Top Astronomical Events in 2022
Events listed are specifically for North America
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Calendar of special events - 2022
April 5 - Conjunction. Look SE before sunrise. Yellow/white Saturn will be only 1/2 degree above orange Mars. April 27 - Mercury Visible. Look low in the WNW soon after sunset to see elusive Mercury out of the glare of the Sun. April 30 - Conjunction. Look east before sunrise to see bright Jupiter only 1/2 degree to the left of even brighter Venus. Then on May 29, see Jupiter about the same distance from Mars. May 15 - Total Lunar Eclipse. Earth’s dark shadow will sweep across the Full Moon. Partial eclipse begins at 10:28 p.m. EDT, total phase starts at 11:29 p.m. EDT and lasts about one hour and 25 minutes. November 8 - Total Lunar Eclipse. Partial eclipse begins at 4:09 a.m. EST, total phase lasts from 5:16 a.m. to 6:41 a.m. EST. December 7 - Conjunction. See the Full Moon make a close encounter with bright orange Mars at 10:30 p.m. EST for east coast observers. West coast observers will see Mars run over by the Moon at about 9:30 p.m. EST or 6:30 p.m. PST. |
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.
2022 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) |
2022 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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