Did you see the full moon last week? The beautiful Full Beaver Moon shone bright over Raleigh. 🌕 What about the Leonid meteor shower on Sunday night + Monday morning?
In case you missed it, we are here to give you the full rundown of all things astronomy to mark on your calendar this year, and what major things you won’t want to miss in 2020. 🔭
What to look out for in November:
November might be the mark of Scorpio season, but astronomy and astrology are a little different — a.k.a, you won’t be able to see its correlating constellation Scorpius this month. Here are the constellations that will be most visible in November ⭐:
○ Andromeda — Princess of Ethiopia
○ Cassiopeia — Queen of Ethiopia
○ Phoenix — The phoenix
○ Pisces — The fish
○ Sculptor — The sculptor’s workshop
○ Tucana — The toucan
November’s full moon has passed, but here are the phases to look out for the rest of this month:
○ Last quarter 🌗 — tonight, Nov. 19
○ New moon 🌑 — Tuesday, Nov. 26
What to look out for in December:
Here are the constellations that will be most visible in December ⭐:
○ Aries — The ram
○ Cetus — The sea monster
○ Eridanus — The river
○ Fornax — The laboratory furnace
○ Horologium — The pendulum clock
○ Hydrus — The southern water snake
○ Perseus — The hero
○ Triangulum — The triangle
Here are December’s moon phase dates:
○ First quarter 🌗 — Wednesday, Dec. 4
○ Full moon 🌕 — Thursday, Dec. 12
○ Last quarter 🌗 — Wednesday, Dec. 18
○ New moon 🌑 — Thursday, Dec. 26
Want something more exciting than the regular moon + stars? The Geminid meteor shower will peak the night of Friday, Dec. 13 through the morning of the 14th. While a full moon will just be passing (which notably lights up the sky), a whopping 20-30 meteors may still be visible each hour. The Ursid meteor shower — producing around 5-10 visible meteors per hour — will take place Dec. 21-22, so bundle up, find an area with minimal artificial light + watch the magic happen. 💫
Unfortunately, 2019’s only annual lunar eclipse on Dec. 26 will only be visible in the Eastern Hemisphere. Click the button below to see what 2020’s sky will bring to the Triangle.
What to look out for in 2020:
Here are the biggest events you can see in the sky next year. 🔭
Meteor showers
○ Quadrantids – Jan., 3-4
○ Lyrids – April 22-23
○ Eta Aquarids – May 6-7
○ Delta Aquarids – July 28-29
○ Perseids – Aug. 12-13
○ Draconids – Oct. 7
○ Orionids – Oct. 21-22
○ Taurids – Nov. 4-5
○ Leonids – Nov. 17-18
○ Geminids – Dec. 13-14
○ Ursids – Dec. 21-22
Supermoons
○ Feb. 9
○ March 9
○ April 8
○ May 7
Blue moon
○ Oct. 31
Lunar eclipse
○ July 5
○ Nov. 30
Bonus – Here are some cool tools you can utilize for all of your astronomical + stargazing needs:
○ Moon phase calendar
○ Real-time astronomical simulator
○ Constellation guide
Quiz
