This year has brought us many great astronomical events with NASA unveiling new photos from the James Webb Space Telescope, (the most powerful telescope ever created) that caught “the deepest infrared view of our universe that has ever been taken” to the celestial summit meeting where Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn were all visible from Earth! If you fear you’ve missed these planetary visions, don’t worry because the rest of this year and the next promise to bring some otherworldly sights, so grab your friends, your blankets, and crystals and go do some skywatching!
November 8th finds the Earth precariously in line with the moon and the sun, causing the moon to go dark and then light up a red-orange, due to the sun’s rays hugging the Earth and lightly hitting the moon as it travels. Make sure to catch sight of it as there have only been two lunar eclipses in 2022, and this is the second and last. Lucky for us in Florida, the east coast is set to have a perfect, unobstructed view of the lunar eclipse, also known as a blood moon. According to astrology and myth, a blood moon can bring chaos and disruption, so while viewing the solar spectacle, do your meditations and cleanse your system!
December 8th carries on with the red theme as then Mars will be in opposition! The Sun will fully illuminate the surface of the red planet as it makes its closest approach to Earth. It will be visible all night long and brighter than at any other time of the year, making this day the ideal time to see and photograph the red planet.
2022 has brought multiple meteor showers, but November 11th to the 18th bring not only the Northern Taurids and Leonid meteor shower but also the 13th to the 15th of December treat us to a great Geminid Meteor Shower! Earth passes through a comet’s tail, causing a “meteor shower” when the rocky particles hit our atmosphere and produce bright streaks in the sky. This Geminid shower appears to pool and explode from the Gemini constellation; two lines of stars bridged together, ever connected. The Geminid meteor shower is predicted to have a Zenith hourly rate of 140 (the number of meteors that one would view during the period of maximum activity). The Geminid Meteor Shower is truly something to behold as the Taurids and Leonid predict to only produce five to fifteen ZHR.
New year, new me, new moon! On January 21st, 2023, the moon will whisper a fond adieu as the dark side blends in with the night sky, as the Earth and sun align around the moon. Due to the absence of moonlight, this is the optimum period of the month to study objects that would otherwise be hidden, like galaxies and star clusters! The new moon phase is a more reflective period and symbolizes fresh starts as we get revved up for the new year. It’s an excellent time to establish clear intentions for the upcoming month, define your objectives and launch new initiatives!