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N I G H T S K Y 2 0 0 7
January 3 - Full Moon
January 3 - Quadrantids Meteor Shower. The Quadrantids are an above average shower, with up to
40 meteors per hour 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 meteors will be easy to see.
January 19 - New Moon.
February 2 - Full Moon.
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.
February 17 - New Moon.
March 1 - Conjunction of Moon and Saturn. The moon and Saturn will appear only 1.1° from
each other in the evening sky.
March 3 - Full Moon.
March 3 - Total Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of America, Europe,
Africa, and Asia.
March 19 - New Moon.
March 19 - Partial Solar Eclipse. The partial eclipse will be visible throughout most of Asia and Alaska.
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.
March 28 - Conjunction of Moon and Saturn. The moon and Saturn will appear only 1.2° from
each other in the evening sky.
April 2 - Full Moon.
April 17 - New Moon.
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.
May 2 - Full Moon.
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 this year will not be hampered with the near
full moon obscuring all but the brightest. The radiant point for this shower will be in the constellation
of Aquarius. Best viewing is usually to the east after midnight.
May 16 - New Moon.
May 19 - Conjunction of Moon and Venus. The crescent moon will appear only 1° from the planet
Venus in the evening sky.
June 1 - Full Moon.
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.
June 15 - New Moon.
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.
June 30 - Conjunction of Venus and Saturn. Venus and Saturn will appear only 0.8° from each
other in the evening sky.
June 30 - Full Moon.
July 1 - Conjunction of Venus and Saturn. The planets Venus and Saturn will appear only 0.8°
apart in the evening sky.
July 14 - New Moon.
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.
The radiant point for this shower will be in the constellation of Aquarius. Best viewing is usually
to the east after midnight.
July 30 - Full Moon.
August 12 - New Moon.
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.
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.
August 28 - Full Moon.
August 28 - Total Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of eastern Asia, Australia,
the Pacific Ocean, and America.
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.
September 11 - New Moon.
September 11 - Partial Solar Eclipse. The partial eclipse will be visible throughout most of central and
southern S America.
September 23 - The Autumnal Equinox in the northern hemisphere occurs at 09:51 UT. There will be
equal amounts of day and night.
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.
September 26 - Full Moon.
October 11 - New Moon.
October 15 - Conjunction of Venus and Saturn. The planets Venus and Saturn will appear only 3°
apart in the early morning sky.
October 26 - Full Moon.
November 9 - New Moon.
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.
November 24 - Full Moon.
December 9 - New Moon.
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.
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.
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.
December 24 - Full Moon.
N I G H T S K Y 2 0 0 8
January 8 -New Moon.
January 22 - Full Moon.
February 1 - Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. The planets Venus and Jupiter will appear only
0.6° apart in the early morning sky.
February 7 - New Moon.
February 7 - Annular Solar Eclipse. The path of annularity will only be visible over some parts of
Antarctica. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout New Zealand and some parts of eastern Australia.
February 21 - Full Moon.
February 24 - 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.
February 21 - Total Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of America, Africa,
and Europe.
March 7 - New Moon.
March 20 - The Vernal Equinox occurs in the northern hemisphere at 05:48 UT. There will be equal
amounts of day and night. This is also the first day of spring.
March 21 - Full Moon.
April 6 - New Moon.
April 20 - Full Moon.
May 5 - New Moon.
May 20 - Full Moon.
June 3 - New Moon.
June 18 - Full Moon.
June 20 - The Summer Solstice occurs in the northern hemisphere at 23:59 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.
July 3 - New Moon.
July 9 - 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.
July 18 - Full Moon.
August 1 - New Moon.
August 1 - Total Solar Eclipse. The path of totality will begin in northern Canada and move east and
south through northern Greenland, Siberia, Mongolia, and central China. A partial eclipse will be visible
throughout most of Greenland, Europe, And Asia.
August 15 - 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.
August 16 - Full Moon.
August 16 - Partial Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of S America, Europe,
Africa, Asia, and Australia.
August 30 - New Moon.
September 13 - 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.
September 15 - Full Moon.
September 22 - The Autumnal Equinox occurs in the northern hemisphere at 15:44 UT. There will be
equal amounts of day and night.
September 29 - New Moon.
October 14 - Full Moon.
October 28 - New Moon.
November 13 - Full Moon.
November 27 - New Moon.
December 1 - Conjunction of Moon, Venus, and Jupiter. The crescent moon, Venus, and Jupiter will
form a 3° triangle in the evening sky.
December 12 - Full Moon.
December 21 - The Winter Solstice occurs in the northern hemisphere at 12:04 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.
December 27 - New Moon.
N I G H T S K Y 2 0 0 9
January 11 - Full Moon.
January 26 - New Moon.
January 26 - Annular Solar Eclipse. The path of annularity will begin off the coast of South Africa and
move east and north through the Indian Ocean and into Sumatra and Borneo. A partial eclipse will be
visible throughout most of southern Africa, south-eastern Asia, and western Australia.
February 9 - Full Moon.
February 9 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of eastern Europe,
Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean, and western North America.
February 25 - New Moon.
March 8 - 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.
March 11 - Full Moon.
March 20 - The Vernal Equinox occurs in the northern hemisphere at 11:44 UT. There will be equal
amounts of day and night. This is also the first day of spring.
March 26 - New Moon.
April 9 - Full Moon.
April 25 - New Moon.
May 9 - Full Moon.
May 24 - New Moon.
June 7 - Full Moon.
June 22 - New Moon.
June 21 - The Summer Solstice occurs in the northern hemisphere at 05:45 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.
July 7 - Full Moon.
July 7 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of Australia, the Pacific
Ocean, and America.
July 22 - New Moon.
July 22 - Total Solar Eclipse. The path of totality will begin in central India and move east through
Nepal and China into the central Pacific Ocean. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout most
of eastern Asia and Hawaii.
August 6 - Full Moon.
August 6 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of America, Europe,
Africa, and western Asia.
August 14 - 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.
August 17 - 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.
August 20 - New Moon.
September 4 - Full Moon.
September 17 - 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.
September 18 - New Moon.
September 22 - The Autumnal Equinox occurs in the northern hemisphere at 21:18 UT. There will be
equal amounts of day and night.
October 4 - Full Moon.
October 13 - Conjunction of Venus and Saturn. They will appear only a 0.5° apart in the
early morning sky.
October 18 - New Moon.
November 2 - Full Moon.
November 16 - New Moon.
December 2 - Full Moon.
December 16 - New Moon.
December 21 - The Winter Solstice occurs in the northern hemisphere at 17:47 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.
December 31 - Full Moon.
December 31 - Partial Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of Europe, Africa,
Asia, and Australia.
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