The early hours of Oct. 21 may have you seeking a dark site with open sky to witness a comet and the Orionid meteor shower. After midnight heading into the 21st is the best time viewing window for the Orionids, when you might spot 10 to 20 meteors per hour under clear, dark skies.
Back in December, we noted how the inclination of the moon’s orbit resulted in the full moon being positioned very high in the sky. Now, rather than shining high in the sky, on the nights of June 10 and June 11 (and into the early morning hours the next day), the bright moon will reach a maximum height of about 27 degrees above the true horizon — that’s lower than the maximum height of the sun on the winter solstice. The next time the full moon will follow a path this far south will be in the early 2040s.
Witness a celestial show on Monday, Jan. 13 as Mars vanishes behind the moon in an occultation visible from the Coachella Valley.
Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory astronomer Eric McLaughlin shares a notable celestial event to check out this month.
Look up to the sky during the late night of March 24 to view a penumbral lunar eclipse, a precursor to next month’s solar eclipse.
Mercury, Venus, and Mars align in the southeast sky, offering a brief celestial show in late January and early February.
Witness Venus, a crescent moon, and the red giant star Antares on the morning of Jan. 8.
The annual meteor shower will peak mid-December. Astronomer Eric McLaughlin explains how to view this celestial spectacle.
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