Written by Reananda Hidayat Permono
Completed Master of Science - MS, Petroleum Geology from Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
There will be many great opportunities to witness celestial shows in 2023 since Earth travels a new orbital journey around the sun.
You can see two eclipses, four supermoons, and 11 meteor shows throughout this year.
However, most of them are viewable from North America between dusk and dawn on some particular dates.
So, here are some celestial events you shouldn’t miss:
Mercury at greatest western elongation: Jan. 30, May 29, and Sep. 22
It’s quite difficult to see Mercury since it’s close to the sun.
However, you can view it at dawn as a shiny yellow dot when Mercury appears on the west side of the sun.
Mercury at greatest eastern elongation: Apr. 11, Aug. 10, and Dec. 4
Mercury is quite close to Earth at this point, but you may need a ground telescope to see it right before dusk.
Hybrid solar eclipse: Apr. 20
As the moon moves between the Earth and the sun, the eclipse goes from annular to total and finally becomes annular again.
The last time we witnessed a Hybrid Solar Eclipse was on April 8, 2005.
Lyrids meteor shower: Apr. 22-23
People in the Northern Hemisphere can see the Lyrids meteor shower sometime between midnight and dawn.
Supermoon: Jul. 3, Aug. 1, Aug. 31, and Sep. 29
A supermoon happens when a full moon occurs on its perigee (when closest to Earth).
In 2023, we can see (in chronological order) the full buck, full sturgeon, full blue, and full harvest moon.
So, what celestial events do you want to see first?