Plan your trip to dark sky areas for better chances of viewing meteor showers. Did you know that New Moons provide the best time to view the stars and celestial objects.
Jan 6: Wolf Micromoon
The first Full Moon of the year is colloquially known as Wolf Moon in many northern cultures. In 2023, it’s also a Micromoon.
Jan 21: Super New Moon
The Moon will come between the Sun and the Earth, and the illuminated side of the Moon will face away from the Earth. This New Moon takes place close to its perigee, when it’s closest to the Earth, making it a Super Moon.
Jan 22: Conjunction of Venus and Saturn
Venus will pass close to Saturn in the evening sky. At their closest point to each other, the planets will be separated by 0.34 degrees.
Jan 30: Mercury at Greatest Elongation West
This might be a good time to try and spot Mercury: the planet appears at its farthest distance from the Sun in the morning sky.
Feb 5: Snow Micromoon
February’s Full Moon is also known as Snow Moon in many Northern Hemisphere cultures. For the second month in a row, this is a Micromoon.
Feb 20: Super New Moon
Take advantage of the New Moon to check out the night sky, weather permitting, of course. As in January, this month’s New Moon is a Supermoon.
March 7: Worm Moon
The Full Moon in March is traditionally called Worm Moon, after earthworms that tend to appear around this time in many locations in the Northern Hemisphere.
March 20: March Equinox
The March equinox is the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the start of fall in the Southern Hemisphere, by astronomical definitions.
March 21: New Moon
Dark nights a few days before and after the Moon reaches its New Moon phase at 17:23 UTC on March 21 are the best nights to do some night sky watching.