Will you have your eyes on the skies this year? Space weather watchers say there will be plenty of “Wow!” moments. Look out for . . .
- a six-planet parade in January. This will be visible for weeks. Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Venus, Neptune, and Saturn will align. Little Mercury joins the crowd for a seven-planet lineup in February. You can already see five planets scattered across the sky. Eventually, all but Neptune and Uranus should be visible with the naked eye just after sunset.
- a lunar eclipse. The Moon will vanish for more than an hour over North and South America on March 14.
- a partial solar eclipse. This eclipse will be visible from Maine, eastern Canada, Greenland, Europe, Siberia, and northwestern Africa two weeks later.
- eclipses AGAIN. The eclipses will repeat in September over Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. A partial solar eclipse will be visible in the Southern Hemisphere two weeks later.
- Supermoons. These will happen in October, November, and December. The full Moon will look particularly big and bright those three months. It will orbit slightly closer to Earth than usual.
- northern and southern lights. Forecasters expect more auroras, also known as northern and southern lights, this year. Keep your eyes peeled for sudden colorful shows of light.
- meteor showers. The Quarantids meteor shower is happening right now. It peaks on Thursday and Friday nights. Later, look for the Perseids shower in August. Watch for the Geminids meteor shower in December. Meteor showers happen whenever Earth plows through debris left by comets and asteroids.
Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of His might and because He is strong in power, not one is missing. — Isaiah 40:26
