Calendar

Giving Tuesday

Please help support our yearly outreach - giving astrophoto calendars to prison inmates.

Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Our Lady of Guadalupe (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (Spanish: Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a series of five Marian apparitions in December 1531, and a venerated image on a cloak enshrined within the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The basilica is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage […]

St. Lucia (Sweden), festival of light.

Saint Lucy's Day, also called Lucia Day or the feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on 13 December. The observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, an early-4th-century virgin martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution, who according to legend brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candlelit wreath on her head to light her way and leave her hands free […]

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.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is on December 24 and marks the culmination of the Advent period before Christmas that starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Eve. Many churches mark the end of Advent with midnight church services. During modern times, it is popularly celebrated on the night before Christmas Day. - National Today

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.