An annular solar eclipse—known as a "ring of fire"—will strike North America on June 10, 2021. ... [+]
Are you one of the millions of people who started watching the night sky in 2020? Maybe it was a hobby and you just wanted to learn a few constellations. Perhaps the stars kept you company. Being immersed in the vastness of the night sky and its unending rhythms—and learning how to know and navigate the night—may even have given you a powerful new perspective.
Either way, you may be now entering your second year of stargazing. The closing weeks of 2020 were impressive indeed, with a dazzling “Christmas Star” or “great conjunction” of planets just before Christmas and a spectacular total solar eclipse, while the preceding months saw a “Blue Moon” on Halloween and a stunning and rare bright Comet NEOWISE in July.
Now get ready for a new line-up of intoxicating celestial sights! Here are the highlights for stargazers, moongazers and sky-watchers in 2021.
There will be three supermoons in 2021.
Three supermoons
When: Monday, April 27, 2021/ Wednesday, May 26, 2021/Thursday, June 24, 2021
Where: look east at sunset to see a moonrise
What is a supermoon? It’s a full Moon that coincides (or thereabouts) with the Moon’s perigee—the closest point in the Moon’s monthly orbit that it comes to Earth. It’s a result of the Moon’s orbit being slightly elliptical, which make the full Moon sometimes looks slightly larger. In 2021 that will happen three times:
- Monday, April 27, 2021: Full “Super Pink Moon”
- Wednesday, May 26: Full “Super Flower Blood Moon Eclipse” (also a total lunar eclipse for western North America—see below)
- Thursday, June 24, 2021: Full “Super Strawberry Moon” (also the lowest-hanging full Moon of the year)
How to see a triple conjunction of planets on January 9, 2021.
A triple conjunction of planets
When: just after sunset on Saturday, January 9, 2021
Where to look: southwestern horizon
This one won’t be easy, but it’s our last chance to see Jupiter and Saturn before they move into the Sun’s glare for some weeks (to emerge in the pre-dawn night sky). It also comes with the added bonus of little planet Mercury, which few people take the trouble to find. You’ll need a view very low to the west-southwest horizon, and you’ll also need to observe immediately after sunset. Look low on the horizon—preferably using binoculars—and you should be able to briefly see these three worlds form a small triangle.
Venus embraces the Pleiades on April 3, 2020. Something similar will happen to Mars in 2021.
A red planet in the ‘Seven Sisters’
When: Two hours after sunset on Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Where: southwestern night sky
In a slight re-enactment of a visit by Venus in 2020, Mars will drop by the “Seven Sisters” stars, an open cluster of hot young blue stars also known as the Pleiades and M45. The red planet will appear close to this luminous tangle of stars for a few nights, but it will be best seen on Wednesday, March 3, 2020.
A "ring of fire" annular solar eclipse will be visible from Canada, Greenland and Russia in 2021.
A ‘Ring Of Fire’ solar eclipse for North America
When: Thursday, June 10, 2021
Where: Canada, Greenland and Russia
Most of the U.S. and Canada will see a huge partial solar eclipse before breakfast on this day, but for those that travel to certain far-flung locations the prize is a spectacular “ring of fire” annular solar eclipse lasting 3 minutes and 33 seconds. That will only be viewable from far north Ontario, Canada. Since it occurs at sunrise in Canada, a scenic flight above the clouds might be the best option.
A total solar eclipse in Svalbard, Norway, on March 20, 2015. Something similar will occur in ... [+]
A total solar eclipse in Antarctica
When: Saturday, December 4, 2021
Where: Antarctica
Every 18 years, 11 days and 8 hours a total solar eclipse is visible from Antarctica, though few people have ever seen one. On this day parts of the White Continent and the Wedell Sea will be thrown under the Moon’s shadow for about two minutes, but it should be more easily accessible than most eclipses in this part of the world. Happening close to where cruise ships sail, expect eclipse-chasers to take once-in-a-lifetime trips into the path of totality near the South Orkney islands after sailing from Chile and Argentina.
Jupiter and Saturn—as with all planets—have a "opposition" each year.
Giant planet month
When: Monday, August 2, 2021 and Thursday, August 19, 2021
Where: eastern night sky
In August 2021 both of the Solar System’s largest planets—Jupiter and Saturn—will enter their annual oppositions when they’re aligned with the Earth and the Sun. Consequently that’s when they’re biggest and brightest in our night sky since like a full Moon they’re fully lit by the Sun from Earth’s point of view. Both planets will rise in the east at sunset on the night of their opposition, and set with the sunrise the following morning. If you have a telescope, or plan to get one, the giant planets’ annual oppositions are a fine time to get a close-up.
A ‘Super Flower Blood Moon’ for North America
When: Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Where: only from Australia, parts of the western U.S., western South America and Southeast Asia
A “supermoon” will move into Earth’s dark central umbral shadow to cause a total lunar eclipse for a mere 15 minutes, briefly turning the lunar surface a reddish-copper color, though only for those in western parts of North America.
A ‘Half-Blood Beaver Micro Moon Eclipse’ for North America
When: Thursday, November 18, 2021
Where: only from North and South America, Australia, parts of Europe and Asia
The same region will also experience a “Half-Blood Beaver Moon Eclipse” partial lunar eclipse in 2021. A particularly deep partial eclipse lasting 3 hours and 28 minutes, this event will see the 97% of the Moon enter Earth’s shadow in space. It will also be a “micro” Moon—the opposite to a “supermoon.”
An ‘Evening Star’ planet
When: Immediately after sunset, April-December, 2021
Where: western night sky
Venus spent the first half of 2020 super-bright in the evening sky and can currently be seen dominating the pre-sunrise night sky as a “Morning Star.” Come April 2021 it will emerge once again into the post-sunset sky as an “Evening Star.” By May it will be very, very bright and inch towards Mars.
A "seasonal Blue Moon" will occur in 2021.
A ‘Blue Moon’ and Jupiter
When: Sunday, August 22, 2021
Where: look east
Typically defined as the second full Moon in the same month, astronomers hate Blue Moons. They’re not blue, they’re not interesting to look at, and they’re usually mis-diagnosed by non-astronomers. Except for the full “Sturgeon Moon” of August 22, 2021, which as the third of four full Moons in the same season‚in this case, summer 2021—this full Moon fulfils the “official” definition. How do four full Moons occur in the same three-month period? It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit Earth, so if there’s a full Moon right at the beginning of Sumer (there’s a full “Strawberry Moon” on Thursday, June 24, 2021), it’s possible to squeeze-in four.
As a bonus, this full “Blue Sturgeon Moon” will occur just 3º from giant planet Jupiter almost at its brightest.
A meteor from the Perseid meteor shower streaks across the night sky above Cleveland National ... [+]
A moonless meteor shower
When: Thursday/Friday, August 12/13, 2020
Where: all-sky
The Perseids, the most popular annual meteor shower, will in 2021 peak just a few nights after New Moon, so a waxing crescent Moon will set early in the evening. That should leave the skies nice and dark for a good show of an estimated 100 “shooting stars” per hour. The Perseids—caused by dust left in the Solar System by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle —will be active from July 17 through August 26, 2021.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
