| 2023: Stargazing Highlights (2023-1-05) ⬅︎ |
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Whether you are a new or a seasoned stargazer, check out our list of 2023 stargazing highlights below
and
Star Guide tools — plenty to keep any stargazer busy exploring the night sky throughout the year from
the Starry Hill region.
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Jan-Feb: Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
Calculations show that this comet will swing around the Sun on January 12, 2023 and then come by Earth on February 1. We think it could become brighter than magnitude +6.00 which means that it would be visible to the naked-eye from a dark location. C/2022 ED (ZTF) just may put on a spectacular show -- perhaps the best since Comet Neowise in 2020.
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Jan 22: Saturn, Venus Align
Venus and Saturn will appear incredibly close at just 0.5° apart in our sky. For comparison, the width of the Moon is 0.5° (or 30 minutes). Venus, the brightest planet in our sky, will shine at magnitude -3.9. Saturn will be far dimmer at +0.8. This means that Venus will shine 75 times brighter than Saturn but both can be easily seen naked-eye. This will also be a great naked-eye and telescope event.
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Jan 30/Feb 27: Mars, Moon Align
A bright gibbous moon will align with Mars in our sky with little gap between. A binocular or telescope can be a great aid in viewing this alignment and seeing how truly small Mars is in our sky compared with our Moon. The Moon is about 30' (arc-minutes) while Mars is just 0.24’ at this time -- about 1/125 the diameter.
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This close alignment between Mars and the Moon will happen again on Feb 27.
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Mar 1: Jupiter, Venus Align
On March 1, Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets in Earth's sky, will appear within 0.5° of each other. Which will be the brighter one? At magnitude -4.0, Venus is the brightest planet in Earth's sky simply because it is close to us, close to the Sun and has a mirror-like atmosphere which reflects light from the Sun. Jupiter is the 2nd brightest of all planets in our sky. It will be at magnitude -2.1 and will appear about six times dimmer than Venus. more
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Apr 11/Sep 22: Best Opportunities to See Mercury
Most stargazers have never seen Mercury since it is so close to the sun. The days around Apr 11, Mercury's angular distance
from the sun, or elongation, will be maximized and its position along the ecliptic will be ideal making it a great time
in 2023 to try to spot this small world.
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Another good opportunity will be the days around Sep 22.
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Best 2023 Meteor Showers
Stargazers love meteor showers. There are eight major ones throughout the year in the Starry Hill region but, unfortunately, the moon often messes them up. Some good news for 2023 is that five of the showers will not have a moon-problem (or too much of a problem) including the Lyrids (Apr 22), Perseids (Aug 12), Orionids (Oct 21), Leonids (Nov 17) and Geminids (Dec 13).
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Jun 13: Venus visits the Beehive
Known since ancient times, the Beehive Cluster (M44) contains a thousand stars and is visible naked-eye from dark skies. On this day, Venus will appear beside the cluster forming a beautiful pairing for a binocular or telescope. Mars will appear to be watching from just 6° to the east.
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Jun 21: Venus, Mars, Moon Triangulate
Venus, Mars and a lovely crescent Moon will form a triangle in our sky in the evening. Will Venus, the brightest planet in our sky, be brighter than the Moon? Although a thin crescent, the Moon will still be about 6 times brighter. But Venus will be about 275 times brighter than red Mars since Mars is far and small at this time. While all three will be visible naked-eye, the view will be even better in a binocular.
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Aug 30: Blue Moon
You've probably heard the saying Once in a Blue Moon to describe a rare event. Did you know that this saying comes from stargazing? The popular meaning is any full moon that is the second one to occur in a single month. In August of this year, there will be two full moons, one on Aug 1 and the second on Aug 30. Yes, the second is the blue moon. No, it won't be blue. How rare are these? Since full moons are 29.5 days apart, any month with 30 days or more can have one. On average, blue moons happen about every 30 months.
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Aug-Nov: A Time for Giants
Many stargazers would agree that the most spectacular planets are Jupiter and Saturn and they know that the best
time to view them is at oppositions. In 2023, Saturn reaches opposition on Aug 27 while Jupiter reaches it on Nov 2.
The entire time between these dates will be great for viewing both worlds. Get your telescope ready for some
amazing views.
Jupiter
Saturn
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Oct 14: A Ring of Fire
A special type of solar eclipse known as an annular eclipse will be occurring on October 14. For about 5 minutes the Sun will appear as a bright but narrow ‘ring of fire’ surrounding a dark silhouetted Moon. The ring won't be visible from Starry Hill but it will be visible from parts of Oregon and other states. See Ring of Fire
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You can find far more events and special
stargazing tools in the Star Guide feature of our website:
🌟 Solar System - a calendar of events in our solar
system for every
day of the year
🌟 Deep Space - a list of targets outside our solar
system for every month
🌟 Daily Forecast - sun and moon rise/set times for
every
day of the year
🌟 Sky Map - a map of the sky showing stars, planets
and deep space objects for any time
Let's all hope for lots of Clear Skies in 2023! Questions? Email Us
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