Tag: moon

A solar eclipse, supermoons, and more mesmerizing astronomical moments from this year

The stars aligned for some spectacular sights.

With Halloween on the horizon, one spooky fact lingers in everyone’s mind. Soon, the year will come to an end. Only a little over two months remain in 2022. While there will be plenty of time ahead to stress about the holidays and reflect on your year, put away those concerns for now and focus on something fun. Today, the world experienced the last solar eclipse of the year.

The partial solar eclipse began on Oct. 25 at 4:58 a.m. and ended at 9:01 a.m. ET. Though the eclipse was only visible in parts of Europe, northeast Africa, and western Asia, people worldwide can enjoy a video of the four-hour eclipse process on YouTube.

If you’re an astronomy enthusiast, check out this For The Win gallery of stunning eclipse images, too. Is one gallery not enough to sate your space curiosity? Check out this list of even more incredible celestial events from 2022.

The Perseid meteor shower lights up the sky this August

A lunar interloper steals the show in 2022.

Add some wonder to your August by watching the Perseid meteor shower. Throughout the month, meteors from Comet Swift-Tuttle will shoot across the night sky to dazzle stargazers. Here’s what you need to know about these falling stars and how to see them.

Between August 11 and 13, the Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak. Don’t go making plans to watch the sky just yet, though. A full moon on August 11 will likely obscure views of the meteors. Still, astronomy enthusiasts can keep an eye out for the Perseids in the days leading up to the full moon. Stay up late or set an alarm for the dark hours before dawn to catch the clearest glimpses of these celestial bodies. 

“Sadly, this year’s Perseids peak will see the worst possible circumstances for spotters,” NASA astronomer Bill Cooke said on NASA Blogs. “Most of us in North America would normally see 50 or 60 meteors per hour, but this year, during the normal peak, the full Moon will reduce that to 10-20 per hour at best.”

Avid skywatchers have more than the Perseids to look forward to, though. As the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory shares in the video below, Jupiter and Mars are visible in August’s sky. The Summer Triangle and the constellation Cygnus will also shine brightly for eagle-eyed stargazers. 

The Full Buck Moon and other celestial events coming in July

Don’t let this moon pass you by.

If yesterday’s James Webb Space Telescope image release left you craving more celestial wonders, look no further than tonight’s Buck Moon. Described by Almanac.com as “the biggest and brightest supermoon of the year,” the Buck Moon reached peak illumination at 2:38 p.m. EDT. Watch the sky for a glimpse of the full moon tonight, and mark your calendar for more cool moon phases coming later this month.

Also called “Moon When the Chokecherries are Ripe” by the Dakota people, the Buck Moon is just one of July’s interesting astronomical occurrences. Additional moon phases to watch for this month include the last quarter moon on July 20 and the new moon on July 28. When you look up at the sky to enjoy these moon phases, keep an eye out for the Summer Triangle, too. The stars Vega, Altair, and Deneb make up the three corners of the Summer Triangle. Check out this star map to help guide your stargazing.

If the weather in your area blocks the Buck Moon tonight, tune into a moon livestream. On YouTube, live videos like this one let you observe the full moon and chat with other space enthusiasts. Need even more ways to look at the moon? Check out the gallery of Strawberry Moon photos below, or this gallery of super flower blood moon photos.

Lead image via Sue Thompson

15 stunning photos of the supermoon known as the ‘strawberry moon’

These are amazing.

We’ve seen some absolutely spectacular images of moons recently, with the lunar eclipse last month giving us the “super flower blood moon.”

Now? It’s time to look at what’s called the “strawberry moon,” one that’s a supermoon that looks larger than usual to people on Earth.

Why’s it called a strawberry moon? It’s not because of the appearance.

From USA TODAY: “Native American Algonquin tribes inhabiting the northeastern U.S. – along with the Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota peoples — have used the strawberry moon to mark the time for gathering ripened June-bearing strawberries, the [Maine Farmer’s] almanac said.”

Take a look at some amazing images from this week: