | Moon Phase |
| 22 | Last Quarter | Moon Phase |
| March |
| 01 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
| 08 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 16 | Full Moon | Moon Phase |
 | 20 | March Equinox | The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. |
 | 20 | Occultation of Regulus | An asteroid known as 163 Erigone will pass in front of the bright star Regulus in the constellation of Leo |
| 23 | Last Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 30 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
| April |
| 07 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 08 | Mars at Opposition | its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun |
| 15 | Full Moon | Moon Phase |
 | 15 | Total Lunar Eclipse | the Moon passes completely through the Earth's dark shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse, the Moon will gradually get darker and then take on a rusty or blood red color. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of North America, South America, and Australia. |
| 22 | Last Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 22 | Lyrids | about 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861 |
| 29 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
 | 29 | Annular Solar Eclipse | the Moon is too far away from the Earth to completely cover the Sun. This results in a ring of light around the darkened Moon. The Sun's corona is not visible during an annular eclipse. The path of the eclipse will begin off the coast of South Africa and move across Antarctica and into the east coast of Australia. |
| May |
| 05 | Eta Aquarids | up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet Halley, which has known and observed since ancient times |
| 06 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 10 | Saturn at Opposition | The ringed planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view and photograph Saturn and its moons. A medium-sized or larger telescope will allow you to see Saturn's rings and a few of its brightest moons. |
| 14 | Full Moon | Moon Phase |
| 21 | Last Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 24 | Possible Meteor Storm | In the early morning hours of Saturday, May 24, the Earth will pass through the debris field left behind by a small comet known as P/209 LINEAR. Astronomers are predicting that this interaction may result in a brief but intense burst of meteor activity that could range from dozens to hundreds of meteors per hour. Nothing is certain, but many mathematical models are predicting that this could be the most intense meteor shower in more than a decade. |
| 28 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
| June |
| 05 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
 | 07 | Conjunction of the Moon and Mars | The Moon will pass within two degrees of the the planet Mars in the evening sky. The gibbous moon will be at magnitude -12.2 and Mars will be at magnitude -0.8. Look for both objects in the western sky just after sunset. The pair will be visible in the evening sky for about 6 hours after sunset. |
| 13 | Full Moon | Moon Phase |
| 19 | Last Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 21 | June Solstice | The June solstice occurs at 10:51 UTC. The North Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its northernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 23.44 degrees north latitude. This is the first day of summer (summer solstice) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of winter (winter solstice) in the Southern Hemisphere. |
| 27 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
| July |
| 05 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 12 | Full Moon | Moon Phase |
| 18 | Last Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 26 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
| 28 | Delta Aquarids | up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak It is produced by debris left behind by comets Marsden and Kracht |
| August |
| 03 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 10 | Full Moon | Moon Phase |
| 12 | Perseids | up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak It is produced by comet Swift-Tuttle |
| 17 | Last Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 18 | Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter | Conjunctions are rare events where two or more objects will appear extremely close together in the night sky. The two bright planets will come unusually close to each other, only a quarter of a degree, in the early morning sky. Also, the beehive cluster in the constellation Cancer will be only 1 degree away. This rare, double-planet event is definitely one not to miss. Look for the bright planets in the east just before sunrise. |
| 25 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
| 29 | Neptune at Opposition | The blue giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view and photograph Neptune. Due to its extreme distance from Earth, it will only appear as a tiny blue dot in all but the most powerful telescopes. |
| September |
| 02 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 08 | Full Moon | Moon Phase |
| 15 | Last Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 23 | September Equinox | The September equinox occurs at 02:29 UTC. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall (autumnal equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the Southern Hemisphere. |
| 24 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
| October |
| 01 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 07 | 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. 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. |
| 08 | Full Moon | Moon Phase |
| 08 | Total Lunar Eclipse | A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes completely through the Earth's dark shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse, the Moon will gradually get darker and then take on a rusty or blood red color. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of North America, South America, eastern Asia, and Australia. |
| 08 | Draconids | 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 |
| 15 | Last Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 22 | Orionids | up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Halley |
| 23 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
| 23 | Partial Solar Eclipse | A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Moon covers only a part of the Sun, sometimes resembling a bite taken out of a cookie. A partial solar eclipse can only be safely observed with a special solar filter or by looking at the Sun's reflection. The partial eclipse will be visible throughout most of North and Central America |
| 30 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
| November |
| 05 | Taurids | about 5-10 meteors per hour The first is produced by dust grains from Asteroid 2004 TG10 |
| 06 | Full Moon | Moon Phase |
| 14 | Last Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 17 | Leonids | 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 |
| 22 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
| 29 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
| December |
| 06 | Full Moon | Moon Phase |
| 13 | Geminids | It is considered by many to be the best shower in the heavens, producing up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at its peak |
| 14 | Last Quarter | Moon Phase |
| 21 | New Moon | Moon Phase |
| 21 | December Solstice | The December solstice occurs at 23:03 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. |
| 22 | Ursids | only about 5-10 meteors per hour left behind by comet Tuttle, which was first discovered in 1790 |
| 28 | First Quarter | Moon Phase |
location.best
