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January 3 - Full Moon
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January 3 - Quadrantids Meteor Shower. The Quadrantids are an above average shower, with up to 40 meteors per hours at their peak. The shower will peak this year on January 4, but some meteors can be visible from December 28 - January 7. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight on the morning of the 4th. Look to the northeast. The full moon this year will be a major problem. Only the brightest meters will be easy to see.
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January 19 - New Moon
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February 2 - Full Moon
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February 10 - Saturn at Opposition. The ringed planet will be at its closest approach to Earth. This is the best time to view and photograph Saturn and its moons.
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February 17 - New Moon
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March 1 - Conjunction of Moon and Saturn. The moon and Saturn will appear only 1.1 degrees from each other in the evening sky.
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March 3 - Full Moon
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March 3 - Total Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. (NASA Eclipse Information)
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March 19 - New Moon
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March 19 - Partial Solar Eclipse. The partial eclipse will be visible throughout most of Asia and Alaska. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information | NASA Eclipse Animation)
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March 21 - The Vernal Equinox occurs in the northern hemisphere at 00:07 UT. There will be equal amounts of day and night. This is also the first day of spring.
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March 28 - Conjunction of Moon and Saturn. The moon and Saturn will appear only 1.2 degrees from each other in the evening sky.
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April 2 - Full Moon
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April 17 - New Moon
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April 22 - Lyrids Meteor Shower. The Lyrids are an average shower, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour at their peak. The shower will peak this year on April 22, although some meteors will be visible from April 16 - 25. The evening crescent moon will set early allowing for an excellent viewing experience. Look for meteors radiating from the constellation of Lyra after midnight.
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May 2 - Full Moon
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May 5 - Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower. The Eta Aquarids are a light shower, usually producing about 10 meteors per hour at their peak. The shower will peak this year on May 6, however some meteors can be seen from April 21 - May 12. Unfortunately, viewing will not be good this year with the near-full moon obscuring all but the brightest meteors. The radiant point for this shower will be in the constellation of Aquarius. Best viewing is usually to the east after midnight.
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May 16 - New Moon
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May 19 - Conjunction of Moon and Venus. The crescent moon will appear only 1 degree from the planet Venus in the evening sky.
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June 1 - Full Moon
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June 6 - Jupiter at Opposition. The giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth. This is the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons.
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June 15 - New Moon
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June 21 - The Summer Solstice occurs in the northern hemisphere at 18:06 UT. The Sun is at its highest point in the sky and it will be the longest day of the year. This is also the first day of summer.
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June 30 - Conjunction of Venus and Saturn. Venus and Saturn will appear only 0.8 degrees from each other in the evening sky.
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June 30 - Full Moon
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July 1 - Conjunction of Venus and Saturn. The planets Venus and Saturn will appear only 0.8 degrees apart in the evening sky.
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July 14 4- New Moon
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July 28 - Southern Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower. The Delta Aquarids usually produce about 20 meteors per hour at their peak. The shower will peak this year on July 28, but meteors can be visible from July 18 - August 18. The nearly full moon will be visible most of the night, obscuring all but the brightest meteors. The radiant point for this shower will be in the constellation of Aquarius. Best viewing is usually to the east after midnight.
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July 30 - Full Moon
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August 12 - New Moon
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August 13 - Perseids Meteor Shower. The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at their peak. The shower will peak this year on August 13, but you may be able to see some meteors from July 23 - August 22. The moon will be completely absent this year, so this should be a spectacular show with even the faintest meteors being visible. The radiant point for this shower will be in the constellation of Perseus. Look to the northeast after midnight.
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August 13 - Neptune at Opposition. The blue planet will be at its closest approach to Earth. This is the best time to view Neptune, although it will only appear as a tiny blue dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.
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August 28 - Full Moon
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August 28 - Total Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean, and the Americas. (NASA Eclipse Information)
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September 10 - Uranus at Opposition. The blue-green planet will be at its closest approach to Earth. This is the best time to view Uranus, although it will only appear as a tiny blue-green dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.
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September 11 - New Moon
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September 11 - Partial Solar Eclipse. The partial eclipse will be visible throughout most of central and southern South America. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information | NASA Eclipse Animation)
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September 23 - The Autumnal Equinox in the northern hemisphere occurs at 09:51 UT. There will be equal amounts of day and night. This is also the first day of fall.
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October 21, 22 - Orionids Meteor Shower. The Orionids is an average shower producing about 20 meteors per hour at their peak. The shower will peak this year on the 21st, but some meteors can be seen from October 15 - 29. The evening gibbous moon may interfere with viewing faint meteors, but the brightest ones should still be visible from a dark location. Best viewing will be to the east after midnight.
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September 26 - Full Moon
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October 11 - New Moon
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October 15 - Conjunction of Venus and Saturn. The planets Venus and Saturn will appear only 3 degrees apart in the early morning sky.
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October 26 - Full Moon
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November 9 - New Moon
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November 17, 18 - Leonid Meteor Shower. The Leonids is one of the better meteor showers to observe, producing an average of 40 meteors per hour at their peak. The shower itself has a cyclic peak year every 33 years where hundreds of meteors can be seen each hour. The last of these occurred in 2001. The shower peaks this year on November 18, but you can see some meteors from November 13 - 20. The first quarter moon will set around midnight, so viewing in the early morning hours should be excellent this year. Even the faintest meteors should be visible from a dark location. Look for the shower radiating from the constellation Leo after midnight.
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November 24 - Full Moon
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December 9 - New Moon
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December 13, 14 - Geminids Meteor Shower. Considered by many to be the best meteor shower in the heavens, the Geminids are known for producing up to 60 multicolored meteors per hour at their peak. The peak night this year is December 14, although some meteors should be visible from December 6 - 19. The evening crescent moon will set early this year, allowing for an excellent viewing experience. Even the faintest meteors should be visible from a dark location. The radiant point for this shower will be in the constellation of Gemini. Best viewing is usually to the east after midnight.
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December 22 - The Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere occurs at 06:08 UT. The Sun is at its lowest point in the sky and it will be the shortest day of the year. This is also the first day of winter.
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December 24 - Mars at Opposition. The red 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 the planet Mars.
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December 24 - Full Moon
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