BALTIMORE — Though New Englanders will be missing out on a total solar eclipse passing over Western Australia in 2023, and a “ring of fire” eclipse crossing the Western United States, there’s still plenty to look for in the skies in the coming year.
Eastern observers will be able to catch the moon obscuring part of the sun’s face during the mid-October eclipse, and dark skies will accompany some of the year’s strongest meteor showers, the Perseids and the Geminids, thanks to the phase of the moon. That makes for ideal viewing — as long as the weather holds.
Here are some stargazing options visible to the naked eye, particularly in more rural areas with less light pollution:
February
Look to the night sky Feb. 21 to catch Venus, Jupiter and the crescent moon all in a vertical line. Look to the west-southwest between 6 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.
March
On the night of March 1, Jupiter and Venus will nearly touch in the sky in what’s known as a planetary conjunction. Look to the west-southwest, low in the sky, starting around 6:30 p.m. From there, the two planets will begin to separate as Jupiter sinks lower.
At 2 a.m. March 12, most Americans will “spring forward” with the arrival of daylight saving time.
Spring begins March 20 at 5:24 p.m. with the vernal equinox, when the sun crosses the celestial equator. At this point, the Earth is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun.
April
On April 20, a total solar eclipse will be visible from parts of Australia and Southeast Asia. But viewers in the U.S. won’t be able to see it. This event, sometimes called the Ningaloo Eclipse, takes its name from an Aboriginal word. It is a rare hybrid eclipse, meaning it will shift between an annular and total eclipse because of the Earth’s curvature.
Back in the East, the Lyrids meteor shower peaks on the night of April 22. The Lyrids are a medium-strength shower best observed from the Northern Hemisphere. Meteor rates are usually good on the nights immediately before and after the peak night as well. With the moon only 9% full this time, expect good viewing conditions if the weather cooperates.
May
On May 5-6, parts of the world will experience a penumbral lunar eclipse, but North America will not. In this type of eclipse, which can be difficult to see, the moon passes through the faint outer portion of the Earth’s shadow, called the penumbra.
Instead, New Englanders can look to the skies on the night of May 5 for the peak of the eta Aquariids meteor shower — which usually produces medium rates of 10 to 30 meteors an hour just before dawn. But this time, the moon will be full during the peak, complicating observation.
June
Summer begins with the solstice at 10:57 a.m. June 21, when the sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer. This will be the longest day of 2023, though the earliest sunrise of the year is actually June 14, and the latest sunset will be June 27 or 28.
July
July 3 will bring the first of the new year’s four “supermoons,” when the full moon coincides with the moon’s close approach to Earth. Sometimes, this full moon is called the Buck Moon, since it occurs when male deer begin to grow new antlers.
If you’re planning to gaze at the sky on Independence Day in advance of a fireworks show, see whether you can spot this conjunction. At about 9 p.m. July 4, look to the west to see Mars hovering between the star Regulus and an exceptionally bright Venus. The display will repeat the next night.
On July 6 at 4:06 p.m., the sun will be at its farthest point from Earth, also known as its aphelion.
August
August includes two full moons — both of which will be supermoons — on the first and last night of the month. The second of the two is sometimes called a blue moon for its relative rarity.
Among the most popular meteor showers to observe in the Northern Hemisphere, thanks to its mid-August peak, the Perseids will be best viewed on the night of Aug. 12. A bright moon can obscure the display, but this shower’s peak occurs ideally close to the new moon.
In rural locations with minimal light pollution, observers can see as many as 50 to 75 shower members per hour. The Perseids are particles released from the comet Swift-Tuttle as it returns to the inner solar system.
On the night of Aug. 27, Saturn will be at opposition, aligned between the Earth and the sun. The planet will be as bright as it gets all year, and will rise at sunset and remain out all night.
September
For early birds, look to the right of the crescent moon just before dawn Sept. 11-12 to spot Venus.
The autumnal equinox occurs at about 2:50 a.m. Sept. 23, signaling the start of fall.
Look to the sky Sept. 29 for the year’s final supermoon, occurring during the Corn Moon, named for harvest time.
October
For those in the Eastern U.S., the year’s most exciting astronomical event will take place in October — a partial solar eclipse.
The partial solar eclipse will begin Oct. 14 about one minute past noon, when the moon will touch the sun’s edge. At 1:19 p.m., the eclipse will be at its peak for Baltimore viewers, and the moon will obscure a chunk of the sun’s face, similar in appearance to a tilted Venn diagram. By 2:38 p.m., the eclipse will end. Be sure to observe the eclipse with protective eyewear, since the sun will never be completely covered.
From southern Oregon to southern Texas, the moon will nearly cover the face of the sun during the eclipse, leaving behind only a “ring of fire.” That phenomenon is called an annular solar eclipse.
There will also be a partial lunar eclipse Oct. 28, when part of the moon’s face is shadowed. But for viewers in New England, the eclipse will be penumbral, so it will be very faint. Plus, when the eclipse reaches its maximum, the moon will still be below the horizon, so the best time to try to view it will be shortly after moonrise, at 6:07 p.m. For best viewing, locate a high point with an unobstructed view to the east-northeast.
The Orionid meteor shower is a medium-strength shower with a peak on the night of Oct. 20, with the moon 37% full. Usually, this shower produces 10 to 20 meteors an hour at maximum. But in strong years — as between 2006 and 2009 — the shower has been on par with the Perseids.
November
On the night of Nov. 3, Jupiter will be at opposition, and it will be the brightest object in the sky before Venus rises just before dawn.
On Nov. 5 at 2 a.m., most Americans will set their clocks back one hour for daylight saving time. An idea to make daylight saving time permanent gained traction in 2022, with the U.S. Senate passing a bill to that effect. But the House of Representatives didn’t take up the bill, effectively stalling it.
If you happen to be up early on Nov. 9, look for the crescent moon and Venus side by side around 5 a.m.
December
The earliest sunset of the year will take place Dec. 7 at 4:43 p.m. That’s also the time Hanukkah begins in 2023. The eight-day Jewish holiday starts at sundown on Dec. 7.
The Geminids meteor shower, usually the strongest of the year, is also easy to view in 2023 thanks to the phase of the moon. The shower will peak on the night of Dec. 13, with the moon just 1% full. Look for meteors starting about 10 p.m., when the constellation Gemini is well-placed.
The winter solstice is at 10:27 p.m. Dec. 21. On this day, there will be about 5 1/2 fewer hours of sunlight compared with the June summer solstice.
With 2023 nearing its end, look forward to the next Great North American Total Eclipse on the afternoon of April 8, 2024, when the sun’s face will be almost completely obscured by the moon for viewers in New England.
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