Surprise comets, unusual displays of the Aurora and astronauts' toolbags are sky events no one can predict. In the skies above, there are a couple of bright comets and a couple of moonless meteor showers that can be seen over the next 12 months. In January, there is a crescent moon and Venus and Mercury.
You can catch the waning crescent moon if you are up before dawn. The next morning, it will be 5% lit and close to Mercury, but lower in the sky.
There will be a penumbral lunar eclipse on March 25.
Although overshadowed by the solar eclipses that precede or follow them, even slight lunar eclipses are a great chance to capture unusual images of our natural satellite. The best view will come before the moonset ends in the UK.
April 21 is the date of the comet 12P.
If predictions come true, this comet will be at its strongest on April 21. It will be very close to Jupiter on 12 April.
The total solar eclipse is on April 08.
The Bailey's Beads effect is seen as the moon makes its final move over the sun during the total solar eclipse. One of the most stunning natural events will happen in North America on this day. The sky will become dark for a few minutes, and an army ofastrophotographers will turn their lens skywards to take a picture of the hole in the sky. The view can only be seen from the path of totality, a 115-mile-wide zone that covers parts of northern Mexico, 15 states in the U.S., and five provinces in Canada. You need to plan for the Great North American Eclipse in 2024.
The shower is called the Perseid meteor shower.
The peak of the most popular meteor shower of the year will take place in the dark of night in 2024. The stars will be at their best for this one, so plan an all-nighter.
The solar eclipse is called the ring of fire.
This sequence shows the beginning of the eclipse and continues until the ring of fire is formed. If you like the idea of seeing a solar eclipse, you can go to Easter Island or southern Patagonia in Argentina and see a ring of fire. You will need solar filters at all times, but expect a ring of fire that lasts 6 minutes 9 seconds on Easter Island and up to 26 minutes in South America.
There will be a partial lunar eclipse in September.
September's full moon will be the first supermoon of the year, and it will be 8% over in Europe, Africa and the Americas. An image of the moon with a reddish chunk taken from it will be highly prized in the UK and the US, since it occurs between 03:12 and 04:14 on 18 September in the UK. How to take pictures of the full moon.
September 08 is the date of the opposition.
On this date, the disk of the moon will be completely illuminated by the sun as it passes between our planet and the sun. The last chance to view the sixth planet's rings will be here. We'll get a side-on view of the ringed planet in 2025, but they won't be open to the public again until 2032.
There is a comet in 2020 over the UK. There is a comet called C2023 A3 that is expected to be visible in the sky before sunrise in late September. Even if it doesn't become a naked-eye object, it will still be caught byastrophotographers on 13 October.
Jupiter is at opposition.
Jupiter will be at its most prominent and bright in early December, when it will rise at dusk and set at dawn. It is the perfect time to look at its Great Red Spot, cloud bands, and four giant Galilean moons from our point of view.