Top Astronomical Events in 2024
Events listed are specifically for North America
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Calendar of special events: 2026
Evening Planet Visibility. Jupiter: Jan-Jul in the west. Venus: Apr - Oct in the west. Saturn: Jan - Feb in the west, and Sep - Mar beginning in the east and ending in the west. Moon Occultations. The Moon will occult ‘run over’ Venus in daylight Jun 17. Times will range from ~10:30 AM PDT for west coast to ~3:40 PM EDT for east coast. Jupiter occultation will be visible in eastern US on Oct 6 at ~4 AM EDT. Mar 3 - Total Lunar Eclipse. The Full Moon glows dusky red as it slips into Earth‘s shadow. Partial eclipse begins at 4:50 AM EST. Total phase begins at 6:04 AM EST. Apr 20 - Conjunction. Low in the east just before sunrise, Mars, Saturn, and Mercury form a straight line about 2° long. Jun 15 - Mercury Visible in Lineup. Relatively rare chance to see Mercury separated far from the Sun’s glare. Look west after sunset to see in order of increasing height and brightness: Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus. Aug 28 - Partial Lunar Eclipse. 96% coverage. Partial eclipse begins at 10:34 PM EDT Aug 27. Max eclipse at 12:13 AM EDT. EDT. |
Meteor Showers
Meteor showers are one of the most rewarding sights to view in the night sky with the naked eye. To observe a meteor shower, choose a spot with an unobstructed view of the entire sky and look straight up, you should be able to see meteors in any direction with your peripheral vision. The best time to observe a meteor shower is normally in the morning as the morning side of the earth is on the leading edge of the earth's orbit. More meteors are seen in the morning sky than the evening for the same reason that more bug splatters are on the front windshield of a car than are on the rear. You will also have a much better chance of seeing more meteors if the shower falls on a night when the moon is absent, this makes the meteors easier to see without the competing glare of the moon. You will probably not be able to see the ZHR (Zenith hourly Rate) amount of meteors shown on the chart below, but on average you can expect to see about half that amount. The ZHR is the approximate amount of meteors that can be seen per hour at the peak if the moon is absent, and the point where the meteors appear to be coming from is at the zenith, or directly overhead.
2026 Major Meteor Showers
* Slightly more meteors can seen in the morning than in the evening
**ZHR: Zenith Hourly Rate (meteors per hour under ideal conditions with the source of meteors directly overhead and a dark, moonless sky) |
2026 Astronomical events rack cards
The astronomical events cards are passed out at all "The Heavens Declare" presentations. If you wish to have an updated card and there are no presentations near you, you can either download a copy to your computer from this web page. Alternatively, you can request one to be mailed to you free of charge by using the form at the bottom of this page.
Feel free to download a copy to your computer.
Instructions:
right click on the image, in the pop up menu left click "save image as" or "save picture as". This will open a window that allows you to save the picture to the location you choose on your computer
Instructions:
right click on the image, in the pop up menu left click "save image as" or "save picture as". This will open a window that allows you to save the picture to the location you choose on your computer
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