Educators

Astronomy Calendar


Check out what's happening in the sky!

This calendar of celestial events is frequently updated.

Full moon in the night sky over the museum building.
Image: UAF photo by Todd Paris, 2014.

 


Discover the Sun during the Heliophysics Big Year, October 2023 to December 2024!

The Heliophysics Big Year is a global celebration of solar science and the Sun’s influence on Earth and the entire solar system. Learn more: NASA Helio Big Year.

 

  • October 17 - Full Moon, Supermoon. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 3:28 am Alaska time. This full moon is sometimes known as the Hunters Moon, the Travel Moon or the Blood Moon. This is also the second of three supermoons for 2024. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.

  • October 21, 22 - Orionids Meteor Shower. The Orionids is an average shower producing up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Halley. The shower runs annually from October 2 to November 7. The shower peaks this year on the night of October 21 and the morning of October 22. The waning gibbous moon will block out most of the fainter meteors this year. But if you are patient, you should still be able to catch a few good ones. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Orion, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
  • November 1 - New Moon. The Moon will located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This phase occurs at 4:49 am Alaska time. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.
  • November 4, 5 - Taurids Meteor Shower.  The Taurids is a long-running minor meteor shower producing about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is unusual in that it consists of two separate streams. The first is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10. The second stream is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. The shower runs annually from September 7 to December 10. It peaks this year on the night of November 4. The first quarter moon will block out all but the brightest meteors this year. If you are patient, you may still be able to catch a few good ones. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
  • November 15 - Full Moon, Supermoon. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 12:30 pm Alaska time. This full moon is sometimes known as the Beaver Moon, the Frosty Moon, or the Dark Moon. This is also the last of three supermoons for 2024. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.
  • November 16 - Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation. The planet Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation of 22.5 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the planet low in the western sky just after sunset.
  • November 17 - Uranus at Opposition. The blue-green planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view Uranus. Due to its distance, it will only appear as a tiny blue-green dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.
  • November 17, 18 - Leonids Meteor Shower. The Leonids is an average shower, producing up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. This shower is unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001. The Leonids is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle. The shower runs annually from November 6-30. It peaks this year on the night of the 17th and morning of the 18th. Unfortunately the nearly full moon will block all but the brightest meteors this year. If you are patient, you may still be able to catch a few good ones. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
  • November 30 - New Moon. The Moon will located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This phase occurs at 9:22 pm Alaska time. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.
  • December 7 - Jupiter at Opposition. The giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons. A medium-sized telescope should be able to show you some of the details in Jupiter's cloud bands. A good pair of binoculars should allow you to see Jupiter's four largest moons, appearing as bright dots on either side of the planet.
  • December 13, 14 - Geminids Meteor Shower. The Geminids is the king of the meteor showers. It is considered by many to be the best shower, producing up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by debris left behind by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon. The shower runs annually from December 7-17. It peaks this year on the night of the 13th and morning of the 14th. The nearly full moon will block out all but the brightest meteors this year. But if you are patient, you may still be able to catch a few good ones. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Gemini, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
  • December 15 - Full Moon. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 12:03 am Alaska time. This full moon is sometimes known as the Cold Moon, the Long Nights Moon, and the Moon Before Yule.
  • December 21 - December Solstice. The December solstice occurs at 12:17 am Alaska time. The South Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its southernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.44 degrees south latitude. This is the first day of winter (winter solstice) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of summer (summer solstice) in the Southern Hemisphere.
  • December 21, 22 - Ursids Meteor Shower. The Ursids is a minor meteor shower producing about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tuttle. The shower runs annually from December 17-25. It peaks this year on the night of the 21st and morning of the 22nd. The waning gibbous moon will block out many of the fainter meteors this year. If you are patient, you should still be able to catch some of the brighter ones. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
  • December 25 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation. The planet Mercury reaches greatest western elongation of 22 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.
  • December 30 - New Moon. The Moon will located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This phase occurs at 1:28 pm Alaska time. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

Information from Sea and Sky Astronomy Calendar.

 


More astronomy viewing resources:

Check the aurora forecast for Interior Alaska,  courtesy of the Geophysical Institute.

Use star wheels and astrolabes to find celestial bodies!

Sea and Sky has a yearly calendar to help you plan future astronomy viewings.

Check the weather on Mars, courtesy of the Curiosity rover.

 

View of the night sky with several meteors streaking through it.

Image: Perseids Meteor Shower (NASA/JPL).
 

NASA logo with the word "partner" underneath.

 

This project was funded under NASA cooperative agreement NNX16AL65A and cooperative agreement number NNH15ZDA004C. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and  do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.