Calendar

Autumnal Equinox

Fall begins with the autumnal equinox - in the Northern Hemisphere, it's the September equinox; in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the equinox in March.

Full Moon

The Full Moon rises at sunset, and is visible all night. The Vatican Observatory's monthly Full Moon Meetup for Sacred Space Astronomy subscribers is held at 10:00 AM Tucson time.

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun.

Ursids Meteor Shower

The Ursids peak just before Christmas with rates of 5-10 meteors per hour during the late morning hours.

Quadrantids Meteor Shower

The Quadrantids have the potential to be the strongest shower of the year but usually fall short due to the short length of maximum activity (6 hours) and the poor weather experienced during early January. The average hourly rate is 25 meteors per hour.

Earth at Perihelion

Earth will be at the closest point in its orbit around the Sun on this date - 91,403,034 miles.

Mercury at Aphelion

Mercury's 88-day orbit around the Sun will carry it to its furthest point to the Sun – its aphelion – at a distance of 0.47 AU.

Anniversary of the 2013 Chelyabinsk Asteroid Impact Event

On February 15 2013 an asteroid exploded in the sky over the city of Chelyabinsk, in the the southern Ural region of Russia. The shock wave blew out windows all over the city, injuring over 1600 people, and damaged several buildings.